American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Genesis 48
1
And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, your father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2
And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, your son Joseph comes to you: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat on the bed.
3
And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
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4
And said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people; and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.
Reference
Eternal Life
Genesis 17:8
Genesis 17:13
Parallel theme
Genesis 35:11
Exodus 1:7
Genesis 47:27
Genesis 12:2
Genesis 28:3
Genesis 22:17
Genesis 32:12
Genesis 26:4
5
And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
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6
And your issue, which you beget after them, shall be yours, and shall be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
7
And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
Reference
📍 Paddan
8
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
9
And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray you, to me, and I will bless them.
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10
Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
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11
And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see your face: and, see, God has showed me also your seed.
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12
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
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Parallel theme
Genesis 42:6
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 to him.
14
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
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Parallel theme
Genesis 41:51
15
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long to this day,
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16
The Angel which 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 middle of the earth.
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17
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.
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Parallel theme
Genesis 48:14
18
And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on 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: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
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20
And he blessed them that day, saying, In you shall Israel bless, saying, God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
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21
And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
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Summary of Genesis 48
Genesis chapter forty-eight is a touching scene of blessing by Jacob who formally adopts his two grandsons and, again, prefers the younger over the older yet another time and in yet another way in his long and eventful life.
The chapter begins with Joseph being informed that his father is sick and so he brings his two sons to his father. When Jacob hears his son's sons have arrived, he summons all his strength and rises to meet them. He tells Joseph how God Almighty appeared to him at Luz in the land of Canaan, blessing him and promising to make him fruitful and multiply his seed, making it a company of peoples and giving him this land as an everlasting possession. Jacob has finally passed on to Joseph the blessing he received from God Almighty when he left Bethel many years ago.
Jacob then formally adopts Joseph's sons, claiming them as his own. Now then, Jacob declares, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine, as well as Reuben and Simeon. Ephraim and Manasseh have been elevated to the level of the tribes, virtually giving Joseph two shares of his father's share of the Promised Land since Joseph himself is the favored one who saved all his brothers including the sons of the favored one who had to wait until his sons had reached maturity before he fathered Joseph.
Any children born to Joseph after the two sons shall belong to Joseph, but the share of Ephraim and Manasseh shall be reckoned as of the children of Ephraim, Jacob said.
In the meantime, Jacob relates how Rachel died: as I was returning from Paddan, he says, Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. He had to pass by that very place Rachel died, and she was Rachel, his beloved wife who bore him Joseph many years after their marriage, but Joseph was the beloved son whom he preferred to his sons born of his marriage to Leah, and this beloved son now comes with his beloved sons and Rachel's grandsons, who have been the reason for his old heart to beat faster, so full was he of joy as he blessed these grandsons of his who were born in Egypt before he saw them.
Israel then notices Joseph's sons and asks who they are as his eyesight fails him with advancing old age. Joseph replies that these are the sons God has given him here, and so Israel asks to see them brought close so he can bless them. Israel kisses and hugs them and tells Joseph he did not expect to see his face again, nor did he expect to see his children's faces.
Joseph takes the boys from his father's knees and bows his face to the ground. He then carefully places Ephraim, the younger son, on his left towards Israel's right hand, and Manasseh, the firstborn, on his right towards Israel's left hand, according to the customary blessings where the firstborn would be blessed by the right hand of the father.
But Israel crossed his hands and put his right hand on Ephraim's head, the younger son, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, the firstborn. Joseph was displeased and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head, saying, not so, my father, but this one is the firstborn, so put thou thy right hand on his head. But his father refused saying, I know, my son, I know, for he also shall become a people and he also shall become great, but nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he and his descendants shall become a group of nations.
This has been a frequent occurrence in the life of this great patriarch Jacob-Israel, preferring the younger over the older, going back generation after generation, beginning with Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau, and again with Joseph over his brothers and now Ephraim over Manasseh, his firstborn son. Israel blesses them on that day, and in future blessings he uses their names, saying, may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh, and in doing so, he placed Ephraim before Manasseh, which made a great difference in the status of the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh among the people of Israel, who lived in the Promised Land that was given to his sons.
Jacob then turns to Joseph to speak personally to him: I am about to die, he says, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. In addition to the share of the land he has given to his sons, Jacob gives Joseph a ridge of land near Shechem that he took from the Amorites with his sword and bow, a share meant for Joseph alone, not shared with his brothers.
What a beautiful chapter this is with its blend of formal blessings and personal love for Joseph and his sons and Joseph's sons, recalling personal memories of his beloved Rachel who died suddenly and painfully in childbirth but whose sons, Joseph's sons, are dear to him and to Joseph as well, as well as to Israel who again prefers the younger over the older, not for the first time but again with full knowledge and intent.
The chapter begins with Joseph being informed that his father is sick and so he brings his two sons to his father. When Jacob hears his son's sons have arrived, he summons all his strength and rises to meet them. He tells Joseph how God Almighty appeared to him at Luz in the land of Canaan, blessing him and promising to make him fruitful and multiply his seed, making it a company of peoples and giving him this land as an everlasting possession. Jacob has finally passed on to Joseph the blessing he received from God Almighty when he left Bethel many years ago.
Jacob then formally adopts Joseph's sons, claiming them as his own. Now then, Jacob declares, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine, as well as Reuben and Simeon. Ephraim and Manasseh have been elevated to the level of the tribes, virtually giving Joseph two shares of his father's share of the Promised Land since Joseph himself is the favored one who saved all his brothers including the sons of the favored one who had to wait until his sons had reached maturity before he fathered Joseph.
Any children born to Joseph after the two sons shall belong to Joseph, but the share of Ephraim and Manasseh shall be reckoned as of the children of Ephraim, Jacob said.
In the meantime, Jacob relates how Rachel died: as I was returning from Paddan, he says, Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. He had to pass by that very place Rachel died, and she was Rachel, his beloved wife who bore him Joseph many years after their marriage, but Joseph was the beloved son whom he preferred to his sons born of his marriage to Leah, and this beloved son now comes with his beloved sons and Rachel's grandsons, who have been the reason for his old heart to beat faster, so full was he of joy as he blessed these grandsons of his who were born in Egypt before he saw them.
Israel then notices Joseph's sons and asks who they are as his eyesight fails him with advancing old age. Joseph replies that these are the sons God has given him here, and so Israel asks to see them brought close so he can bless them. Israel kisses and hugs them and tells Joseph he did not expect to see his face again, nor did he expect to see his children's faces.
Joseph takes the boys from his father's knees and bows his face to the ground. He then carefully places Ephraim, the younger son, on his left towards Israel's right hand, and Manasseh, the firstborn, on his right towards Israel's left hand, according to the customary blessings where the firstborn would be blessed by the right hand of the father.
But Israel crossed his hands and put his right hand on Ephraim's head, the younger son, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, the firstborn. Joseph was displeased and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head, saying, not so, my father, but this one is the firstborn, so put thou thy right hand on his head. But his father refused saying, I know, my son, I know, for he also shall become a people and he also shall become great, but nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he and his descendants shall become a group of nations.
This has been a frequent occurrence in the life of this great patriarch Jacob-Israel, preferring the younger over the older, going back generation after generation, beginning with Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau, and again with Joseph over his brothers and now Ephraim over Manasseh, his firstborn son. Israel blesses them on that day, and in future blessings he uses their names, saying, may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh, and in doing so, he placed Ephraim before Manasseh, which made a great difference in the status of the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh among the people of Israel, who lived in the Promised Land that was given to his sons.
Jacob then turns to Joseph to speak personally to him: I am about to die, he says, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. In addition to the share of the land he has given to his sons, Jacob gives Joseph a ridge of land near Shechem that he took from the Amorites with his sword and bow, a share meant for Joseph alone, not shared with his brothers.
What a beautiful chapter this is with its blend of formal blessings and personal love for Joseph and his sons and Joseph's sons, recalling personal memories of his beloved Rachel who died suddenly and painfully in childbirth but whose sons, Joseph's sons, are dear to him and to Joseph as well, as well as to Israel who again prefers the younger over the older, not for the first time but again with full knowledge and intent.