Genesis 49:26
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
The verse belongs to Jacob's deathbed address to his gathered, sorrowing children, as he spoke forgiveness and final counsel under the Spirit of prophecy. His words did not come from natural paternal tenderness, for he had forgiven his sons' unfilial conduct and loved them to the last with no unforgiving or resentful spirit. His own affection would have led him to utter only love and tenderness in his dying testimony. God elevated his mind above natural feeling, with angels around him and the power of grace shining upon him, so that under inspiration he uttered truth even when it was painful.
The address was prophecy reaching far into the future to reveal God's purposes. It shows that God by no means sanctions cruelty or wickedness but exposes violent deeds and visits sin. This stands in contrast to the gloomy prophecies over Reuben, Simeon, and Levi for transgression, deception, cruelty, and revenge. For most of the sons, and especially for Joseph, Jacob predicted a cheerful, happy future. The verse is a cheerful, eloquent blessing of surpassing abundance for Joseph, not gloomy like the words to the others.
It means that the blessings of Joseph's father have prevailed above the blessings of his forefathers and ancestors to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They rest on the head of Joseph as the best-loved son who was separate and set apart from his brethren, as prophetic assurance of specially abundant blessing. These blessings belong with the nearby promises of abundance, divine help, and strength for Joseph as a fruitful bough. His bow abides in strength and his hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, by the help of the God of his father and the blessings of the Almighty with blessings of heaven above and the deep beneath.
The verse sets forth the secret of Joseph's life and greatness: loyalty to God and faith in the Unseen was his anchor and the hiding of his power. The fruitfulness and abundant blessing for Joseph shows the fruitfulness God intended for Israel, planted as a fruitful vine to bear good fruit and glorify God. But the people of Christ's day did not show the character exemplified by Joseph. In this prophetic blessing over his sons, Joseph receives the double portion of the inheritance as his birthright share. The everlasting hills are an image of firmness and permanence, applied as counsel to be as fixed as them in holding firmly to what God has plainly spoken. They also refer to hills supplying the place with abundant pure water.