Genesis 48

Introduction

Genesis 48 records one of the most significant acts of the patriarchal period: Jacob's adoption and blessing of Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. On his deathbed, the aged patriarch claims these Egyptian-born grandsons as his own, giving them equal status with his twelve sons. In doing so, he effectively grants Joseph a double portion — the right of the firstborn — and ensures that Joseph's descendants will become two tribes rather than one.

The chapter's most dramatic moment comes when Jacob deliberately crosses his hands, placing his right hand (the hand of the greater blessing) on the head of the younger son Ephraim rather than the firstborn Manasseh. When Joseph protests, Jacob insists: "I know, my son, I know." This reversal of birth order is a pattern that runs through all of Genesis — Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over his older brothers, and now Ephraim over Manasseh. God's election does not follow human convention but his own sovereign purposes. The chapter also contains one of the most beautiful prayers in the Old Testament, as Jacob invokes "the God who has been my shepherd all my life" and "the angel who has redeemed me from all harm" to bless the boys.

Jacob Adopts Joseph's Sons (vv. 1-7)

¹ Some time later Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed. ³ Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me ⁴ and told me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.' ⁵ And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ⁶ Any children born to you after them shall be yours, and they shall be called by the names of their brothers in the territory they inherit. ⁷ Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).

¹ After these things, Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is ill." So he took his two sons with him — Manasseh and Ephraim. ² When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. ³ Jacob said to Joseph, "El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me ⁴ and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make you an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your offspring after you as an everlasting possession.' ⁵ And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt — they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶ But your offspring whom you father after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died — to my sorrow — in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).

Notes

וַיִּתְחַזֵּק יִשְׂרָאֵל ("Israel strengthened himself") — The Hitpael of חָזַק ("to be strong") means to summon one's strength, to rally. The dying man gathers himself for this act of covenantal significance. The text uses "Israel" — the covenant name — not "Jacob," signaling that what follows is a patriarchal act with lasting consequences.
אֵל שַׁדַּי ("God Almighty") — Jacob recalls the theophany at Luz/Bethel (Genesis 35:9-12), where God renewed the Abrahamic promises of fruitfulness, nationhood, and land. By reciting these promises, Jacob grounds his adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh in the covenant — they are not receiving a personal gift but entering the covenant family.
לִי הֵם ("they are mine") — With these two words, Jacob formally adopts Joseph's sons. כִּרְאוּבֵן וְשִׁמְעוֹן יִהְיוּ לִי ("as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine") means Ephraim and Manasseh will receive tribal inheritance equal to Jacob's own sons. This effectively gives Joseph a double portion — the right of the firstborn that Reuben forfeited (1 Chronicles 5:1-2).
The mention of Rachel's death (v. 7) seems at first disconnected, but it is deeply relevant. Rachel was Jacob's beloved wife; Joseph was Rachel's firstborn. By adopting Joseph's sons, Jacob honors Rachel's memory and ensures her line receives the double blessing. The memory of Rachel, who died in childbirth on the road to Ephrath (Genesis 35:16-19), still moves Jacob decades later.

The Blessing with Crossed Hands (vv. 8-14)

⁸ When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?" ⁹ Joseph said to his father, "They are the sons God has given me in this place." So Jacob said, "Please bring them to me, that I may bless them." ¹⁰ Now Israel's eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ "I never expected to see your face again," Israel said to Joseph, "but now God has let me see your children as well." ¹² Then Joseph removed his sons from his father's knees and bowed facedown. ¹³ And Joseph took both of them — with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand — and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh's head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

⁸ When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he said, "Who are these?" ⁹ Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." He said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." ¹⁰ Now the eyes of Israel were heavy with age — he could not see. Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, and now God has shown me your offspring as well." ¹² Joseph removed them from between his knees and bowed with his face to the ground. ¹³ Joseph took both of them — Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right — and brought them near to him. ¹⁴ But Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim — the younger — and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

Notes

וְעֵינֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כָּבְדוּ מִזֹּקֶן ("the eyes of Israel were heavy with age") — The verb כָּבֵד ("to be heavy") recalls Isaac, whose eyes were also dim when he blessed Jacob (Genesis 27:1). But whereas Isaac's blindness led to an accidental reversal (blessing the wrong son), Jacob's dim sight leads to a deliberate one. Jacob can barely see — but he sees with the eyes of prophetic discernment what Joseph, with perfect vision, cannot.
מֵעִם בִּרְכָּיו ("from between his knees") — The boys had been placed on or between Jacob's knees, a gesture of formal adoption in the ancient world (cf. Genesis 30:3, where Rachel places Bilhah's children on her knees). Joseph removes them to reposition them for the blessing, placing Manasseh (the firstborn) at Jacob's right hand — the position of honor.
שִׂכֵּל אֶת יָדָיו ("crossing his hands") — The Piel of שָׂכַל means "to act with insight, to do wisely/deliberately." The KJV renders it beautifully: "guiding his hands wittingly." Jacob's hand-crossing is not fumbling — it is prophetic intentionality. He deliberately places the right hand of primary blessing on the younger son's head.

Jacob's Blessing and Joseph's Protest (vv. 15-20)

¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said: "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, ¹⁶ the angel who has redeemed me from all harm — may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth." ¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, he was displeased and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's. ¹⁸ "Not so, my father!" Joseph said. "This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head." ¹⁹ But his father refused. "I know, my son, I know!" he said. "He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations." ²⁰ So that day Jacob blessed them and said: "By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

¹⁵ He blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has shepherded me all my life to this day, ¹⁶ the angel who has redeemed me from all evil — may he bless the boys. May my name be called upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they multiply greatly in the midst of the earth." ¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was displeasing in his eyes, and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ 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, "I know, my son, I know. He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great. But his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become the fullness of the nations." ²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you shall Israel bless, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.'" And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

Notes

Jacob's blessing (vv. 15-16) is a trinitarian-structured prayer addressing three figures: (1) הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר הִתְהַלְּכוּ אֲבֹתַי לְפָנָיו ("the God before whom my fathers walked") — the God of covenant history; (2) הָאֱלֹהִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי ("the God who has shepherded me") — the God of personal care; (3) הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי ("the angel who has redeemed me") — the divine messenger of deliverance. The word רֹעֶה ("shepherd") is the first time in Scripture that God is explicitly called a shepherd — a metaphor that will flower in Psalm 23 and John 10.
הַגֹּאֵל ("the redeemer") — The participle of גָּאַל identifies the angel as a גֹּאֵל — a kinsman-redeemer, one who rescues a family member from danger, debt, or death. This is the same term that will later define Boaz's role in Ruth (Ruth 3:12) and God's role as Israel's redeemer (Isaiah 41:14). That Jacob places "the angel who redeems" in parallel with "God" has led many interpreters to identify this angel with the preincarnate Christ or the Angel of the LORD.
וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב ("may they multiply greatly") — The verb דָּגָה is unique in the Hebrew Bible, derived from דָּג ("fish"). It literally means "may they swarm like fish" — a vivid image of abundant multiplication. Some translations render it "grow into a multitude," but the fish-imagery is striking and deliberate.
וְזַרְעוֹ יִהְיֶה מְלֹא הַגּוֹיִם ("his offspring shall become the fullness of the nations") — The phrase מְלֹא הַגּוֹיִם is theologically rich. Paul appears to echo it in Romans 11:25, where he speaks of the πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν ("the fullness of the Gentiles"). Whether Paul intentionally alludes to this passage is debated, but the verbal parallel is striking.
יָדַעְתִּי בְנִי יָדַעְתִּי ("I know, my son, I know") — Jacob's double assertion to Joseph is emphatic. He is not confused by his dim eyesight — he is acting with prophetic certainty. The father who was himself the younger son who supplanted his elder brother now bestows the greater blessing on the younger grandson. But unlike Jacob's own experience, where the blessing was obtained through deception (Genesis 27), this reversal is open, deliberate, and prophetic.
The blessing formula of v. 20 — "May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh" — has become the traditional Jewish blessing spoken by parents over their sons on Shabbat eve, still recited in Jewish homes to this day. It is the only patriarchal blessing that has become a living liturgical practice.

Jacob's Final Words to Joseph (vv. 21-22)

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, "Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²² And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow."

²¹ Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²² And I give to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow."

Notes

וְהָיָה אֱלֹהִים עִמָּכֶם וְהֵשִׁיב אֶתְכֶם ("God will be with you and will bring you back") — Jacob's promise echoes God's own promise to him at Beersheba (Genesis 46:4). The verb is plural ("you" plural) — Jacob speaks not just to Joseph but to all his descendants. The promise of return from Egypt to Canaan anticipates the exodus by centuries.
שְׁכֶם אַחַד עַל אַחֶיךָ ("one portion above your brothers") — The word שְׁכֶם means both "shoulder/ridge/portion" and is the name of the city Shechem. The wordplay is intentional: Jacob gives Joseph one "shechem" — a portion of land, likely the Shechem region — as an extra inheritance "above" (beyond) his brothers. This land grant is fulfilled in Joshua 24:32, where Joseph's bones are buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased.
The reference to taking the land "with my sword and my bow" is puzzling, as the only military action at Shechem in Genesis was the massacre carried out by Simeon and Levi, which Jacob condemned (Genesis 34:30, Genesis 49:5-7). Some interpreters suggest Jacob refers to a separate, unrecorded conflict with the Amorites. Others take it as a prophetic statement — Jacob claims the land prospectively, confident that God will secure it for his descendants. The passage may also be translated "which I will take" (treating the perfect as prophetic).