Genesis 49:5

Verse

RBT Translation:

News and Joined are brothers, finished-articles of violence are their mekerot.¹³⁵⁴

LITV Translation:
Simeon and Levi, brothers; their weapons are instruments of violence.

ESV Translation:
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.

Brenton Septuagint Translation:
Simeon and Levi, brethren, Accomplished the injustice of their cutting off.

Footnotes

1354

Strong’s #4380, mekerot. Plural. Obscure word occurs only once. Debated for centuries. Gesenius and most others point to the root karah #3738, to dig. They “extend” this to mean swords or weapons. Rendering this “weapons of violence are their swords” ruins the cryptic nature of the text. James Strong wrote, “Probably from the same as kuwr #3564 in the sense of stabbing. A kuwr is a dug pit for smelting, i.e. the fiery furnace that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “fell into the middle” of.

“The crucible is for the Silver-one, and the furnace-pit is for the Gold-one, and he-who-tests hearts is Yahweh.” Prov. 17:3 literal

“…in a hot-one I caused אֶת-them to go out from the earth of Dual-Siege, from the furnace-pit of the Iron-one…” Jer. 11:4 literal