Genesis 49:8., Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.
This expression is intended to denote superiority and triumph. Job makes use of a similar figure where he represents God as taking him by the neck and shaking him to pieces (Job 16:12). David says, “Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies” (2 Sam. 22:41; Psa. 18:40). Jeremiah, lamenting the desolations of his people, says, “Our necks are under persecution” (Lam. 5:5). The ancient Franks had a custom of putting the arm around the neck as a mark of superiority. An insolvent debtor gave himself up to his creditor as a slave, and as a token of submission he took the arm of his new master and put it around his neck.
Compare notes on Joshua 10:24 (#220) and 1 Corinthians 15:25 (#869).