The Book of
Genesis 48
22 verses≈ 5 min5 peopleBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promise
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for goodChapter 48
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed.
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Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’
And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children born to you after them shall be yours, and they shall be called by the names of their brothers in the territory they inherit.
Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
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Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Reflect
What an old man remembers
Near the end of his life Jacob looks back, and he starts with God: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me.” Then comes the grief he still carries: “to my sorrow Rachel died along the way.” Both are true at once. Where has God met you, and what sorrow do you carry with it? Write down one of each.
Jacob
When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
Joseph
Joseph said to his father, “They are the sons God has given me in this place.”
Jacob
So Jacob said, “Please bring them to me, that I may bless them.”
Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
“I never expected to see your face again,” Israel said to Joseph, “but now God has let me see your children as well.”
Then Joseph removed his sons from his father’s knees and bowed facedown.
And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
Then he blessed Joseph and said:
“May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—
may He bless these boys.
And may they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys.
Genesis 48:15–16
Pray
Pray a blessing
Jacob’s blessing is a prayer you can pray over people younger than you: children, grandchildren, a friend new to faith. Name them before God. Ask that “the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day” would shepherd them too, and that the One who “redeemed me from all harm” would keep them, and that they would carry His name all their lives.
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Places Jacob remembers
From his bed in Egypt, Jacob looks back to Luz, which is Bethel, where God blessed him, and to the road to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem, where he buried Rachel. He gives Joseph a ridge of land, and Joseph’s bones were later buried at Shechem. Bethel’s site is probable but not certain.
When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.
Joseph
“Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
But his father refused.
Jacob
“I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”
May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.
Genesis 48:20
Question
Quick question
Joseph lined his sons up carefully. His father had other plans.
On whose head did Israel put his right hand?
You’ve experienced
Genesis 48
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A verse to carry with you
May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys.
Genesis 48:15–16
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