Genèse 49:9

I will liken thee, my son Jehuda, to a whelp, the young of a lion; for from the killing of Joseph my son thou didst uplift thy soul, and from the judgment of Tamar thou wast free. He dwelleth quietly and in strength, as a lion; and as an old lion when he reposeth, who may stir him up?

גור אריה יהודה, an expression similar to כפיר אריות, (Judges 14,5) the young, not fully grown lion is called גור, whereas the fully mature lion is known as כפיר as we know from Ezekiel 19,2 בתוך כפירים רבתה גוריה, “a young lioness crouched among the fully grown lions.” The young lion enjoys the advantage of speed and self-confidence, hence more aggressiveness, over an aging lion. It is not surprising therefore that when complimenting Yehudah, Yaakov compares him to a young lion rather than to a fully mature one who is already on the way to decline.

מטרף בני עלית, you my son Yehudah, seeing that after you have risen from dealing with the spoils of war you had acquired stature and were held in awe, have lain down like a lion, supremely confident that no one would dare disturb your rest. No enemy will dare to become the one to disturb your sleep and to attack you. This is the plain meaning of the verse repeating the word Yehudah twice in the same sequence. All those who understood Yaakov as referring to the sale of Joseph in this verse do not understand the sentence structure nor paid attention to the tone signs.

גור אריה יהודה, although Yehudah is not a fully grown lion, i.e. not enjoying the trappings of royalty, possessing a land, etc, he is at least comparable to a lion cub, preeminent among his brothers. In the future he will rule as king in the full meaning of the word. All this, in spite of the fact that

מטרף בני עלית, you were spared by my son Joseph who did not kill you in his wrath although he hated you. This is the meaning of the words כרע רבץ כאריה, seeing that at that time he was like a crouching lion, one in repose, i.e. not representing a threat to anyone This is why Joseph did not issue you orders to kill you.

וכלביא מי יקימנו, once Yehudah will attain the position of king, he will be like such a lion who on occasion will lie down languidly just like a lion, a time when no one can frighten him into rising because he has become afraid of the enemy.

גור אריה יהודה; at the beginning of his career he would be only a גור, a cub, one that has not attained maturity. Even so, such a lion is stronger than all the other beasts. Yehudah was also the first of the tribal princes to offer his inaugural sacrifice (Numbers 7,12). When it came to the war against the Canaanites in Judges 1,2 this tribe was the one leading all the others. Again, at Geva in Binyamin (Judges 20,18) the tribe of Yehudah was in the lead in the tragic civil war against the tribe of Binyamin. [at any rate a heavenly voice or the High Priest after consulting the Ephod had announced that Yehudah should be in the lead. Ed.] The first of the Judges who were heads of the nation after the death of Joshua who had failed to appoint a successor, was Othniel son of Knaz from the tribe of Yehudah. (Judges 3,9). Eventually, when David was appointed King of all the Israelites, this גור, “young lion,” became a fully grown mature lion, i.e. אריה,

מטרף בני עלית, due to the surfeit of loot you rose to a position of distinction and glory as we know from Samuel II 8,13 “David gained fame when he returned from defeating Edom in the valley of Salt.”

כרע רבץ כאריה, my father of blessed memory explained this verse as follows: during the period of David, Yehudah crouched as does a lion who at the time when he is afraid of other ferocious beasts does not lie down and relax, but only crouches. This he does in order to be able to rouse himself at a moment’s notice when attacked. However, at a time when he does not face imminent danger he lies down relaxed. Similarly, David. Seeing that he was involved in wars practically during the entire period of his reign and had to be ready to rise at a moment’s notice to face his enemies and to kill them, he was like a lion concerned about staying alive. However, his son Solomon, could afford to lie down in repose seeing that all the nations were afraid of him and none dared attack him. There was no one around who would rouse him from his slumber.

גור אריה יהודה, all young free roaming animals are known as גור. Yehudah is distinguished as being described as a young lion, the king of the beasts. This was a hint that David, in due course, would be descended from him. The numerical value of the first letters in the three words:גור אריה יהודה, is the same as that of the three letters in the name דוד =14.

מטרף בני עלית, “you removed yourself from the kill, my son;” [our author does not accept this as the appropriate translation. Ed] He interprets the line as a prophecy, i.e. David’s eventually becoming the King of all of Israel, will be based on the skills he will demonstrate in overcoming attacks upon him by a bear and a lion, and his having prevailed in those encounters. (Compare Samuel I 17,36) His performance when facing Goliath was witnessed by many, in addition.