“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, or the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shilo arrives; and to him nations will assemble” (Genesis 49:10). “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” – this is Makhir…53He was the ruler of Gilad, but his descendants mentioned in the verse: “From Makhir rulers descended” (Judges 5:14) were descendants of his daughter, who was married to a man from the tribe of Judah.
“Or the ruler’s staff from between his feet” – as he came and prostrated himself before his feet.54Makhir prostrated himself before Ḥetzron, Judah’s grandson. “Until Shilo arrives” – this is the messianic king. “And to him nations will assemble [yik’hat]” – he will come and blunt [yak’heh] the teeth of the idolaters. Another matter: “The scepter [shevet] shall not depart from Judah” – this is the Sanhedrin, which flogs and subjugates.55The term shevet can also mean a rod with which one flogs (see, e.g., Proverbs 13:24).
“Or the ruler’s staff from between his feet” – these are the two scribes of the judges who would stand before them, one to the right and one to the left. “Until Shilo arrives”56This is understood to mean that the prominent leaders of the Jewish people will always be from Judah. – they convened and said: Hillel, from whom did he descend? Rabbi Levi said: A genealogical scroll was found in Jerusalem in which it was written: Hillel is from David.
Rabbi Ḥiyya Rabba is from Shefatya son of Avital.57Avital was David’s wife. The house of Kalba Savua is from Caleb. The house of Tzitzit HaKeset is from Avner. The house of Koveshin is from Ahab.
The house of Yatza is from Asaf. The house of Yehu is from Tzippori. The house of Yanai is from Eli. Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥalafta is from Yonadav son of Rekhav.
Rabbi Neḥemya is from Nehemiah the Tirshatite.58Although not all of these families are from the tribe of Judah, the midrash cites the entire report of the genealogical scroll because it demonstrates that prominent leaders in various generations descended from Judah.