Genesis 48

Jacob blesses his sons

Gen 48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Gen 48:2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
Gen 48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Gen 48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

Jacob repeats the promises of the Abrahamic covenant to Joseph and his sons. It is important to share Gods dealings with the children and grandchildren, it was God speaking to them his promises. Joseph repeated the promises of God. They were a nation under God through the promises given to father Abraham. God had his hand on Joseph, but his authority flowed through Israel, the father. Jacob even blessed the greatest king of the nations.

Hands Crossed

Gen 48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

Reuben and Simeon were Jacob's firstborn, but the highest authority, the blessing that usually went to the firstborn, would go through his son Judah. Jacob claims the two sons born before Joseph was reunited with his father. These two would be counted with the brothers in the twelve tribes of Israel.

Gen 48:6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

Any other children would be Josephs and receive their brother's kinship inheritance.

Gen 48:7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.

Gen 35:19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
Gen 35:20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.

Jacob would be buried with his fathers and Leah in their family cave burial place in Canaan.

Gen 48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
Gen 48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
Gen 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

Like Jacob's father Isaac before him his eyes were dim when he sought to pass on the blessing and birthright.

Gen 48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.
Gen 48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

Joseph respected his father bowing before him. He knew the power of God rested in his blessing.

Gen 48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.

Joseph placed the oldest son, Manasseh before Jacob's right hand to be blessed as the firstborn. The right hand blessing is the chosen firstborn. Jesus is on the right hand of his father's throne, the place of the chosen firstborn.

Gen 48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

Jacob had crossed his hands reversing the blessing, favoring with his right hand Ephraim the younger brother. Remember his father Isaac who was tricked into blessing the younger Jacob earlier instead of Esau the firstborn. But Esau was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew.

Gen 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
Gen 48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

He blessed Joseph's first two sons as his own, making them equal with Joseph and his brothers. Israel mentioned the power and blessing of God and the angel that he wrestled with, to receive his new righteous name and redemption. Jesus is our redeemer and righteousness.

Gen 48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
Gen 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
Gen 48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

The greater blessing went to the younger Ephraim. This upset Joseph who knew the customs. There was a reason for this and it may be found in the meaning of their names.

Ephraim = "double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful"

Manasseh = "causing to forget"

Phil 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Phil 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Ephraim would become so large that the Northern kingdom would be be referred to as Ephraim.

Deu 33:17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

This sounds like what they spoke concerning David and Saul.

1 Sam 18:7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
1 Sam 18:8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

Gen 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

This is the first conscious prophecy spoken by a human being in the Bible; there have been many prophecies announced by God (such as the promise of the triumph of the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15), and other veiled prophecies by men, but this is the first knowing prophecy of the Bible .

Gen 48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

Jacob speaks of his son’s tribes who will return to the promised land in Canaan.

Gen 48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

The spoils of warfare that Jacob had secured by his own strength, of this Joseph receives a double portion.

I think of the victories of spiritual warfare, the methods of overcoming the enemy. The studying of the Bible the sharing of Gods word with others, of witnessing to the lost, of good works, of prayers said, these I pass down to my children. These are the spoils of warfare. I give them a double blessing if they will receive them.

Genesis 49
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