Genesis48

Jacob, on his deathbed, adopts Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own, granting them full tribal inheritance. Despite Joseph's attempt to guide his hands, Jacob deliberately blesses the younger Ephraim with the greater blessing, prophesying his future prominence. He also reassures Joseph that God will return his descendants to the promised land.

Joseph Visits Jacob; The Adoption Declared

Awhile later someone told Yosef that his father was ill. He took with him his two sons, M'nasheh and Efrayim.

Ya'akov was told, "Here comes your son Yosef."Isra'el gathered his strength and sat up in bed.

Ya'akov said to Yosef, "El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kena'an and blessed me,

saying 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.'

Now 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.

The children born to you after them will be yours, but for purposes of inheritance they are to be counted with their older brothers.

"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)."

Then Isra'el noticed Yosef's sons and asked, "Whose are these?"

Yosef 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."

Now 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.

Isra'el said to Yosef, "I never expected to see even you again, but God has allowed me to see your children too!"

The Patriarchal Blessing

Yosef brought them out from between his legs and prostrated himself on the ground.

Then 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.

But 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.

Then 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,

the 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."

When 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.

Yosef 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."

But 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."

Then 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.

Jacob's Final Prophecy and Gift

Isra'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.

Moreover, 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."

Study Notes for Genesis 48

Verse 1

Setting the scene for Jacob's final acts and the formalization of the covenant lineage before his death. Joseph brings his two sons, who will become the progenitors of two distinct tribes in Israel.

Verse 3

Jacob grounds his authority for the adoption in the covenant God made with him at Luz (Bethel, Gen 28, 35). This emphasizes that the expansion of the family is part of the divine plan.

Verse 5

This formal declaration elevates Ephraim and Manasseh to the status of Jacob’s direct sons, alongside Reuben and Simeon. This act grants Joseph the double portion of the inheritance, justifying his two tribes within Israel.

Verse 7

Jacob recalls Rachel's death, perhaps underscoring the pain associated with Canaan but reaffirming his commitment to the land where she was buried, even while preparing to die in Egypt.

Verse 9

Jacob, acting as the covenant patriarch, prepares to confer divine blessing, a key function in the generational transmission of the Abrahamic promises.

Verse 10

Jacob’s dim sight emphasizes that his subsequent action of crossing his hands (v. 14) was deliberate, guided by prophetic insight rather than accidental error.

Verse 14

Jacob deliberately crosses his hands, placing the right hand (the hand of superior blessing) upon the younger son. This echoes the consistent biblical pattern of God choosing the younger over the elder (e.g., Isaac, Jacob, David).

Verse 15

The blessing invokes God in three aspects: the covenant God of the fathers, the God of personal providence ('fed me all my life long'), and the redeeming Angel.

Verse 16

The 'Angel which redeemed me from all evil' is likely the Angel of the Lord (a manifestation of God), emphasizing the intimate and active protection God provided throughout Jacob's life struggles.

Verse 17

Joseph attempts to uphold the cultural standard of primogeniture, believing his father made a mistake, highlighting the significance tied to the right hand in bestowing inheritance.

Verse 19

Jacob asserts his divinely inspired knowledge ('I know it, my son, I know it'), confirming that the elevation of the younger son, Ephraim, is intentional and prophetic, foreshadowing Ephraim’s greater influence in Israel’s future.

Verse 20

This verse confirms the prophetic weight of Jacob’s action, establishing Ephraim and Manasseh as standard figures of blessing within Israel’s liturgical language.

Verse 21

Jacob reaffirms the core covenant promise: God will be with his descendants and bring them back to the land of Canaan, providing hope and purpose despite their current residence in Egypt.

Verse 22

The 'one portion above thy brethren' refers to the special double inheritance Joseph received through his two sons. The reference to taking land 'with my sword and with my bow' likely refers to the parcel of land near Shechem (Gen 33:19) that required defense.

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Genesis48

Joseph Visits Jacob; The Adoption Declared

The Patriarchal Blessing

Jacob's Final Prophecy and Gift

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