Genesis 49:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Tell the righteous what is good for him” (Isaiah 3:9-10). David likewise proclaims, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful” (Ps. 1:1). He further states, “I have hated the assembly of the wicked, and I will not sit with the wicked” (Psalm 25:5). Thus, the holy James separates himself from the counsel of the Jews and explains, “For they killed the husbandman in their anger, and cut the veins of the calf according to their whim.” The Jews, driven by a cruel and inhumane frenzy, executed the saints; having embraced vanity and reckless desire, they shamefully “cut the veins of the bullock,” representing Christ. This desire to possess His inheritance ignited their fury upon realizing He was the heir. Their actions reflect a precise language; they tortured men and drained the blood of a young man. They caused the death of the saints who awaited resurrection. Analogous to the bullock, which the eagle pierces, Christ, willingly bearing the weight of mortality, fell to earth but was not defeated by death; although dead as a man, He lives eternally in the essence of divinity. Christ is depicted as a young man (an ox) because this creature is strong, pure, and profoundly holy. The Son embodies the Lord of hosts; “He hath not committed any sin” (1 Pet. 2:22); rather, “He gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God, an acceptable savor” (Eph. 5:2).

In their fury, Simeon and Levi brought destruction to the city and seized the possessions of the Shechemites for their own gain. Similarly, out of envy, Satan covertly led the entire world to death, much like they publicly attacked the Shechemites. Death triumphed over all bodies with the same ferocity that Simeon and Levi exhibited in claiming the belongings of those they slaughtered. However, now those who have been secretly slain by sin are resurrected through the Gospel of our Lord, and those who suffered under the anguish of death are revived by the blessed promise of the Son of God.

"For in their wrath they put men to death." Who were these men, if not the blessed prophets sent to convey the truth that they condemned to death? "And in their fervor they severed the sinews of the bullock." By their fervor, he denotes a worldly passion, as those who, in pursuit of earthly desires, sacrificed their chance at heavenly rewards by executing the Source of life like an ox. Therefore, "cursed is their rage because it is deliberate, and their anger because it was vicious." In another interpretation, because it was through the counsel and decision of the Pharisees and chief priests that Christ was betrayed and slain, the prophet, foreseeing this, says, "Into their council let not my soul enter." Here, he refers to the assembly in which they plotted, seeking a means to betray Jesus and bring about His death (Matt. 26:4). As Isaiah also states, "Woe to their souls! For they conspired with evil counsel against themselves, saying, 'Let us bind the Righteous One, for He is not suitable for us'" (Isaiah 3:9-10).

The entirety of this discourse serves as a tribute; it highlights the audacity of a shepherd who harms neighboring livestock for mere caprice and the brutality that does not hesitate to take the lives of the shepherds in times of conflict. The act of inflicting wounds was a tradition among the ancients meant to incapacitate the animals or, in extreme cases, eliminate them altogether (Num. 11:9). Particularly, the phrase "in their anger they beat men" undoubtedly refers to the assaults on the Shechemites. The subsequent phrase, "in their lust they cut the veins of the young men," can be understood as a related analogy to the previous idea. However, some are more explicit about the audacious and disgraceful transformation of circumcision into an instrument of violence, or the butchering of the livestock of Shechem.