NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 94
98 | Genesis 48:1
Manasseh and Ephraim
48
Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Ma
nasseh and Ephraim r along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has
come to you,” Israel rallied his s trength and sat up on the bed.
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty a appeared to me at Luz s in the land of Canaan,
and there he blessed me t 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase
your numbers. u I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an
everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’
5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt v before I came to you here will be
reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, w just as Reuben and Simeon
are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they in
herit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7 As I was returning from
Paddan, b to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were s till on the way,
a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is,
Bethlehem). x
8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
9 “They are the sons God has given me here,” y Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless z them.”
10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. a So Joseph
brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them b and embraced them.
11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has al
lowed me to see your children too.” c
12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s k
nees and bowed down with his face to the
ground. 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand
and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s r ight hand, d and brought them c lose to him. 14 But
Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger,
and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh
was the firstborn. e
15 Then he blessed f Joseph and said,
48:1 r Ge 41:52
48:3 s Ge 28:19
t Ge 28:13; 35:9‑12
48:4 u Ge 17:6
48:5 v Ge 41:50-52;
46:20 w 1Ch 5:1;
Jos 14:4
48:7 x Ge 35:19
48:9 y Ge 33:5
z Ge 27:4
48:10 a Ge 27:1
b Ge 27:27
48:11 c Ge 50:23;
Ps 128:6
48:13 d Ps 110:1
48:14 e Ge 41:51
48:15 f Ge 17:1
g Ge 49:24
48:16 h Heb 11:21
i Ge 28:13
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
the God who has been my shepherd g
all my life to this day,
16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
— may he bless these boys. h
May they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, i
and may they increase greatly
on the earth.”
a 3 Hebrew
El-Shaddai b 7 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
48:1 – 22 Manasseh and Ephraim. Near-
ing death, Jacob blesses all of his sons. He
begins with Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh
and Ephraim, before proceeding to bless
his own children (49:1 – 28). Although these
deathbed blessings all occur at the same
time, Joseph’s sons are distinguished from
everyone else. They are the only grandchil-
dren Jacob blesses, and Jacob bestows on
Ephraim, not Manasseh, the blessing of
the firstborn. The unique lineage that runs
throughout Genesis continues through
Ephraim and his descendants. This line later
includes Joshua (1 Chr 7:20,27), who leads
the Israelites into the promised land. Only
in the time of David does God reject the
Ephraimite line due to its sinfulness and re-
place it with one linked to the tribe o