11:21

By faith Jacob . . . blessed each of the sons of Joseph: Paul here refers to the occasion when Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, before Jacob to receive his blessing. (Ge 48:1, 2, 15, 16, 20) At that time, the patriarch showed faith by telling Joseph the future of Jacob’s descendants: “God will certainly . . . return you [plural] to the land of your forefathers.” (Ge 48:21) Jacob also spoke about the Promised Land as a land “which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” (Ge 48:22) Jacob had peaceably bought a piece of land from the Amorites, but there is no record that Jacob waged any battle in connection with the land. (Ge 33:19, 20) So Jacob’s words were an expression of his faith; he spoke prophetically of the future conquest of Canaan by his descendants as if it had already been accomplished by his own sword and bow.

worshipped while leaning on the top of his staff: This phrase refers to the act of worship described at Ge 47:31, which says that upon hearing Joseph’s promise to bury him in the Promised Land, “Israel [Jacob] bowed down at the head of his bed.” The Hebrew words for “bed” and “staff (rod)” have exactly the same consonants, and without the vowel points, they can be read either way. The Masoretic text of Ge 47:31 contains the vowel points corresponding to the Hebrew word “bed.” (See Glossary, “Masoretic text.”) However, Paul is here quoting from the Greek Septuagint, in which the translators used the word “staff.” Regardless of which term is meant, the Genesis account shows that Jacob’s trust in Jehovah’s promises was unshakable to the end of his life.