49:19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands,
but he will attack them at their heels. 1
49:20 Asher’s 2 food will be rich, 3
and he will provide delicacies 4 to royalty.
1 tc Heb “heel.” The MT has suffered from misdivision at this point. The initial mem on the first word in the next verse should probably be taken as a plural ending on the word “heel.”
sn In Hebrew the name Gad (גָּד, gad ) sounds like the words translated “raided” (יְגוּדֶנּוּ, yÿgudennu) and “marauding bands” (גְּדוּד, gÿdud).
2 tc Heb “from Asher,” but the initial mem (מ) of the MT should probably be moved to the end of the preceding verse and taken as a plural ending on “heel.”
3 tn The Hebrew word translated “rich,” when applied to products of the ground, means abundant in quantity and quality.
4 tn The word translated “delicacies” refers to foods that were delightful, the kind fit for a king.