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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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
1And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick. And he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. 2And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph is coming to thee. And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3And Jacob said to Joseph, The Almighty ·God#GodHebrew: El appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4and he said to me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon. 6And thy family which thou hast begotten after them shall be thine: they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was yet a certain distance to come to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.
8And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God#GodHebrew: Elohim has given me here. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, to me, that I may bless them. 10But the eyes of Israel were heavy from age: he could not see. And he brought them nearer to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face; and behold, God#GodHebrew: Elohim has let me see also thy seed. 12And Joseph brought them out from his knees, and bowed down with his face to the earth. 13And Joseph 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 to him. 14But Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim's head — now he was the younger — and his left hand on Manasseh's head; guiding his hands intelligently, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God#GodHebrew: Elohim before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim that shepherded me all my life long to this day, 16the Angel that redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the land! 17When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn: put thy right hand on his head. 19But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know: he also will become a people, and he also will be great; but truly his younger brother will be greater than he; and his seed will become the fulness of nations. 20And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God#GodHebrew: Elohim make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh! And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God#GodHebrew: Elohim will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22And I have given to thee one tract of land above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.