Genesis 48:1–49:33

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48Some time later Joseph was told that his father was ill. So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to see Jacob. ²When Jacob was told that his son Joseph had come to see him, he gathered his strength and sat up in bed. ^3*Jacob said to Joseph, “Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. ^4*He said to me, ‘I will give you many children, so that your descendants will become many nations; I will give this land to your descendants as their possession for ever.’ ”

⁵Jacob continued, “Joseph, your two sons, who were born to you in Egypt before I came here, belong to me; Ephraim and Manasseh are just as much my sons as Reuben and Simeon. ⁶If you have any more sons, they will not be considered mine; the inheritance they get will come through Ephraim and Manasseh. ^7*I am doing this because of your mother Rachel. To my great sorrow she died in the land of Canaan, not far from Ephrath, as I was returning from Mesopotamia. I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.” (Ephrath is now known as Bethlehem.)

⁸When Jacob saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”

⁹Joseph answered, “These are my sons, whom God has given me here in Egypt.”

Jacob said, “Bring them to me so that I may bless them.” ¹⁰Jacob’s eyesight was failing because of his age, and he could not see very well. Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged them and kissed them. ¹¹Jacob said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and now God has even let me see your children.” ¹²Then Joseph took them from Jacob’s lap and bowed down before him with his face to the ground.

¹³Joseph put Ephraim at Jacob’s left and Manasseh at his right. ¹⁴But Jacob crossed his hands, and put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, even though he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, who was the elder. ¹⁵Then he blessed Joseph:^c

“May the God whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac served bless these boys!

May God, who has led me to this very day, bless them!

¹⁶May the angel, who has rescued me from all harm, bless them!

May my name and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac live on through these boys!

May they have many children, many descendants!”

¹⁷Joseph was upset when he saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim’s head; so he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to the head of Manasseh. ¹⁸He said to his father, “Not that way, father. This is the elder boy; put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹His father refused, saying, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh’s descendants will also become a great people. But his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become great nations.”

^20*So he blessed them that day, saying, “The Israelites will use your names when they pronounce blessings. They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ” In this way Jacob put Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹Then Jacob said to Joseph, “As you see, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your ancestors. ²²It is to you and not to your brothers that I am giving Shechem, that fertile region which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

The Last Words of Jacob

49Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather round, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future:

²“Come together and listen, sons of Jacob.

Listen to your father Israel.

³“Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength

And the first child of my manhood,

The proudest and strongest of all my sons.

⁴You are like a raging flood,

But you will not be the most important,

For you slept with my concubine

And dishonoured your father’s bed.

⁵“Simeon and Levi are brothers.

They use their weapons to commit violence.

⁶I will not join in their secret talks,

Nor will I take part in their meetings,

For they killed men in anger

And they crippled bulls for sport.

⁷A curse be on their anger, because it is so fierce,

And on their fury, because it is so cruel.

I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel.

I will disperse them among its people.

⁸“Judah, your brothers will praise you.

You hold your enemies by the neck.

Your brothers will bow down before you.

^9*Judah is like a lion,

Killing his victim and returning to his den,

Stretching out and lying down.

No one dares disturb him.

¹⁰Judah will hold the royal sceptre,

And his descendants will always rule.

Nations will bring him tribute^d

And bow in obedience before him.

¹¹He ties his young donkey to a grapevine,

To the very best of the vines.

He washes his clothes in blood-red wine.

¹²His eyes are bloodshot from drinking wine,

His teeth white from drinking milk.^e

¹³“Zebulun will live beside the sea.

His shore will be a haven for ships.

His territory will reach as far as Sidon.

¹⁴“Issachar is no better than a donkey

That lies stretched out between its saddlebags.

¹⁵But he sees that the resting place is good

And that the land is delightful.

So he bends his back to carry the load

And is forced to work as a slave.

¹⁶“Dan will be a ruler for his people.

They will be like the other tribes of Israel.

¹⁷Dan will be a snake at the side of the road,

A poisonous snake beside the path,

That strikes at the horse’s heel,

So that the rider is thrown off backwards.

¹⁸“I wait for your deliverance, Lord.

¹⁹“Gad will be attacked by a band of robbers,

But he will turn and pursue them.

²⁰“Asher’s land will produce rich food.

He will provide food fit for a king.

²¹“Naphtali is a deer that runs free,

Who bears lovely fawns.^f

²²“Joseph is like a wild donkey by a spring,

A wild colt on a hillside.^g

²³His enemies attack him fiercely

And pursue him with their bows and arrows.

²⁴But his bow remains steady,

And his arms are made strong^h

By the power of the Mighty God of Jacob,

By the Shepherd, the Protector of Israel.

²⁵It is your father’s God who helps you,

The Almighty God who blesses you

With blessings of rain from above

And of deep waters from beneath the ground,

Blessings of many cattle and children,

²⁶Blessings of corn and flowers,ⁱ

Blessings of ancient

mountains,^j

Delightful things from everlasting hills.

May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,

On the brow of the one set apart from his brothers.

²⁷“Benjamin is like a vicious wolf.

Morning and evening he kills and devours.”

²⁸These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he spoke a suitable word of farewell to each son.

The Death and Burial of Jacob

²⁹Then Jacob commanded his sons, “Now that I am going to join my people in death, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ^30*at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this cave and field from Ephron for a burial ground. ^31*That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; that is where they buried Isaac and his wife Rebecca; and that is where I buried Leah. ³²The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. Bury me there.” ^33*When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he lay down again and died.