NOTES for Gen 48:1-22
1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told 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 multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. |
5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. |
6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren 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 unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem. |
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 in this place. 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 shewed me also thy seed. |
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 firstborn. |
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 unto this day, |
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 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 firstborn; 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: but truly 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 shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. |
21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall 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. |
Hide
With the blessing of Joseph's children, the same thing happens that once happened with the blessing of Jacob himself and his brother Esau: Jacob, too, received a blessing that was "not his." True, he obtained that blessing himself, and by deception, while in this case there is no deception to speak of; but the essence of the matter does not change: first place is received not by the one to whom it should have belonged according to custom and established traditions. God often breaks established traditions and human customs, perhaps also so that people will not consider either one something unshakable and coming directly from Him.
Here, incidentally, it also becomes clear how much Jacob's idea of blessing had changed compared with his father Isaac's. For Isaac it is still quite traditional, connected with equally traditional ideas about a power that can be taken or given away, but only once: what has been given away cannot be taken back. For Isaac this power is connected with the God of Abraham; He is its source, but in every other respect blessing, as Isaac understands it, differs practically not at all from a pagan one. Even if he made a mistake, even if God did not want him to give his power to Jacob instead of Esau, and Isaac could well have thought this when he discovered his mistake, nothing could be done: what is given is given. For Jacob himself, however, blessing has become first of all an act of God, while he looks at himself only as an instrument in His hands. He is only the bearer of God's power, in no sense its owner, and he passes it on only to the one whom God indicates.
No one else will be able simply to receive it, for in the final account its owner remains God, and a human being can only be a steward here, free to dispose of it only insofar as his actions do not go beyond the limits of God's plan, God's intentions, and God's will. That is why conflicts like the one that took place when Jacob obtained the blessing by deception now become impossible. And this is no surprise: Jacob really has become not simply the leader of his tribe, but also the leader of the people of God. God made Jacob what He wanted him to be.
Readings for 2 March 2026
After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free. | ||
