Genesis 48

After these things, someone said to Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick.” He took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Someone told Jacob, and said, “Behold, your son Joseph comes to you,” and Israel strengthened himself, and sat on the bed.

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’

Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, will be mine.

Your offspring, whom you become the father of after them, will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem).”

Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” He said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”

Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he couldn’t see well. Joseph brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

Israel said to Joseph, “I didn’t think I would see your face, and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.”

Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

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.

Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

He blessed Joseph, and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

the angel who has 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. Let them grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a multitude of nations.”

He blessed them that day, saying, “Israel will bless in your name, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh’” He set Ephraim before Manasseh.

Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.

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.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview. This chapter records Jacob’s final acts before his death, centering on the blessing of Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, by faith. As Jacob invokes God’s covenant promises and intentionally crosses his hands to give the superior blessing to the younger Ephraim, he confirms that God’s sovereign choice governs the transmission of the promise, just as it had in his own life. The chapter underscores the continuity of divine faithfulness across generations.

Flow.

Jacob, strengthened by the news of Joseph’s arrival, recounts God’s appearance at Bethel and reasserts the covenant promises of fruitfulness and land (vv. 3–4).
He legally adopts Joseph’s two sons as his own, granting them equal status with his other sons in the inheritance (v. 5), while clarifying that future offspring belong to Joseph (v. 6).
Upon seeing Joseph’s sons, Jacob blesses them despite his failing sight, intentionally placing his right hand on Ephraim the younger, contrary to custom and Joseph’s objection, prophesying Ephraim’s future prominence (vv. 8–20).
He concludes with assurance of God’s presence and a personal bequest to Joseph, referencing land taken “with my sword and my bow” (v. 22).

Connections. Following chapter 47, where Jacob is presented as the patriarch receiving provision and blessing in Egypt, this chapter focuses on the transfer of the patriarchal blessing itself, preparing the way for chapter 49, where Jacob blesses all his sons and discloses the future of the tribes. The blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh establishes that the promise-line is preserved even among those born outside Canaan, which chapter 49 takes up in broader scope.

What it teaches. Jacob’s adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh affirms the covenantal inclusion of future generations within the promised seed (WCF 7.3), while his cross-handed blessing reflects God’s freedom to bestow greater blessing on the younger, as seen before in Isaac and Jacob himself (HC LD 9). The blessing invokes the God who has been faithful throughout Jacob’s life (), echoing the covenant of grace where God shepherds His people and designates a Redeemer (LD 1). Jacob’s hope rests not in land or lineage by human right but in the God who has “fed” and “redeemed” him (), aligning with the confession that God sustains His people unto life everlasting (WCF 18.1).

Apply. The blessing of the younger over the firstborn directs the heart not to human precedence but to the God who governs His promises by grace.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.