Genesis 48
48
1And it cometh to pass, after these things, that [one] saith to Joseph, ‘Lo, thy father is sick;’ and he taketh his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2And [one] declareth to Jacob, and saith, ‘Lo, thy son Joseph is coming unto thee;’ and Israel doth strengthen himself, and sit upon the bed.
3And Jacob saith unto Joseph, ‘God Almighty hath appeared unto me, in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blesseth me,
4and saith unto me, Lo, I am making thee fruitful, and have multiplied thee, and given thee for an assembly of peoples, and given this land to thy seed after thee, a possession age-during.
5‘And now, thy two sons, who are born to thee in the land of Egypt, before my coming unto thee to Egypt, mine they [are]; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon they are mine;
6and thy family which thou hast begotten after them are thine; by the name of their brethren they are called in their inheritance.
7‘And I — in my coming in from Padan-[Aram] Rachel hath died by me in the land of Canaan, in the way, while yet a kibrath of land to enter Ephrata, and I bury her there in the way of Ephrata, which [is] Bethlehem.’
8And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph, and saith, ‘Who [are] these?’
9and Joseph saith unto his father, ‘They [are] my sons, whom God hath given to me in this [place];’ and he saith, ‘Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I bless them.’
10And the eyes of Israel have been heavy from age, he is unable to see; and he bringeth them nigh unto him, and he kisseth them, and cleaveth to them;
11and Israel saith unto Joseph, ‘To see thy face I had not thought, and lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.’
12And Joseph bringeth them out from between his knees, and boweth himself on his face to the earth;
13and Joseph taketh them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left towards Israel's right, and bringeth [them] nigh to him.
14And Israel putteth out his right hand, and placeth [it] upon the head of Ephraim, who [is] the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh; he hath guided his hands wisely, for Manasseh [is] the first-born.
15And he blesseth Joseph, and saith, ‘God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked habitually: God who is feeding me from my being unto this day:
16the Messenger who is redeeming me from all evil doth bless the youths, and my name is called upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and they increase into a multitude in the midst of the land.’
17And Joseph seeth that his father setteth his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it is wrong in his eyes, and he supporteth the hand of his father to turn it aside from off the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh;
18and Joseph saith unto his father, ‘Not so, my father, for this [is] the first-born; set thy right hand on his head.’
19And his father refuseth, and saith, ‘I have known, my son, I have known; he also becometh a people, and he also is great, and yet, his young brother is greater than he, and his seed is the fulness of the nations;’
20and he blesseth them in that day, saying, ‘By thee doth Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh;’ and he setteth Ephraim before Manasseh.
21And Israel saith unto Joseph, ‘Lo, I am dying, and God hath been with you, and hath brought you back unto the land of your fathers;
22and I — I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my sword and by my bow.’
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Genesis 48: YLT98
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Genesis 48
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, North-west 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 that 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 towards Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left towards 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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