Genesis 48

Manasseh and Ephraim

Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim^a along with him. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel^b rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty^c appeared to me at Luz^d in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me^e and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.^f I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land^g as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’^h

“Now then, your two sons born to you in Egyptⁱ before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,^j just as Reuben^k and Simeon^l are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. As I was returning from Paddan,^m to my sorrowⁿ Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).^o

When Israel^p saw the sons of Joseph,^q he asked, “Who are these?”

“They are the sons God has given me here,”^r Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless^s them.”

Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.^t So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them^u and embraced them.^v

Israel^w said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,^x and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”^y

Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees^z and bowed down with his face to the ground.^a And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,^b and brought them close to him. But Israel^c reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,^d though he was the younger,^e and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.^f

Then he blessed^g Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers

Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,^h

the God who has been my shepherdⁱ

all my life to this day,

the Angel^j who has delivered me from all harm^k

—may he bless^l these boys.^m

May they be called by my name

and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,ⁿ

and may they increase greatly

on the earth.”^o

When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand^p on Ephraim’s head^q he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”^r

But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.^s Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,^t and his descendants will become a group of nations.^u” He blessed^v them that day^w and said,

“In your name will Israel^x pronounce this blessing:^y

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

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you^b and take you back to the land of your fathers.^c And to you I give one more ridge of land than to your brothers,^d the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword^e and my bow.”