THE LATTER DAYS — literally 'the AFTER of the days': the far end of things, what lies at the horizon of what is coming. Its first occurrence is Jacob summoning his sons (49:1) to hear what will happen to them BE-ACHARIT HA-YAMIM. ⚠️ The phrase does NOT by itself mean 'the end of the world.' In the prophets it can mean anything from 'later on' to a genuinely final horizon, and later readers — Jewish and Christian — took it as a technical term for the eschaton and read Genesis 49 accordingly. Here it introduces a poem about tribal territories, forced labour and roadside ambushes, so the reach of the phrase is exactly what is in dispute. KJV 'in the last days'; ESV 'in days to come.' This translation renders it plainly and leaves the distance open. → first discussed at Gen 49:1