Genesis 48
48
Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons
1After these things, Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph is coming to you,” Israel strengthened himself and sat up in the bed.
3#Ge 17:1; Ex 6:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me. 4#Ge 17:8And He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make you into a multitude of people and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’
5#Ge 41:50–52; 46:20“Now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6Any children you have after them will be yours and will be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7#Ge 35:9; 35:16–19As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to get to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Whose are these?”
9#Ge 27:4; 33:5And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”
And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”
10#Ge 27:1; 27:27Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
11#Ge 37:33; 45:26Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I would see your face, but here God has also shown me your children.”
12#Ge 42:6So Joseph took them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the ground. 13Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14#Ge 41:51Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15#Ge 17:1He blessed Joseph and said,
“God, before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who fed me
all my life long to this day,
16#Ps 34:22; 121:7 the angel who redeemed me from all evil,
bless the boys;
let them be called by my name,
and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude
in the midst of the earth.”
17#Ge 48:14When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
19#Dt 33:17His father refused and said, “I know it, my son, I know it. He will also become a people, and he will also be great, but truly his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations.” 20#Ru 4:11–12He blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will bless, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”
So he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21#Ge 46:4; 50:24Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and return you again to the land of your fathers. 22#Jos 24:32; Jn 4:5Moreover, I have given to you one portion more than your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
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Genesis 48: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Genesis 48
48
Jacob blesses his family and dies
Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons
1Joseph was told that his father Jacob had become very sick. So Joseph went to see him and took along his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob sat up in bed, but it took almost all his strength.
3Jacob told Joseph:#Gn 28.13,14.
God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, where he gave me his blessing 4and promised, “I will give you a large family with many descendants that will grow into a nation. And I am giving you this land that will belong to you and your family for ever.”
5Then Jacob went on to say:
Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, but I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6Any children you have later will be considered yours, but their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh. 7Unfortunately, your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we had left northern Syria#48.7 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10. and before we reached Bethlehem.#48.7 Bethlehem: The Hebrew text has “Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem”. And I had to bury her along the way.#Gn 35.16-19.
8-10Jacob was very old and almost blind. He did not recognize the two boys, and so he asked Joseph, “Who are these boys?”
Joseph answered, “They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.”
“Bring them to me,” Jacob said. “I want to give them my blessing.” Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged and kissed them.
11Jacob turned to Joseph and told him, “For many years I thought you were dead and that I would never see you again. But now God has even let me live to see your children.” 12Then Joseph made his sons move away from Jacob's knees,#48.12 move…Jacob's knees: The two boys were placed either on or between Jacob's knees, as a sign that he had accepted them as his sons. and Joseph bowed down in front of him with his face to the ground.
13After Joseph got up, he brought his two sons over to Jacob again. He led his younger son Ephraim to the left side of Jacob and his elder son Manasseh to the right. 14But before Jacob gave them his blessing, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. 15Then he gave Joseph his blessing and said:
My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac worshipped the LORD God. He has been with me all my life, 16and his angel has kept me safe. Now I pray that he will bless these boys and that my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac will live on because of them. I ask God to give them many children and many descendants as well.
17Joseph did not like it when he saw his father place his right hand on the head of the younger son. So he tried to move his father's right hand from Ephraim's head and place it on Manasseh. 18Joseph said, “Father, you have made a mistake. This is the elder boy. Put your right hand on him.”
19But his father said, “Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will some day become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations.”
20Jacob told him that in the future the people of Israel would ask God's blessings on one another by saying, “I pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.” Jacob put Ephraim's name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh.#He 11.21. 21After that, Jacob said, “Joseph, you can see that I won't live much longer. But God will be with you and will lead you back to the land he promised our family long ago. 22Meanwhile, I'm giving you the hillside#48.22 the hillside: Or “a larger share than your brothers, the land”. I captured from the Amorites.”
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012