Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons(A)

48 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, (B)Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel [a]strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God (C)Almighty appeared to me at (D)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will (E)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and (F)give this land to your descendants after you (G)as an everlasting possession.’ And now your (H)two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your [b]offspring [c]whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. But as for me, when I came from Padan, (I)Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and (J)I will bless them.” 10 Now (K)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he (L)kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, (M)“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and (N)laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, (O)guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the (P)firstborn. 15 And (Q)he blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, (R)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel (S)who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let (T)my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them (U)grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

17 Now when Joseph saw that his father (V)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, (W)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly (X)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

20 So he blessed them that day, saying, (Y)“By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but (Z)God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover (AA)I have given to you one [d]portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand (AB)of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 48:2 Collected his strength
  2. Genesis 48:6 children
  3. Genesis 48:6 Who are born to you
  4. Genesis 48:22 Lit. shoulder

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim(A) along with him. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel(B) rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty[a](C) appeared to me at Luz(D) in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me(E) and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.(F) I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land(G) as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’(H)

“Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt(I) before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,(J) just as Reuben(K) and Simeon(L) are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. As I was returning from Paddan,[b](M) to my sorrow(N) Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).(O)

When Israel(P) saw the sons of Joseph,(Q) he asked, “Who are these?”

“They are the sons God has given me here,”(R) Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless(S) them.”

10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.(T) So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them(U) and embraced them.(V)

11 Israel(W) said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,(X) and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”(Y)

12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees(Z) and bowed down with his face to the ground.(AA) 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,(AB) and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel(AC) reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,(AD) though he was the younger,(AE) and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.(AF)

15 Then he blessed(AG) Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,(AH)
the God who has been my shepherd(AI)
    all my life to this day,
16 the Angel(AJ) who has delivered me from all harm(AK)
    —may he bless(AL) these boys.(AM)
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,(AN)
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.”(AO)

17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand(AP) on Ephraim’s head(AQ) he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”(AR)

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.(AS) Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,(AT) and his descendants will become a group of nations.(AU) 20 He blessed(AV) them that day(AW) and said,

“In your[c] name will Israel(AX) pronounce this blessing:(AY)
    ‘May God make you like Ephraim(AZ) and Manasseh.(BA)’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you[d](BB) and take you[e] back to the land of your[f] fathers.(BC) 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land[g](BD) than to your brothers,(BE) the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword(BF) and my bow.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  2. Genesis 48:7 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  3. Genesis 48:20 The Hebrew is singular.
  4. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  5. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  6. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  7. Genesis 48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem.

28 (A)The sons of Joseph according to their families, by Manasseh and Ephraim, were: 29 The sons of (B)Manasseh: of (C)Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir begot Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. 30 These are the sons of Gilead: of [a]Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; 31 of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; 32 of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 33 Now (D)Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 34 These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

35 These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthalhites; of [b]Becher, the family of the Bachrites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. 36 And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. 37 These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them: thirty-two thousand five hundred.

These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.

Read full chapter

28 The descendants of Joseph(A) by their clans through Manasseh and Ephraim(B) were:

29 The descendants of Manasseh:(C)

through Makir,(D) the Makirite clan (Makir was the father of Gilead(E));

through Gilead, the Gileadite clan.

30 These were the descendants of Gilead:(F)

through Iezer,(G) the Iezerite clan;

through Helek, the Helekite clan;

31 through Asriel, the Asrielite clan;

through Shechem, the Shechemite clan;

32 through Shemida, the Shemidaite clan;

through Hepher, the Hepherite clan.

33 (Zelophehad(H) son of Hepher had no sons;(I) he had only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah.)(J)

34 These were the clans of Manasseh; those numbered were 52,700.(K)

35 These were the descendants of Ephraim(L) by their clans:

through Shuthelah, the Shuthelahite clan;

through Beker, the Bekerite clan;

through Tahan, the Tahanite clan.

36 These were the descendants of Shuthelah:

through Eran, the Eranite clan.

37 These were the clans of Ephraim;(M) those numbered were 32,500.

These were the descendants of Joseph by their clans.

Read full chapter

13 And of Joseph he said:

(A)“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the (B)dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of (C)the ancient mountains,
With the precious things (D)of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of (E)Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come (F)‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a (G)firstborn bull,
And his horns like the (H)horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
(I)He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
(J)They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

Read full chapter

13 About Joseph(A) he said:

“May the Lord bless his land
    with the precious dew from heaven above
    and with the deep waters that lie below;(B)
14 with the best the sun brings forth
    and the finest the moon can yield;
15 with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains(C)
    and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
    and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush.(D)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among[a] his brothers.(E)
17 In majesty he is like a firstborn bull;
    his horns(F) are the horns of a wild ox.(G)
With them he will gore(H) the nations,
    even those at the ends of the earth.
Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim;(I)
    such are the thousands of Manasseh.(J)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:16 Or of the one separated from

15 And I will cast you out of My sight, (A)as I have cast out all your brethren—(B)the whole posterity of Ephraim.

Read full chapter

15 I will thrust you from my presence,(A) just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’(B)

Read full chapter

19 The [a]South (A)shall possess the mountains of Esau,
(B)And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim
And the fields of Samaria.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:19 Heb. Negev

19 People from the Negev will occupy
    the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
    the land of the Philistines.(A)
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,(B)
    and Benjamin(C) will possess Gilead.

Read full chapter