Genesis 48

CHAPTER 48

1And so when these things were done, it was told to Joseph, that his father was sick. And he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and he disposed him to go.

2And it was said to the eld [or old] man, Lo! thy son Joseph cometh to thee; which was comforted, and sat up in the bed.

3And when Joseph entered to him, he said, Almighty God appeared to me in Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4and said, I shall increase thee, and multiply thee, and I shall make thee into companies of peoples, and I shall give to thee this land, and to thy seed after thee, into everlasting possession.

5Therefore thy two sons, that be born to thee in the land of Egypt, before that I came hither to thee, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, shall be areckoned to me;

6forsooth the others which thou shalt beget after them shall be thine; and they shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions.

7Forsooth when I came from Mesopotamia, Rachel was dead to me in the land of Canaan, in that way; and it was the beginning of summer; and before that I entered into Ephratah, and I buried her beside the way of Ephratah, which by another name is called Bethlehem.

8Forsooth Jacob saw the sons of Joseph, and said to him, Who be these?

9He answered, They be my sons, which God gave me in this place. Jacob said, Bring them to me, that I bless them.

10For the eyes of Israel dimmed for great eld age, and he might not see clearly; and he kissed and embraced those children joined to him,

11and he said to his son, I am not defrauded of thy sight; furthermore God hath showed to me thy seed.

12And when Joseph had taken them from his father’s lap, he worshipped or honoured low to the earth.

13And he set Ephraim on his right side, that is, on the left side of Israel; forsooth he set Manasseh on his left side, that is, on the right side of his father; and he joined both to him.

14Which held forth the right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, the younger brother; soothly he laid his left hand on Manasseh’s head, that was the more through birth. Jacob changed his hands,

15and blessed his son Joseph#48:15 In blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob was in fact blessing Joseph. (Good News Bible), and said, God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac went; God that feedeth me from my young waxing age till into this present day;

16the angel that delivered me from all evils, bless these children, and my name be called on them, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and wax they in multitude on earth.

17Forsooth Joseph saw that his father had set [or put] his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and he took that heavily, and he enforced or endeavoured him to raise his father’s hand, and take it from the head of Ephraim, and to bear it over upon the head of Manasseh.

18And Joseph said to his father, Father, it accordeth not so; for this is the first begotten; set [or put] thy right hand on his head.

19Which forsook to do so, and said, I know, my son, I know; and soothly this child shall be into peoples, and he shall be multiplied; but his younger brother shall be more than he, and his seed shall increase into a multitude of folks.

20And he blessed them in that time, and said, Israel shall be blessed in thee, and it shall be said, God do to thee as to Ephraim and as to Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh;

21and Jacob said to Joseph, his son, Lo! I die, and God shall be with you, and shall lead you again to the land of your fathers;

22I give to thee one part over thy brethren, which I took from the hand of Amorite, in my sword and bow.

Genesis 48

Jacob Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim

1One day not long after this, word came to Joseph, “Your father is failing rapidly.” So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2When Joseph arrived, Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” So Jacob#48:2 Hebrew Israel; also in 48:8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 21. See note on 35:21. gathered his strength and sat up in his bed.

3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty#48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai. appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 4He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful, and I will multiply your descendants. I will make you a multitude of nations. And I will give this land of Canaan to your descendants#48:4 Hebrew seed; also in 48:19. after you as an everlasting possession.’

5“Now I am claiming as my own sons these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived. They will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6But any children born to you in the future will be your own, and they will inherit land within the territories of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh.

7“Long ago, as I was returning from Paddan-aram,#48:7 Hebrew Paddan, referring to Paddan-aram; compare Gen 35:9. Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). So with great sorrow I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.”

8Then Jacob looked over at the two boys. “Are these your sons?” he asked.

9“Yes,” Joseph told him, “these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt.”

And Jacob said, “Bring them closer to me, so I can bless them.”

10Jacob was half blind because of his age and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them. 11Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I never thought I would see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!”

12Joseph moved the boys, who were at their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. 13Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. 14But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn. 15Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham

and my father, Isaac, walked—

the God who has been my shepherd

all my life, to this very day,

16the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—

may he bless these boys.

May they preserve my name

and the names of Abraham and Isaac.

And may their descendants multiply greatly

throughout the earth.”

17But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18“No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

19But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”

20So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. 22And beyond what I have given your brothers, I am giving you an extra portion of the land#48:22 Or an extra ridge of land. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

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Genesis 48

Genesis 48