Continuing a chronological Bible study ordered by Skip Andrews:
(Genesis 48:1) And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. (2) And one told Jacob, and said, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.
Chapter 47 ended with Jacob near the end of his life asking Joseph to swear that he would take his body back to Canaan to be buried with his fathers. It was after this that someone told Joseph that his father was really sick, at the point of death. Joseph obviously already knew his father was sick and near the time of death, but now he was told that the time was now. Joseph took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him to see his father. Someone told Jacob that Joseph was coming to him, and he straightened himself up on the bed to receive his son.
(3) And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, (4) And said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’"
Jacob spoke to Joseph, telling him first of God's appearance to him promising him numerous descendants and Canaan as an inheritance.
(5) “And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. (6) And your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; and will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance."
Jacob told Joseph that he intended to make Joseph's two sons his own, not just his grandsons, but he considered them his own sons, just as Reuben and Simeon, or any of his other sons were considered his own sons. I noticed that he mentioned Ephraim first, even though he was the younger. Jacob went on to say that any children who were born after Ephraim and Manasseh would be Joseph's, definitely distinguishing Joseph's two firstborn sons from any other siblings they might have. By adopting Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons, Jacob intended them to be heads of tribes as his own sons would be, having a distinct portion of the promised land. Any other offspring after Ephraim and Manasseh would be Joseph's and would not be considered Jacob's sons and distinct heads of tribes. They would be called by the name of their older brothers adopted by Jacob, meaning they might be considered "from the tribe of Ephraim" or of "the children of Manasseh", and would be considered as belonging to one tribe or the other, and would have their inheritance in them, but not in their own separate tribes.
(7) "And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little way to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.”
Jacob mentioned losing the love of his life, Rachel. She was buried along the way to Ephrath, which was also known as Bethlehem. In another verse, Micah 5:2, the place is called Bethlehem Ephratah. Rachel was Jacob's true wife by choice and Joseph's mother. Perhaps because she was Jacob's lawful wife and was so dear to him, but was taken from him so soon, also meaning she could have no more children, he felt a sense of loyalty to her that her firstborn son should be reckoned as his firstborn, receiving a double portion of the inheritance, and Joseph's sons should be counted among his Rachel's sons.
(8) And Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”
Jacob had been speaking of Joseph's two sons, but until this time may not have realized they were there with Joseph, for his eyes were dim.
(9) And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”
Note that Joseph acknowledged that his sons were gifts from God, once again a sign of his Godly character.
(10) Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. (11) And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; and, lo, God has also shown me your offspring.”
Jacob's eyes were blind, at least somewhat, and Joseph brought his sons over to Jacob, and he kissed and hugged them. Then it was Jacob who acknowledged an unexpected gift from God that he should be able to see not only Joseph again, but also his sons.
(12) And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
Probably the meaning is that Joseph brought his sons out from between his father's knees where they had been when Jacob had been hugging and kissing them, but I suppose it could have been that Joseph moved his children from between his own knees, if he had sat close to his father when he brought his sons over to him. Either way, he was moving his sons aside so that he could bow before his father, both in love and respect for his aged father, and in worship and thanksgiving to God for all they had just discussed.
(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 to him.
Then because his father desired to bless his sons, Joseph brought them back to his father, with Ephraim, his youngest, in his right hand so that he would be in the correct position to have his grandfather's left hand put upon him; and Manasseh, his oldest son, in his left hand so that he would be in the correct position to have his grandfather's right hand laid on him, as seniority of birth required.
(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 knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Regardless of the positions in which Joseph presented his sons to Israel (Jacob), Jacob knowingly and purposely placed his right hand on the younger Ephraim's head and placed his left on Manasseh's head.
(15) And he blessed Joseph, and said, “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who fed me all my life long to this day, (16) The Angel who 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.”
Jacob first blessed Joseph and asked that the God of his fathers, the Angel of God who redeemed him from all evil, now let Joseph's sons be named among his own sons and have a direct part in the promise God had given Israel and his fathers before him. This Angel of God is not to be understood as a created angelic being of God, merely a messenger of God, but is probably Jesus Christ Himself, the one eternal Angel of God, the Son of God, the only one who could truly redeem a man from all evil. Indeed the original word "malak", although spelled the same, appears to have been a separate unique word with a slightly different pronunciation that the word "malak" that meant a simple created messenger angel.
(17) And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.
I'm not sure "displeased" gives the proper sense here. Joseph didn't realize that his father was intentional in this and just thought his father had made a mistake, but I can't come up with a better word. Joseph just knew that Ephraim wasn't the elder son and shouldn't have his father's right hand; it just wasn't right in his mind and Joseph picked his father's hand up from Ephraim's head to put it on Manasseh's which was the way he thought it should be.
(18) And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” (19) And his father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
Joseph thought he was correcting his father by telling him that Manasseh was his firstborn son, but Jacob replied that he knew what he was doing. Great nations of people would come from both sons, but in this case, the greater would come from the younger. Obviously, Jacob was speaking by the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit to know this. Indeed the tribe of Ephraim would be more numerous and would have more honor being named first; the tribe of Manasseh would become divided and less numerous.
(20) And he blessed them that day, saying, “In you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’" And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Jacob blessed Joseph's sons saying that future generations of Israelites would use the blessing of wishing that God make one as Ephraim and Manasseh, because it would be evident that God's blessing had been great upon them.
(21) And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you again to the land of your fathers. (22) Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.”
Jacob told Joseph he was about to die but that God's promise would not die with him, but would be with Joseph and his family and descendants and He would bring them back to the promised land. In giving a portion of the inheritance to each of Joseph's sons, Jacob had given Joseph an additional portion more than his brothers. That which Jacob "took out of the hand of the Amorite with (his) sword" is somewhat confusing. We were told previously, and it is even referred to later in scripture, most specifically in Joshua 24:32, that Jacob had bought a parcel of land from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem, and that became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. It didn't appear that Jacob used his sword and his bow to take the land. Of course, a greater part of Shechem was taken by sword by his sons, although not by his approval, and it was something he still detested, so maybe that was Jacob's way of acknowledging and taking responsibility for the actions of his sons in taking of the land. Perhaps this refers to the broader picture of the entire inheritance that was to be given by God to Israel's people out of the hands of the Amorites. Also I have read that Jewish writers have written that Jacob and his sons had a very grievous war with the Amorites because of the slaughter and captivity of the Shechemites, and Jacob and his sons and servants recovered it by sword, but there is nothing of this war in scripture. It's not clear what Jacob meant by that descriptive clause, but Joseph surely knew what he meant, and he gave Joseph a double portion.
Once again, in this chapter, we have the younger given blessings above the elder. I had to wonder why God always seem to prefer the younger above the elder, but after giving it more thought, the reasons the younger received the blessing over the elder were always different. In the case of Isaac, he would have been the only son if Sarah and Abraham hadn't decided to help God out with His promise. Because God is omniscient, He knew and it was prophesied that Jacob would rule over his brother Esau. In that case, the birthright was something for which Jacob seemed to fight and strive all his life, and it was not very important to Esau. In the case of Joseph, he was the oldest son of Jacob's true wife by choice. In blessing Ephraim over Manasseh, Jacob was prophesying by the Holy Spirit of God that which an omniscient God knew would be the case. It wasn't that the younger was preferred for any reason, but that was just the way it would be. Was God purposely blessing the younger over the elder and making him greater? I don't think so. Even in the case of Cain and Abel, God told Cain that he would have been accepted if he had done right. I believe the message is the same in all of these cases: one's place in life does not guarantee God's blessings, and one must really desire and strive for the things of God. Is that not the case for Christians now? We don't have to be born of God's people, the Jews, to be accepted by Him. Salvation was given first to the Jews, but when rejected by His own people, Christ was given as a gift to all who would seek after Him. The "firstborn" Jew may have salvation in Christ as well as the "second born" Gentile; it is the heart that God judges and that is the constant theme throughout the Bible.
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