Genesis 48

Near the end of his life, Jacob adopts Joseph’s two sons as his own and blesses them. Against Joseph’s expectation, he gives the greater blessing to the younger, Ephraim. The chapter shows an old man looking back on God’s faithful shepherding and forward to God’s promises for his family.

Genesis 48:1

Joseph hears that his father is sick and goes to him, bringing his two sons. He wants them to receive their grandfather’s blessing before he dies. Their Hebrew names, Manasseh and Ephraim, recall how God had healed his sorrows in Egypt.

BSA: Manasseh (“making forgetful, causing to forget”): The name recalls God helping Joseph forget his hardship. Ephraim (“doubly fruitful, fertile”): The name recalls God making Joseph fruitful in the land of his affliction.

See also: Genesis 41:51-52.

Genesis 48:2

Jacob is weak, but when Joseph arrives he gathers his strength and sits up. The text shifts between the names Jacob and Israel. Israel is the name God gave him, and here it marks him as the patriarch about to speak with prophetic weight.

BSA: rallied (“gathered, strengthened”): Jacob deliberately summons what strength he has for this important moment.

Genesis 48:3-4

Jacob begins with God’s promise, not with his own plans. At Luz, which he named Bethel, God Almighty promised him many descendants and the land. Everything he does in this chapter rests on that promise.

BSA: Almighty (“Shadday, the all-powerful”): This name stresses that God is able to fulfil what seems impossible.

See also: Genesis 28:13-15; Genesis 35:9-12.

Genesis 48:5-6

Jacob adopts Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons, giving each a full share like Reuben and Simeon. Joseph is in effect given a double portion, as the firstborn would receive. Later sons of Joseph will be counted under these two brothers’ names.

BSA: reckoned (“counted, considered”): The two boys are formally counted as Jacob’s own sons, not merely grandsons.

See also: 1 Chronicles 5:1-2.

Genesis 48:7

Jacob suddenly remembers Rachel, Joseph’s mother, who died on the journey near Ephrath. His grief is still fresh after many years. The mention of Bethlehem quietly points to a place that will matter later in the story of God’s people.

BSA: Bethlehem (“the house of bread, a city in Judah”): The name means house of bread, a town later tied to the coming of David and of Christ.

See also: Genesis 35:16-19; Micah 5:2.

Genesis 48:8-9

Jacob cannot see well and asks who the boys are. Joseph answers that they are sons God has given him. He sees his family as God’s gift, even in a foreign land. Jacob asks for them to be brought close so that he may bless them.

BSA: given (“bestowed, provided”): Joseph treats his sons as a gift from God, not as his own achievement.

Genesis 48:10-11

Jacob’s eyes are dim, yet he kisses and embraces the boys. He once believed Joseph dead, so seeing Joseph again was beyond hope. Now God has even let him see Joseph’s children. His words are full of wonder at God’s goodness.

BSA: embraced (“clasped, hugged”): The old man’s blessing begins with warm physical affection.

See also: Genesis 37:33-35.

Genesis 48:12

Joseph takes the boys from Jacob’s knees and bows with his face to the ground. The boys had been on Jacob’s knees, a sign of adoption and acceptance. Joseph, though ruler in Egypt, bows humbly before his father as the bearer of God’s blessing.

BSA: bowed (“in reverence, with his face to the ground”): Joseph shows deep respect for the blessing about to be given.

Genesis 48:13-14

Joseph places the boys so that the older, Manasseh, is at Jacob’s right hand, the place of greater blessing. Jacob deliberately crosses his hands, putting his right on the younger Ephraim. This is no accident from poor eyesight. It echoes a pattern in this family of God choosing the younger.

BSA: crossing (“in an intentional act of guidance”): Jacob’s crossed hands are done on purpose, not by mistake.

See also: Genesis 25:23.

Genesis 48:15-16

Jacob blesses Joseph through his sons, naming God as the one his fathers walked with, his shepherd, and his redeemer from harm. After a hard life, he gives God the credit. He asks that the boys carry the family name and the promises of Abraham and Isaac.

BSA: shepherd (“caretaker, guide”): Jacob, who knew sheep, sees God as the one who led and fed him every day. redeemed (“bought back, saved from harm”): God rescued him as one who steps in and delivers at cost.

See also: Psalm 23:1; Psalm 34:22.

Genesis 48:17-18

Joseph is upset because his father seems to have made a mistake. He tries to move Jacob’s hand to the firstborn. His concern is natural and respectful, because by custom the right hand and greater blessing belonged to the older son.

BSA: displeased (“it was wrong in his eyes, he did not approve”): Joseph sincerely thought his father was making an error.

Genesis 48:19

Jacob refuses, saying he knows exactly what he is doing. Manasseh will be great, but Ephraim will be greater, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations. God’s choices are not bound by human order. His grace goes where he decides.

BSA: refused (“with full knowledge and intention”): Jacob acts with knowledge, not confusion. multitude (“a large number, a fullness”): The word speaks of fullness, pointing to Ephraim’s large future.

See also: Romans 9:11-12.

Genesis 48:20

Jacob says Israel will use these two boys as a pattern in blessing: May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh. Their names would become a picture of God’s favor. Jacob again places Ephraim first. The blessing is passed on as a prayer for others.

BSA: pronounce (“declare, speak forth”): Blessing is spoken aloud, as a prayer asking God to act.

Genesis 48:21

Jacob tells Joseph he is dying, yet his hope is steady. God will be with Joseph’s family and bring them back to the land of their fathers. Although they will live in Egypt for a time, Egypt is not their final home.

BSA: bring you back (“return, turn back”): Jacob is sure that God will lead the family home to Canaan.

See also: Genesis 15:13-16; Genesis 50:24.

Genesis 48:22

Jacob gives Joseph one portion of land more than his brothers. The Hebrew word for portion sounds like the place name Shechem, which is probably meant. Jacob speaks of having taken it by sword and bow. The account of that conquest is not told elsewhere in Genesis, so we do not know exactly what he means. Joseph was later buried in that area.

BSA: ridge of land (“a mountain slope, a portion of inheritance”): It is a real share of the promised land given to Joseph beyond his brothers.

See also: Joshua 24:32.