Genesis 48
Joseph Visits Israel on Deathbed
Later on, Joseph was notified that his father was sick, so he went to see him and brought his 2 sons: Manasseh and Ephraim. When Israel heard that Joseph was coming, he mustered up enough strength to sit up in his bed and tell Joseph,
“The ultimate God appeared to me at Luz in Canaan and told me that He’d make me prosperous and multiply me. He said He’d turn me into a group of nations and give Canaan to my descendants to have as their property forever. Even though both of your sons were born in Egypt, I’m gonna claim them as my own. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine in the same way that Reuben and Simeon are. But you can claim all the rest of your descendants who are born after them, and they’ll all share the same name with their brothers when it comes to their inheritance. When I came from Paddan, Rachel died in Canaan while we were traveling to Ephrath [Bethlehem]. I buried her there on the way to Bethlehem.”
When Israel noticed that Joseph had brought his sons, he asked,
“Now, who are these guys?”
Joseph said,
“They’re my sons who God gave to me here.”
Israel said,
“Bring them here so I can bless them.”
He was so old that he couldn’t see anymore, so Joseph brought them over to him. Israel kissed them and embraced them, then told Joseph,
“I never thought I’d see your face again… and now look! I get to see your sons’ faces too!”
After they finished their embraces, Israel bowed his face to the ground.
Israel Blesses Joseph’s Younger Son
Then Joseph took both his sons and guided them to Israel, putting his younger son (Ephraim) on Israel’s left, and his older son (Manasseh) on Israel’s right. But when Israel laid hands on them, he crossed his arms so that he put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, even though he was younger! Then Israel blessed Joseph, saying,
“There’s a God who was present in the lives of my forefathers, Abraham and Isaac. That God has been my teacher and my shepherd who fed me all my life even to today. There was also a messenger who rescued me from total devastation. To that God and messenger: bless these young men. Let the same name that belonged to Abraham, Isaac, and now me resound inside of them. May they grow into a multitude all throughout the earth.”
But when Joseph saw that his dad criss-crossed his arms, he didn’t like that, so he tried switching them, saying,
“No, Dad—not like that! Put your right hand here on my firstborn.”
But Israel refused, saying,
“I know, my son. I know. They’ll both become great nations, but the younger one’s descendants will become an even fuller nation.”
When Israel blessed them that day, he said,
“You’ll be the ones others will pronounce blessings with. They’ll say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’”
Israel intentionally put Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel turned to Joseph and said,
“Son, I’m about to die soon, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your forefathers. I want you to have one more piece of it than the rest of your brothers, so you can have the part I already took from the Amorite with my sword and bow.”