New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 48
1
Some time later Joseph was told, "Your father is sick." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him.
2
Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you." So Israel became stronger and sat up in bed.
3
Jacob said to Joseph, "The Mighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me there.
Reference
4
He said to me, 'I am going to give you children. I will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of nations. And I will give this land to your children after you. It will belong to them forever.'
Reference
Eternal Life
Genesis 17:8
Genesis 17:13
Parallel theme
Genesis 35:11
Exodus 1:7
Genesis 47:27
Genesis 12:2
Genesis 28:3
Genesis 22:17
Genesis 32:12
Genesis 26:4
5
"Now then, two sons were born to you in Egypt. It happened before I came to you here. They will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will belong to me, in the same way that Reuben and Simeon belong to me.
Reference
6
"Any children who are born to you after them will belong to you. Any territory they receive will come from the land that is given to Ephraim and Manasseh.
7
"As I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died. It made me very sad. She died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way. We weren't very far away from Ephrath. So I buried her body there beside the road to Ephrath." Ephrath was also called Bethlehem.
Reference
📍 Paddan
8
Israel saw Joseph's sons. He asked, "Who are they?"
9
"They are the sons God has given me here," Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, "Bring them to me. I want to give them my blessing."
Reference
10
Israel's eyes were weak because he was old. He couldn't see very well. So Joseph brought his sons close to him. His father kissed them and hugged them.
Reference
11
Israel said to Joseph, "I never thought I'd see your face again. But now God has let me see your children too."
Reference
12
Then Joseph took his sons away from Israel's knees. He bowed down with his face to the ground.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 42:6
13
Joseph placed Ephraim on his right, toward Israel's left hand. He placed Manasseh on his left, toward Israel's right hand. Then he brought them close to Jacob.
14
But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head. He did it even though Ephraim was the younger son. He crossed his arms and put his left hand on Manasseh's head. He did it even though Manasseh was the older son.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 41:51
15
Then Israel gave Joseph his blessing. He said, "May God bless these boys. He is the God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. They walked with him. He is the God who has been my shepherd all of my life to this very day.
Reference
16
He is the Angel who has saved me from all harm. May he bless these boys. May they be called by my name. May they also be called by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. And may they greatly increase their numbers on the earth."
Reference
17
Joseph saw his father putting his right hand on Ephraim's head. And Joseph didn't like it. So he took hold of his father's hand to move it over to Manasseh's head.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 48:14
18
Joseph said to him, "No, my father. Here's my older son. Put your right hand on his head."
19
But his father wouldn't do it. He said, "I know, my son. I know. He too will become a nation. He too will become great. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. His children after him will become a group of nations."
Reference
20
On that day, Jacob gave them his blessing. He said, "In the land of Israel, people will bless others in your names. They will say, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' "So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
Reference
21
Then Israel said to Joseph, "I'm about to die. But God will be with all of you. He'll take you back to the land of your fathers.
Reference
Summary of Genesis 48
Genesis chapter forty-eight is a touching scene of blessing by Jacob who formally adopts his two grandsons and, again, prefers the younger over the older yet another time and in yet another way in his long and eventful life.
The chapter begins with Joseph being informed that his father is sick and so he brings his two sons to his father. When Jacob hears his son's sons have arrived, he summons all his strength and rises to meet them. He tells Joseph how God Almighty appeared to him at Luz in the land of Canaan, blessing him and promising to make him fruitful and multiply his seed, making it a company of peoples and giving him this land as an everlasting possession. Jacob has finally passed on to Joseph the blessing he received from God Almighty when he left Bethel many years ago.
Jacob then formally adopts Joseph's sons, claiming them as his own. Now then, Jacob declares, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine, as well as Reuben and Simeon. Ephraim and Manasseh have been elevated to the level of the tribes, virtually giving Joseph two shares of his father's share of the Promised Land since Joseph himself is the favored one who saved all his brothers including the sons of the favored one who had to wait until his sons had reached maturity before he fathered Joseph.
Any children born to Joseph after the two sons shall belong to Joseph, but the share of Ephraim and Manasseh shall be reckoned as of the children of Ephraim, Jacob said.
In the meantime, Jacob relates how Rachel died: as I was returning from Paddan, he says, Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. He had to pass by that very place Rachel died, and she was Rachel, his beloved wife who bore him Joseph many years after their marriage, but Joseph was the beloved son whom he preferred to his sons born of his marriage to Leah, and this beloved son now comes with his beloved sons and Rachel's grandsons, who have been the reason for his old heart to beat faster, so full was he of joy as he blessed these grandsons of his who were born in Egypt before he saw them.
Israel then notices Joseph's sons and asks who they are as his eyesight fails him with advancing old age. Joseph replies that these are the sons God has given him here, and so Israel asks to see them brought close so he can bless them. Israel kisses and hugs them and tells Joseph he did not expect to see his face again, nor did he expect to see his children's faces.
Joseph takes the boys from his father's knees and bows his face to the ground. He then carefully places Ephraim, the younger son, on his left towards Israel's right hand, and Manasseh, the firstborn, on his right towards Israel's left hand, according to the customary blessings where the firstborn would be blessed by the right hand of the father.
But Israel crossed his hands and put his right hand on Ephraim's head, the younger son, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, the firstborn. Joseph was displeased and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head, saying, not so, my father, but this one is the firstborn, so put thou thy right hand on his head. But his father refused saying, I know, my son, I know, for he also shall become a people and he also shall become great, but nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he and his descendants shall become a group of nations.
This has been a frequent occurrence in the life of this great patriarch Jacob-Israel, preferring the younger over the older, going back generation after generation, beginning with Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau, and again with Joseph over his brothers and now Ephraim over Manasseh, his firstborn son. Israel blesses them on that day, and in future blessings he uses their names, saying, may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh, and in doing so, he placed Ephraim before Manasseh, which made a great difference in the status of the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh among the people of Israel, who lived in the Promised Land that was given to his sons.
Jacob then turns to Joseph to speak personally to him: I am about to die, he says, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. In addition to the share of the land he has given to his sons, Jacob gives Joseph a ridge of land near Shechem that he took from the Amorites with his sword and bow, a share meant for Joseph alone, not shared with his brothers.
What a beautiful chapter this is with its blend of formal blessings and personal love for Joseph and his sons and Joseph's sons, recalling personal memories of his beloved Rachel who died suddenly and painfully in childbirth but whose sons, Joseph's sons, are dear to him and to Joseph as well, as well as to Israel who again prefers the younger over the older, not for the first time but again with full knowledge and intent.
The chapter begins with Joseph being informed that his father is sick and so he brings his two sons to his father. When Jacob hears his son's sons have arrived, he summons all his strength and rises to meet them. He tells Joseph how God Almighty appeared to him at Luz in the land of Canaan, blessing him and promising to make him fruitful and multiply his seed, making it a company of peoples and giving him this land as an everlasting possession. Jacob has finally passed on to Joseph the blessing he received from God Almighty when he left Bethel many years ago.
Jacob then formally adopts Joseph's sons, claiming them as his own. Now then, Jacob declares, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine, as well as Reuben and Simeon. Ephraim and Manasseh have been elevated to the level of the tribes, virtually giving Joseph two shares of his father's share of the Promised Land since Joseph himself is the favored one who saved all his brothers including the sons of the favored one who had to wait until his sons had reached maturity before he fathered Joseph.
Any children born to Joseph after the two sons shall belong to Joseph, but the share of Ephraim and Manasseh shall be reckoned as of the children of Ephraim, Jacob said.
In the meantime, Jacob relates how Rachel died: as I was returning from Paddan, he says, Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. He had to pass by that very place Rachel died, and she was Rachel, his beloved wife who bore him Joseph many years after their marriage, but Joseph was the beloved son whom he preferred to his sons born of his marriage to Leah, and this beloved son now comes with his beloved sons and Rachel's grandsons, who have been the reason for his old heart to beat faster, so full was he of joy as he blessed these grandsons of his who were born in Egypt before he saw them.
Israel then notices Joseph's sons and asks who they are as his eyesight fails him with advancing old age. Joseph replies that these are the sons God has given him here, and so Israel asks to see them brought close so he can bless them. Israel kisses and hugs them and tells Joseph he did not expect to see his face again, nor did he expect to see his children's faces.
Joseph takes the boys from his father's knees and bows his face to the ground. He then carefully places Ephraim, the younger son, on his left towards Israel's right hand, and Manasseh, the firstborn, on his right towards Israel's left hand, according to the customary blessings where the firstborn would be blessed by the right hand of the father.
But Israel crossed his hands and put his right hand on Ephraim's head, the younger son, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, the firstborn. Joseph was displeased and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head, saying, not so, my father, but this one is the firstborn, so put thou thy right hand on his head. But his father refused saying, I know, my son, I know, for he also shall become a people and he also shall become great, but nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he and his descendants shall become a group of nations.
This has been a frequent occurrence in the life of this great patriarch Jacob-Israel, preferring the younger over the older, going back generation after generation, beginning with Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau, and again with Joseph over his brothers and now Ephraim over Manasseh, his firstborn son. Israel blesses them on that day, and in future blessings he uses their names, saying, may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh, and in doing so, he placed Ephraim before Manasseh, which made a great difference in the status of the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh among the people of Israel, who lived in the Promised Land that was given to his sons.
Jacob then turns to Joseph to speak personally to him: I am about to die, he says, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. In addition to the share of the land he has given to his sons, Jacob gives Joseph a ridge of land near Shechem that he took from the Amorites with his sword and bow, a share meant for Joseph alone, not shared with his brothers.
What a beautiful chapter this is with its blend of formal blessings and personal love for Joseph and his sons and Joseph's sons, recalling personal memories of his beloved Rachel who died suddenly and painfully in childbirth but whose sons, Joseph's sons, are dear to him and to Joseph as well, as well as to Israel who again prefers the younger over the older, not for the first time but again with full knowledge and intent.