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Genesis 48

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Joseph Visits Jacob; The Adoption Declared 1–11

1
And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ​
2
And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3
And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, ​
4
and said unto 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.
5
And now thy two sons, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine. ​
6
And thy issue, that thou begettest after them, shall be thine; they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
7
And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some distance to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem). ​
8
And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?
9
And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me here. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. ​
10
Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. ​
11
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath let me see thy seed also.

The Patriarchal Blessing 12–20

12
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13
And 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 unto him.
14
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born. ​
15
And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who hath fed me all my life long unto this day, ​
16
the angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. ​
17
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. ​
18
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head.
19
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. ​
20
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. ​

Jacob's Final Prophecy and Gift 21–22

21
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God will be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. ​
22
Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Genesis 48

Verse 1

thy father is sick — The news comes after Jacob's oath from Joseph, when 'the time drew nigh that Israel must die' (47:29–31). Joseph takes 'his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim', born in Egypt before the famine (41:50–52), in the order of birth; the blessing of vv.9–20 is for them.

Verse 3

God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz — El Shaddai, the name of God in 17:1 and 35:11. Luz is the old name of the city of Bethel (28:19; 35:6). Jacob quotes the promise of 35:11 in v.4: 'I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people'.

Verse 5

are mine; as Reuben and Simeon — Jacob takes Ephraim and Manasseh as sons, so that they stand beside his first two, Reuben and Simeon (46:8; 29:32–33). Reuben's birthright 'was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel' (1 Chr 5:1), and 'the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim' (Josh 14:4).

Verse 7

Rachel died by me — The account is in 35:16–19: she died on the way, 'and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem'. Rachel was Joseph's mother, so the two boys are her grandsons. Matthew sets 'Rachel weeping for her children' beside the children of Bethlehem (Matt 2:16–18).

Verse 9

whom God hath given me in this place — Joseph says what Jacob told Esau of his own children: 'The children which God hath graciously given thy servant' (33:5). Barak, to bless, is the act Jacob now asks to perform. Heb 11:21 records it: 'By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph.'

Verse 10

the eyes of Israel were dim for age — 'Dim' is kabad, to be heavy: his eyes are weighed down by age. Isaac's eyes had also failed when he blessed his sons (27:1), though a different word is used there. Jacob 'kissed' and 'embraced' the boys as Isaac had kissed him (27:27).

Verse 14

guiding his hands wittingly — Sakal, to act with understanding or insight. Joseph had set Manasseh by Israel's right hand (v.13), yet Jacob lays the right hand on Ephraim 'who was the younger'. The elder serving the younger is the pattern of 25:23; later God says, 'Ephraim is my firstborn' (Jer 31:9).

Verse 15

before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk — To walk before God is the charge of 17:1, 'walk before me, and be thou perfect'. 'Fed' is ra'ah, to shepherd, and Jacob, a shepherd, says that God shepherded him 'all my life long unto this day'; in 49:24 he is called 'the shepherd, the stone of Israel'.

Verse 16

The Angel which redeemed me — Ga'al, to redeem as a near kinsman. The Angel who spoke to Jacob in a dream said, 'I am the God of Bethel' (31:11–13), and here he stands alongside 'God' in one blessing. 'Grow into a multitude' is dagah, a verb drawn from the word for fish, to teem; it occurs only here.

Verse 17

it displeased him — Joseph 'held up' (tamak, to take hold of) his father's hand to move it from Ephraim to Manasseh. In v.18 he says, 'Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn'. He had placed the sons so that the right hand would fall on Manasseh (v.13).

Verse 19

I know it, my son, I know it — Jacob refuses, repeating the verb yada, to know. Manasseh will be 'a people' and 'great', but Ephraim's seed 'a multitude of nations', literally 'the fulness of nations' (melo). Moses blesses both in these terms: 'the ten thousands of Ephraim, and… the thousands of Manasseh' (Deut 33:17).

Verse 20

In thee shall Israel bless — Israel will use the two as a form of blessing: 'God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh'. Other houses are blessed by name in the same way (Ruth 4:11–12). 'He set Ephraim before Manasseh', and Ephraim is named first in the tribal census (Num 1:32, 34).

Verse 21

Behold, I die: but God shall be with you — 'You' is plural: the promise reaches Joseph's house and all Israel. 'Bring you again' is shub, to return. Joseph repeats the pattern at his own death: 'I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land' (50:24); by faith he gave 'commandment concerning his bones' (Heb 11:22).

Verse 22

one portion above thy brethren — Shekem is the word behind 'portion', and the name of Shechem, where Jacob bought a field from the sons of Hamor (33:19). Joseph's bones were buried there 'in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought' (Josh 24:32); in John 4:5 it is 'the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph'.