Genesis 48

Manasseh and Ephraim

1Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty#48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. 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 before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7As I was returning from Paddan,#48:7 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

8When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”

9“They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”

10Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

11Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”

12Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14But 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.

15Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers

Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,

the God who has been my shepherd

all my life to this day,

16the Angel who has delivered me from all harm

—may he bless these boys.

May they be called by my name

and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,

and may they increase greatly

on the earth.”

17When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” 20He blessed them that day and said,

“In your#48:20 The Hebrew is singular. name will Israel pronounce this blessing:

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. and take you#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. back to the land of your#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. fathers. 22And to you I give one more ridge of land#48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem. than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

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Genesis 48: NIV

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Genesis 48

Jacob was good to Joseph’s sons

1One day, not long after that, somebody said to Joseph, “Your father is really sick. He might die soon.”

So Joseph went to see his father Jacob. And Joseph took his 2 sons with him. Their names were Manasseh and Ephraim.

2Joseph and his sons got to Jacob’s house, and somebody went and told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come here to see you.”

Then Joseph and his sons went inside to talk to Jacob. Jacob was lying on his bed. He was really weak, so it was hard for him to move. But he really wanted to talk to Joseph, so he slowly sat up on his bed.

3Then Jacob said to Joseph, “You know, a long time ago, I saw God. He is the one that has power over everything. He came to me at the place called Luz, in Canaan country. And he promised me that he will be good to me.#Genesis 28:13-14 4He said to me, ‘I will give you lots of kids and grand-kids, so that your family will grow into lots of different tribes. And I will give them all of this country, called Canaan. They will have this country for ever.’ ”

5Then Jacob kept talking to Joseph. He said, “At that time, there will be one tribe for each of my sons, and each tribe will get part of the land. And your 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, they will get part of that land too. It’s like I’m adopting your 2 sons. There will be a tribe for Ephraim, and there will be a tribe for Manasseh, just like there will be a tribe for my son Reuben, and a tribe for my son Simeon, and for all my other sons. Your 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, they were born here in Egypt country before I came to live here. 6But if you have any other sons, they will not have their own tribes. No, their kids and grand-kids will belong to Ephraim’s tribe and Manasseh’s tribe. And their families will have some land in the land of Ephraim or Manasseh in Canaan country.”

7Jacob also said to Joseph, “I want your 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to have their own tribes and their own land, because your mother Rachel only gave me 2 sons. She had you and your brother Benjamin. And then she died, and I was really sad. At that time, we were going from Paddan Aram country to Canaan country. Your mother died in Canaan country, on the way to the town called Efrath. And I buried her body near the road that goes to Efrath.” Another name for that town is Bethlehem.#Genesis 35:16-19

Jacob made Ephraim more important than Manasseh

8-10Jacob was very old, and his eyes were weak, so he couldn’t see very well. He looked at Joseph’s 2 sons, and he said to Joseph, “Who are these 2 boys?”

Joseph said, “They are my sons, the ones that God gave me here in this country.”

Then Jacob said, “Bring them near to me. I will put my hands on them, and I will ask God to be good to them.”

So Joseph took his 2 sons near to Jacob. And Jacob hugged those 2 boys, and he kissed them on their cheeks. 11Then Jacob said to Joseph, “You know, for a really long time, I thought you were dead. But a long time later, God let me see you again. And now, he let me see your kids too.”

12Then Joseph got his 2 sons to move away from Jacob. And Joseph got down on his knees and put his face near the ground, to show respect to his father Jacob.

13Then Joseph stood up. He put his son Ephraim on his right side, and he put his son Manasseh on his left side, and he went near to Jacob with his 2 sons, so that Jacob can ask God to be good to them. Then Joseph put his younger son Ephraim in front of Jacob’s left hand, and he put his older son Manasseh in front of Jacob’s right hand. You see, in that culture, people thought that their right hand was more important than their left hand. So Joseph wanted Jacob to put his right hand on Manasseh, because he was the older son. And he wanted Jacob to put his left hand on Ephraim, because he was the younger son.

14But Jacob didn’t do that. No, he put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, even though Ephraim was the younger son. And then he crossed his left arm over his right arm, and he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the older son.

15Then Jacob asked God to be good to Joseph and his sons. Jacob said,

“God, my grand-father Abraham always lived your way, and so did my father Isaac.

God, you took care of me all my life, and you still take care of me today.

16You are the one that saved me and set me free from all the bad things that happened to me.

So now, I’m asking you to be good to these 2 boys, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Let them be just like my own sons, and give them those good things that you promised to me, and to my grand-father Abraham, and to my father Isaac.

Let them have lots of kids and grand-kids, so that their families will become a really big mob here on earth.”

17While Jacob said all those things, he had his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and he had his left hand on Manasseh’s head. But Joseph wanted Jacob to put his right hand on Manasseh, because he was the older son. So Joseph got upset, and he tried to move Jacob’s right hand from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18And Joseph said to Jacob, “Father, don’t put your right hand on my younger son’s head. Look, here is my older son. Put your right hand on his head.”

19But Jacob didn’t move his hand. He said, “No, my son. I know for sure that I’m doing the right thing. Listen, your older son will have a big family, and they will become an important tribe. But your younger son will be more important than your older son. He will have a really big family, and later on, his tribe will be really big and really important.”#Hebrews 11:21

20That’s the story about the way that Jacob made Ephraim more important than Manasseh.

Then Jacob said another good thing about Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob said to them,

“Later on, the Israel mob will always remember that God was very good to both of you. And sometimes they will say to each other,

‘I’m asking God to be good to you, just like he was good to Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”

21Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Listen, I am going to die very soon. But God will be with you and your family. Later on, he will take your family back to that country where your father and grand-fathers lived, and he will give you land there.”

22Jacob also said to Joseph, “You know, a long time ago, I fought the Amor tribe with my long knife, and with my bow and arrows. And I took a bit of their land from them. Well, I’m giving you that bit of land too. I’m not giving it to your brothers, I’m only giving it to you.”

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