Genesis 48

Jacob blesses Manasseh and Ephraim (vs. 1-22)—Before he died, Jacob blessed all of his sons; most of that is in chapter 49, as we shall see. But here he calls Joseph to him because there will be a special place for his two sons. Jacob goes into a little history here, recounting what God had done for him and told him (vs. 3-4), especially the national and land promise (v. 4). He then claims Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own: “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” (v. 5). This is a very significant point. Once the children of Israel enter the Promised Land—over 200 years later—they will divide the land up among the “tribes,” who were named after Jacob’s sons. There will be no “tribe of Joseph,” however; his lot will be divided among his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. That’s the meaning of Jacob claiming them as his. There will thus be twelve tribes partitioning the land; Levi will not get a portion because they will be the priestly tribe.

Jacob then blesses Manasseh and Ephraim and an interesting circumstance happens here. “And he [Jacob] said, ‘Please bring them to me, and I will bless them’” (v. 9). “And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him” (v. 13). We are told, in verse 10, that Jacob’s eyes were so bad that he could not distinguish the two boys. Joseph, following the well-accepted law of primogeniture—that the eldest should get the greatest blessing—is careful to guide Manasseh, the oldest, to Jacob’s right hand, from which the superior blessing would come. That was simply understood practice of that time. But Jacob “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” (v. 14); if left like that, Ephraim would get the higher honor. That didn’t please Joseph, “so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head’" (vs. 17-18). But the old man knew what he was doing, and it was prophetic, of course: “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’" (v. 19). Ephraim will become the most powerful tribe once the monarchy is divided after Solomon’s death. Quite often, that northern kingdom, officially known as “Israel,” was referred to as “Ephraim” because of the dominance of that particular tribe (cf., for example, Hosea 4:17). So, as we have seen before, the “blessings” of a patriarch are prophetic. It happened to Jacob himself when he stole Esau’s blessing from his father Isaac (Genesis 27). God doesn’t do things the way man does, or in accordance with the way we think things ought to be. In verse 22, Jacob further explains to Joseph what he is doing: “I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow." Joseph, in effect, will get two divisions of land whereas the other brothers will only get one. This is not just favoritism on Jacob’s part; in fact, it probably isn’t at all. As noted, since the tribe of Levi will get no land inheritance, for there to be 12 divisions of land as God intended, an extra tribe must be found. And that is done through Joseph’s two sons.

Incidentally, when I wrote that the children of Israel would enter the Promised Land over 200 years later, that's not a misprint.  Paul tells us in Galations 3:17 that the Law of Moses was given 430 years after the promise to Abraham.  That whole period is viewed, in one sense, as the "Egyptian" period.  Thus, Israel did not spend 400 years in Egyptian bondage, they spent a little over 200.  That's a little confusing given some other statements the Bible makes, such as Genesis 15:13.  It is generally argued--and Paul seems to concur in Galatians 4:29--that the 400 years of "affliction" began when Ishmael "mocked," or "persecuted" Isaac, when the latter had been weaned (Genesis 21:9).  Since we don't have exact dates given in the Bible, the chronology can be a little perplexing at times.