# Genesis 48 📖: Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Genesis Overview]] | [[Genesis 47]] | [[Genesis 49]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Manasseh and Ephraim [[#Verse 01.]] After these things Joseph was told, “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. [[#Verse 02.]] When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has just come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed. [[#Verse 03.]] Jacob said to Joseph, “The Sovereign God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. [[#Verse 04.]] He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and will multiply you. I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.’ [[#Verse 05.]] “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are.  [[#Verse 06.]] Any children that you father after them will be yours; they will be listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance.  [[#Verse 07.]] But as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died—to my sorrow—in the land of Canaan. It happened along the way, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem). [[#Verse 08.]] When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these?” [[#Verse 09.]] Joseph said to his father, “They are the sons God has given me in this place.” His father said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”  [[#Verse 10.]] Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph brought his sons near to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.  [[#Verse 11.]] Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, but now God has allowed me to see your children too.” [[#Verse 12.]] So Joseph moved them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.  [[#Verse 13.]] Joseph positioned them; he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father.  [[#Verse 14.]] Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn. [[#Verse 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 long to this day, [[#Verse 16.]] the angel who has protected me from all harm— bless these boys. May my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. May they grow into a multitude on the earth.” [[#Verse 17.]] When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.  [[#Verse 18.]] Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” [[#Verse 19.]] But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”  [[#Verse 20.]] So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you will Israel bless, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. [[#Verse 21.]] Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.  [[#Verse 22.]] As one who is above your brothers, I give to you the mountain slope, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Jacob adopted Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons (48:5). 2. This gave Joseph a double share through two tribes. 3. Jacob recalled Rachel's death on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem (48:7). 4. Jacob's eyes were failing with age (48:10), like his father Isaac's. 5. The right hand usually gave the greater blessing (48:13-14). 6. Again the younger is placed ahead of the older, like Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. 7. Ephraim later became the leading tribe of the northern kingdom. 8. The prophets sometimes called the northern kingdom simply "Ephraim" (Hosea 11:8). 9. Jacob speaks of "the angel" who rescued him from all harm (48:16). 10. Jacob gave Joseph an extra portion of land at Shechem (48:22), where Joseph was later buried. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Shepherd who leads His people all their lives. Jacob called God his shepherd (48:15), and Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Jacob called God his shepherd all his life (48:15). How has God shepherded you? 2. Jacob crossed his hands to put the younger first (48:14, 19). What does this teach about God's ways compared to ours? 3. Jacob never expected to see Joseph again, but God let him see Joseph's children too (48:11). Where has God given you more than you hoped for? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 11: God let Jacob see Joseph's children too. - 📖 verses 15-16: Jacob blesses the boys in the name of the God who shepherded him. - 📖 verse 19: The younger brother will be greater than the older. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[John 10#Verse 11.|John 10:11-14]] - The Good Shepherd. - 🔗 [[Hebrews 11#Verse 21.|Hebrews 11:21]] - Jacob blessed Joseph's sons by faith. - 🔗 [[Psalm 23|Psalm 23]] - The Lord is my shepherd. - 🔗 [[Hosea 11#Verse 08.|Hosea 11:8]] - How can I give you up, Ephraim? - 🔗 [[Joshua 24#Verse 32.|Joshua 24:32]] - Joseph buried at Shechem. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Genesis 48- SOAP|The Lord Is With Us, Not Just Our Heroes]] ## 📂 Internal Notes