Genesis 48–49

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48And it happened that after these things, it was said to Joseph, “Behold, your father is ill.” And he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim. ²And it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel strengthened himself and he sat up in the bed. ³Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El-Shaddai^a appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, ⁴and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and make you numerous, and will make you a company of nations. And I will give this land to your offspring after you as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶And your children whom you father after them shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they shall be called, with respect to their inheritance. ⁷As for me, when I came from Paddan-Aram, Rachel died to my sorrow^b in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” ⁸When Israel saw the sons of Joseph he said, “Who are these?” ⁹Then Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Please bring them to me that I may bless them.” ¹⁰Now the eyes of Israel were dim^c on account of old age; he was not able to see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, “I did not expect to see your face and behold, God has also shown me your offspring.” ¹²Then Joseph removed them from his knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. ¹³And Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim at his right to the left of Israel, and Manasseh at his left to the right of Israel. And he brought them near to him. ¹⁴And Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim (now he was the younger), and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked,

The God who shepherded me all my life^d unto this day,

¹⁶The angel who redeemed me from all evil,

may he bless the boys.

And through them let my name be perpetuated,^e

and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac.

And let them multiply into many in the midst of the earth.

¹⁷When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, he was displeased. And he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from the head of Ephraim over to the head of Manasseh. ¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father; because this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head.” ¹⁹But his father refused and said, “I know, my son; I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great, but his younger brother shall be greater than him, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” ²⁰So he blessed them that day, saying,

Through you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying,

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

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors.^{f 22}And I have given to you one slope of land rather than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and with my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Twelve Sons

49Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together so that I can tell you what will happen with you in days to come.^a

²Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob!

Listen to Israel your father!

³Reuben, you are my firstborn,

my strength, and the firstfruit of my vigor,

excelling in rank and excelling in power.

⁴Unstable^b as water, you shall not excel any longer,

for you went up upon the bed of your father,

then defiled it. You went up upon my couch!

⁵Simeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons of violence are their swords.

Let me^c not come into their council.

⁶Let not my person^d be joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and at their pleasure they hamstrung cattle.

⁷Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob,

and I will scatter them in Israel.

⁸Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you.

Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.

The sons of your father shall bow down to you.

⁹Judah is a lion’s cub.

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness.

Who shall rouse him?

¹⁰The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff between his feet,

until Shiloh comes.

And to him shall be the obedience of nations.

¹¹Binding his donkey to the vine

and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

he washes his clothing in the wine

and his garment in the blood of grapes.

¹²The eyes are darker than wine,

and the teeth whiter than milk.

¹³Zebulun shall settle by the shore of the sea.

He shall become a haven for ships,

and his border shall be at Sidon.

¹⁴Issachar is a strong donkey,

crouching between the sheepfolds.

¹⁵He saw a resting place that was good,

and land that was pleasant.

So he bowed his shoulder to the burden

and became a servant of forced labor.

¹⁶Dan shall judge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷Dan shall be a serpent on the way,

a viper on the road

that bites the heels of a horse,

so that its rider falls backward.

¹⁸I wait for your salvation, O Yahweh.

¹⁹Bandits shall attack Gad,

but he shall attack their heels.

²⁰Asher’s food is delicious,

and he shall provide from the king’s delicacies.

²¹Naphtali is a doe running free

that puts forth beautiful words.

²²Joseph is the bough^e of a fruitful vine,

a fruitful bough^f by a spring.

His branches climb over the wall.

²³The archers^g fiercely attacked him.

They shot arrows at him and were hostile to him.

²⁴But his bow remained in a steady position;

his arms^h were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.

From there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

²⁵Because of the God of your father he will help you

and by Shaddaiⁱ he will bless you

with the blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and the womb.

²⁶The blessings of your father

are superior to the blessings of my ancestors,

to the bounty of the everlasting hills.

May they be on the head of Joseph,

and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.

²⁷Benjamin is a devouring wolf,

devouring the prey in the morning,

and dividing the plunder in the evening.

The Death and Burial of Jacob

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them; each according to his blessing he blessed them. ²⁹Then he instructed them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me among my ancestors^j in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah that is before^k Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. ³¹There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife. And there I buried Leah—³²the purchase of the field and the cave which was in it from the Hittites.” ³³When Jacob finished instructing his sons he drew his feet up to the bed. Then he took his last breath and was gathered to his people.