Genesis
Chapter 48
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
Sometime later, when Joseph was informed that his father was ill, he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
So they told Jacob that Joseph, his son, had come. Then Israel, mustering his strength, sat up in bed.
And he said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me
saying, ‘I will make you fruitful and increase your number, and I will make of you a group of nations, and I will give this land to you and your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’
From now on, your two sons who were born in Egypt, before I came to you here, are mine! Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
Only the children born after them will be yours, and the land they inherit shall be known by the names of Ephraim and Manasseh.
When I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died on the journey at some distance from Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem.”
When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked: “Who are these?”
Joseph told his father: “They are the sons that God has given me here.” Jacob said: “Bring them to me that I may bless them.”
As Israel’s eyes were dim with age, he could no longer see. When Jacob brought them near, he kissed and embraced them,
and said to Joseph: “I didn’t expect to see you again and now God is letting me see your children as well!”
Joseph lifted them from Israel’s knees, and he himself bowed low, his face to the ground.
Joseph then took them both, placing Ephraim by his right hand to Israel’s left, and Manasseh by his left hand to Israel’s right.
Israel raised his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger, and placed his left hand on Manasseh’s head even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
Then he blessed Joseph and said:“May the God in whose presence my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd from my birth to this day,
the angel who has saved me from every evil, bless these boys. And in them may my name live on and that of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. And may they increase greatly on the earth!”
Joseph was displeased when he saw his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So he took his father’s hand from Ephraim’s head to place it on Manasseh
and said: “Not like that, father, for this one is the elder. Place your right hand on his head.”
But his father refused and said: “I know, my son, I know; he too will be great and become a nation. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”
He blessed them that day with the words: “Through you, Israel will bestow this blessing: May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!”So he placed Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
Then Israel said to Joseph: “I am going to die. God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
And to you, over and above what goes to your brothers, I give a mountain slope that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
Commentaries
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh.
One final act of Jacob before his death is to incorporate his two grandsons into the list of his sons, in his own words, to replace Reuben and Simeon, who will soon fade away. Since these events are not a “historical” chronicle in the modern sense, they are actually a theologized interpretation of history and the experiences of the northern tribes, which attributed their origin to the patriarch Joseph: the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. Historically, it was perhaps the tribe of Ephraim, or at least a portion of it, that managed to survive the destruction of the northern kingdom (cf. Hos 5:3,5,11,13). Hence, this projection into the past highlights the scene where Jacob prefers the younger over the elder, a theme that has, among other things, recurred throughout patriarchal histories. The scene concludes with Jacob reminding Joseph that his home and land is Canaan, Shechem, and not Egypt (22), along with his declaration of confidence that God himself will accompany them in their future return (21).