Genesis 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you35 will Israel bless,36 saying,

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

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.37

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35	tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.
36	tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”
37	sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129–36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74–80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38–40.