Genesis 48
48
1Sometime after this, Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So Joseph went to see him, taking with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim.
2When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” he gathered his strength and sat up in bed. 3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan, and he blessed me there. 4He told me, ‘Listen! I will make you prosperous and make your descendants so numerous that you will become the ancestor of many nations, and I will give this land to your descendants to own forever.’
5I am counting as mine your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh who were born here in Egypt before I arrived, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6Any other children you have after them will be yours, and will share their inheritance within the land of their older brothers. 7I'm doing this because#48:7. “I'm doing this because”: supplied for context. The sense seems to be that since Rachel died in childbirth having Benjamin, she wasn't able to have any more children, so in Jacob's mind he claims Joseph's sons as some kind of recompense. tragically for me when I was returning from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in Canaan some distance from Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (also known as Bethlehem).
8Israel saw Joseph's sons and said, “So these are your sons?”
9“Yes, these are the sons God gave me here,” Joseph told his father.
“Bring them over here so I can bless them,” he said.
10Israel's eyesight was failing because of his age and he couldn't see well, so Joseph brought them close to his father, and he kissed and hugged them. 11Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I'd see your face again, and now God has even let me see your children!”
12Joseph took his sons from between Israel's knees, and bowed low with his face to the ground. 13Then Joseph placed Ephraim on his right so he would be on Israel's left, and Manasseh on his left so he would be on Israel's right, and then brought them over to Israel. 14But when Israel reached out his hands, he crossed them over and placed his right hand on Ephraim the younger son, and placed his left on Manasseh, the firstborn. 15He blessed Joseph, saying,
“May the God my grandfather Abraham and my father worshiped—the God who has taken care of me like a shepherd throughout my life until now, 16the Angel who has saved me from all kinds of trouble—may he bless these boys. May my name and the names of my grandfather Abraham and father Isaac continue through them, and may they have many descendants that spread throughout the earth.”
17Joseph was unhappy when he saw his father had put his right hand on Ephraim, so he took his father's hand to try and move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18“Not like that, father, this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head,” Joseph told him.
19But his father refused, saying, “I know what I'm doing. Manasseh will also become an important people, but his younger brother will be greater than him, and his descendants will become a large nation.”
20So Israel blessed them that day and said: “In the future the people of Israel will use your names to give a blessing, saying, ‘May God bless you like he did Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In saying this he placed Ephraim before Manasseh.
21Then Israel said to Joseph, “I'm going to die soon, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22I'm also giving you something in addition to what I'm giving your brothers—the piece of land on the mountain slope of Shechem#48:22. The word used here meaning “shoulder” refers to both a mountain slope and also the town of Shechem named after such a slope. In 33:18, it's recorded that Jacob bought a piece of land at Shechem, and in Joshua 24:32 it's stated that Joseph was later buried there. It is also referred to in John 4:5 as the land Jacob gave to Joseph. that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
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Genesis 48: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Genesis 48
48
Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons
1Not long afterward, Joseph received the news that his father’s health was failing, so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2When Jacob heard that they had come to see him, Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed.
3Jacob said to Joseph, “The God who is more than enough appeared to me at Bethel # 48:3 Or “Luz,” the ancient name of Bethel. Jacob was referring to the appearance of the heavenly stairway reaching into heaven. See Gen. 28:10–19. in the land of Canaan where he blessed me! 4He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and multiply your descendants until I have made you a company of nations. And I will give this land to your descendants for an everlasting possession.’ 5Furthermore, I will adopt as my very own your two sons who were born in the land of Egypt before I came here. Yes, I claim Ephraim and Manasseh as mine, no less than my two oldest, Reuben and Simeon. 6As for any children born after them, they will be considered yours. They will receive their portion of the inheritance in the same territory as their brothers. 7For when I was returning from Paddan-Aram, my beloved Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan while we were still on our way, not far from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8When Israel noticed Joseph’s two sons, he said, “Who are these?”
9“They are the sons that God has graciously given me here,” Joseph said to his father.
“Please bring them closer,” he said, “so that I may bless them.”
10Now Israel could barely see, for his eyes were failing because of old age. So, Joseph brought his sons closer to him, and Joseph’s father, their grandfather, hugged and kissed them.
11Tearfully, Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I’d see your face again, and now, God has let me see my grandchildren as well!”
Jacob Blesses His Grandchildren
12Joseph then removed them from his father’s knees and bowed low in respect before his father with his face to the ground. 13And Joseph took his sons and had them stand facing their grandfather Israel, # 48:13 By placing them before him like this, Israel recognized Joseph’s sons as his own by adoption. By adopting Joseph’s sons, Jacob removed the firstborn blessing from Reuben and gave it to Joseph’s sons. Ephraim at Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh at Israel’s right hand. # 48:13 Joseph positioned his sons so that Jacob’s right hand would rest on the firstborn, Manasseh. 14But Israel crossed his arms, and stretched out his right hand on the head of the younger son, Ephraim, and his left hand on the head of the firstborn son, Manasseh. 15He spoke this blessing over them: # 48:15 Or “Joseph.” The Septuagint reads “them.”
“May the God of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, who lived devoted to him,
the God who has been my Shepherd from my birth until this day,
16the Angel who has delivered me from all harm, # 48:16 The Lord had visited Jacob as an Angel, the midnight wrestling Man, his true Friend. At the end of Jacob’s life, he could say that his Shepherd-Friend had delivered him from all harm. Instead of moaning and complaining about his hardships, this servant of God declared the mercy that had preserved him. Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, redeems us from all evil.
may he bless these boys!
May their lives echo my name,
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they multiply into teeming multitudes throughout the earth!”
17When Joseph saw his father place his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was not happy, so he tried to move his father’s hand from Ephraim to Manasseh’s head. 18“Not that way,” Joseph said to his father, “Here, father, put your right hand on the firstborn’s head.” 19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh’s descendants will also multiply and become a great people. His younger brother will become even greater than he, and his tribe will one day give rise to many nations.” # 48:19 As the Spirit of Prophecy fell upon Jacob, he knew that it was God’s will to bless and honor Ephraim above his brother Manasseh. Once again, the younger was set above the older and was given a greater blessing and a greater work. Maneuvering is our choosing, our selecting. Blessing is God’s choice. It had taken Jacob a lifetime to learn this lesson: It is far better to wait until the blessing of God is seen and give up our maneuvering to have our own way.
20So Jacob blessed them that day, saying,
“Israel will use your names when they pronounce blessings!
They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh!’ ” # 48:20 Ephraim and Manasseh became strong leaders in Israel. Their descendants multiplied and grew mighty. Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim, and so was Jeroboam. The tribe of Manasseh was divided after the conquest with one half on one side of the Jordan and the other half on the other side of the river. Jacob, foreseeing this division would weaken the tribe, “crossed” his arms! This blessing spoken by Jacob endured and still endures. When the Lord blesses, no one can revoke it (see Num. 23:8, 20). Jacob’s hands that had deceived and grasped what was not his now became the hands that blessed out of an overflow of life. The “heel grabber” became the “blessing giver.” The day will come when this transformation will take place in you as well.
So the crossing of his arms during Jacob’s blessing put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. 21Then Israel said to Joseph, “Son, I will die soon, but God’s presence will go with you, and one day, he will take you back to the land of your ancestors. 22I give you one mountain slope more than your brothers, the mountain slope of Shechem, the fertile region I took from the Amorites with my own sword and my own bow.” # 48:22 The Hebrew text is somewhat ambiguous, for the word for “mountain slope” can also mean “Shechem.” The translator has chosen to leave both possibilities in the text. Additionally, it may be a reference to Mt. Gerizim, which stands above Shechem. The implication is that because Joseph was raised up, he would inherit the higher ground.
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