Genesis 48

1Againe after this, one sayd to Ioseph, Loe, thy father is sicke: then hee tooke with him his two sonnes, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2Also one told Iaakob, and said, Behold, thy sonne Ioseph is come to thee, and Israel tooke his strength vnto him and sate vpon the bed. 3Then Iaakob sayde vnto Ioseph, God almightie appeared vnto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me. 4And he sayde vnto me, Behold, I wil make thee fruitefull, and will multiplie thee, and will make a great number of people of thee, and will giue this lande vnto thy seede after thee for an euerlasting possession. 5And now thy two sonnes, Manasseh and Ephraim, which are borne vnto thee in the lande of Egypt, before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6But the linage, which thou hast begotten after them, shalbe thine: they shall be called after the names of their brethren in their inheritance. 7Nowe when I came from Padan, Rahel died vpon mine hande in the lande of Canaan, by the way when there was but halfe a dayes iourney of grounde to come to Ephrath: and I buryed her there in the way to Ephrath: the same is Beth-lehem. 8Then Israel beheld Iosephs sonnes and sayd, Whose are these? 9And Ioseph sayd vnto his father, They are my sonnes, which God hath giuen mee here. Then he sayd, I pray thee, bring them to me, that I may blesse them: 10(For the eyes of Israel were dimme for age, so that hee coulde not well see) Then he caused them to come to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11And Israel sayde vnto Ioseph, I had not thought to haue seene thy face: yet lo, God hath shewed me also thy seede. 12And Ioseph tooke them away from his knees, and did reuerence downe to the ground. 13Then tooke Ioseph them both, Ephraim in his right hand towarde Israels left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israels right hand, so he brought them vnto him. 14But Israel stretched out his right hand, and layde it on Ephraims head, which was the yonger, and his left hande vpon Manassehs head (directing his handes of purpose) for Manasseh was the elder. 15Also he blessed Ioseph and sayde, The God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Izhak did walke, the God, which hath fed me al my life long vnto this day, blesse thee. 16The Angel, which hath deliuered me from all euill, blesse the children, and let my name be named vpon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Izhak, that they may growe as fish into a multitude in the middes of the earth. 17But when Ioseph sawe that his father layde his right hande vpon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he stayed his fathers hand to remooue it from Ephraims head to Manassehs head. 18And Ioseph sayde vnto his father, Not so, my father, for this is the eldest: put thy right hand vpon his head. 19But his father refused, and sayd, I know well, my sonne, I know well: he shalbe also a people, and he shalbe great likewise: but his yonger brother shalbe greater then he, and his seede shall be full of nations. 20So he blessed them that day, and sayde, In thee Israel shall blesse, and say, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21Then Israel said vnto Ioseph, Behold, I die, and God shall be with you, and bring you againe vnto the land of your fathers. 22Moreouer, I haue giuen vnto thee one portion aboue thy brethren, which I gate out of the hand of the Amorite by my sworde and by my bowe.

B'resheet (Gen) 48

1Awhile later someone told Yosef that his father was ill. He took with him his two sons, M’nasheh and Efrayim. 2Ya‘akov was told, “Here comes your son Yosef.” Isra’el gathered his strength and sat up in bed. 3Ya‘akov said to Yosef, “El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kena‘an and blessed me, 4saying to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and numerous. I will make of you a group of peoples; and I will give this land to your descendants to possess forever.’ 5Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and M’nasheh will be as much mine as Re’uven and Shim‘on are. 6The children born to you after them will be yours, but for purposes of inheritance they are to be counted with their older brothers.

7“Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died suddenly, as we were traveling through the land of Kena‘an, while we were still some distance from Efrat; so I buried her there on the way to Efrat (also known as Beit-Lechem).”

8Then Isra’el noticed Yosef’s sons and asked, “Whose are these?” 9Yosef answered his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” Ya‘akov replied, “I want you to bring them here to me, so that I can bless them.” (ii) 10Now Isra’el’s eyes were dim with age, so that he could not see. Yosef brought his sons near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11Isra’el said to Yosef, “I never expected to see even you again, but God has allowed me to see your children too!” 12Yosef brought them out from between his legs and prostrated himself on the ground. 13Then Yosef took them both, Efrayim in his right hand toward Isra’el’s left hand and M’nasheh in his left hand toward Isra’el’s right hand, and brought them near to him. 14But Isra’el put out his right hand and laid it on the head of the younger one, Efrayim, and put his left hand on the head of M’nasheh — he intentionally crossed his hands, even though M’nasheh was the firstborn. 15Then he blessed Yosef: “The God in whose presence my fathers Avraham and Yitz’chak lived, the God who has been my own shepherd all my life long to this day, 16the angel who has rescued me from all harm, bless these boys. May they remember who I am and what I stand for, and likewise my fathers Avraham and Yitz’chak, who they were and what they stood for. And may they grow into teeming multitudes on the earth.”

(iii) 17When Yosef saw that his father was laying his right hand on Efrayim’s head, it displeased him, and he lifted up his father’s hand to remove it from Efrayim’s head and place it instead on M’nasheh’s head. 18Yosef said to his father, “Don’t do it that way, my father; for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” 19But his father refused and said, “I know that, my son, I know it. He too will become a people, and he too will be great; nevertheless his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will grow into many nations.” 20Then he added this blessing on them that day: “Isra’el will speak of you in their own blessings by saying, ‘May God make you like Efrayim and M’nasheh.’” Thus he put Efrayim ahead of M’nasheh.

21Isra’el then said to Yosef, “You see that I am dying, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors. 22Moreover, I am giving to you a sh’khem [shoulder, ridge, share, city of Sh’khem] more than to your brothers; I captured it from the Emori with my sword and bow.”

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Genesis 48

B'resheet (Gen) 48