Genesis 48–49

Blessings for Manasseh and Ephraim

48Some time later Joseph learned that his father was very sick, so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim and went to his father. ²When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, ⁿ “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob was weak, so he used all his strength and sat up on his bed.

³Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me there. ⁴He said to me, ‘I will give you many children. I will make you the father of many peoples, and I will give your descendants this land forever.’ ⁵Your two sons, who were born here in Egypt before I came, will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons. ⁶But if you have other children, they will be your own, and their land will be part of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh. ⁷When I came from Northwest Mesopotamia, Rachel died in the land of Canaan, as we were traveling toward Ephrath. This made me very sad, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.” (Today Ephrath is Bethlehem.)

⁸Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these boys?”

⁹Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons that God has given me here in Egypt.”

Israel said, “Bring your sons to me so I may bless them.”

¹⁰At this time Israel’s eyesight was bad because he was old. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Israel kissed the boys and put his arms around them. ¹¹He said to Joseph, “I thought I would never see you alive again, and now God has let me see you and also your children.” ¹²Then Joseph moved his sons off Israel’s lap and bowed facedown to the ground. ¹³He put Ephraim on his right side and Manasseh on his left. (So Ephraim was near Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh was near Israel’s right hand.) Joseph brought the boys close to Israel. ¹⁴But Israel crossed his arms and put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, who was younger. He put his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the firstborn son. ¹⁵And Israel blessed Joseph and said,

“My ancestors Abraham and Isaac served our God,

and like a shepherd God has led me all my life.

¹⁶He was the Angel who saved me from all my troubles.

Now I pray that he will bless these boys.

May my name be known through these boys,

and may the names of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac be known through them.

May they have many descendants

on the earth.”

¹⁷When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand, wanting to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸Joseph said to his father, “You are doing it wrong, Father. Manasseh is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will be great and have many descendants. But his younger brother will be greater, and his descendants will be enough to make a nation.”

²⁰So Israel blessed them that day and said,

“When a blessing is given in Israel, they will say:

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

In this way he made Ephraim greater than Manasseh.

²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look at me; I am about to die. But God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your fathers. ²²I have given you something that I did not give your brothers—the land of Shechem that I took from the Amorite people with my sword and my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons

49Then Jacob called his sons to him. He said, “Come here to me, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future.

²“Come together and listen, sons of Jacob.

Listen to Israel, your father.”

³“Reuben, my first son, you are my strength.

Your birth showed I could be a father.

You have the highest position among my sons,

and you are the most powerful.

⁴But you are uncontrolled like water,

so you will no longer lead your brothers.

This is because you got into your father’s bed

and shamed me by having sexual relations with my slave girl.

⁵“Simeon and Levi are brothers

who used their swords to do violence.

⁶I will not join their secret talks,

and I will not meet with them to plan evil.

They killed men because they were angry,

and they crippled oxen just for fun.

⁷May their anger be cursed, because it is too violent.

May their violence be cursed, because it is too cruel.

I will divide them up among the tribes of Jacob

and scatter them through all the tribes of Israel.

⁸“Judah, your brothers will praise you.

You will grab your enemies by the neck,

and your brothers will bow down to you.

⁹Judah is like a young lion.

You have returned from killing, my son.

Like a lion, he stretches out and lies down to rest,

and no one is brave enough to wake him.

¹⁰Kings will come from Judah’s family;

someone from Judah will always be on the throne.

Judah will rule until Shiloh comes,

and the nations will obey him.

¹¹He ties his donkey to a grapevine,

his young donkey to the best branch.

He can afford to use wine to wash his clothes

and the best wine to wash his robes.

¹²His eyes are dark like the color of wine,

and his teeth are as white as the color of milk.

¹³“Zebulun will live near the sea.

His shore will be a safe place for ships,

and his land will reach as far as Sidon.

¹⁴“Issachar is like a strong donkey

who lies down while carrying his load.

¹⁵When he sees his resting place is good

and how pleasant his land is,

he will put his back to the load

and become a slave.

¹⁶“Dan will rule his own people

like the other tribes in Israel.

¹⁷Dan will be like a snake by the side of the road,

a dangerous snake lying near the path.

That snake bites a horse’s leg,

and the rider is thrown off backward.

¹⁸“Lord, I wait for your salvation.

¹⁹“Robbers will attack Gad,

but he will defeat them and drive them away.

²⁰“Asher’s land will grow much good food;

he will grow food fit for a king.

²¹“Naphtali is like a female deer that runs free,

that has beautiful fawns.

²²“Joseph is like a grapevine that produces much fruit,

a healthy vine watered by a spring,

whose branches grow over the wall.

²³Archers attack him violently

and shoot at him angrily,

²⁴but he aims his bow well.

His arms are made strong.

He gets his power from the Mighty God of Jacob

and his strength from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

²⁵Your father’s God helps you.

God Almighty blesses you.

He blesses you with rain from above,

with water from springs below,

with many babies born to your wives,

and many young ones born to your animals.

²⁶The blessings of your father are greater

than the blessings of the oldest mountains,

greater than the good things of the long-lasting hills.

May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,

on the forehead of the one who was separated from his brothers.

²⁷“Benjamin is like a hungry wolf.

In the morning he eats what he has caught,

and in the evening he divides what he has taken.”

²⁸These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them. He gave each son the blessing that was right for him. ²⁹Then Israel gave them a command and said, “I am about to die. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ³⁰That cave is in the field of Machpelah east of Mamre in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought the field and cave from Ephron the Hittite for a burying place. ³¹Abraham and Sarah his wife are buried there. Isaac and Rebekah his wife are buried there, and I buried my wife Leah there. ³²The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittite people.” ³³After Jacob finished talking to his sons, he lay down. He put his feet back on the bed, took his last breath, and died.