Charles Spurgeon Commentary Hebrews 11:21

"By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, [leaning] upon the top of his staff." — Hebrews 11:21 (ASV)

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. (Hebrews 11:21)

That wonderful staff on which he leaned when he came out of Jabbok—that wonderful staff with which he crossed this Jordan in his poverty, but after which he became two bands.

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Ah, that staff of his! – you know why he used it. I believe he loved it, because it made him remember the brook Jabbok where he halted upon his thigh. It had long been his companion, for he said, With my staff I passed over this Jordan; but it became more than ever necessary to him after he had won that victory, and had also learned his own weakness.

And now, as if in memory of the God who had blessed him, he leans upon the top of his staff, and blesses the sons of Joseph. Now the chapter goes on with a long list of those who, by faith, worked wonders.

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Grasping that memorable staff with which he passed over this Jordan,–that staff on which he leaned so heavily when the wrestling angel made him go limping over Penuel,–that staff which was a memorial of the breaking down which he had suffered when he gained the name of Israel by prevailing with his God,–on that staff he leaned as he blessed both the sons of Joseph.

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

That staff had been Jacob's companion on many memorable occasions, so it was most fitting that he should lean upon it while blessing his grandsons.