Genesis 48.13-20-Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
Wednesday April 11, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 48:13-20-Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
Lesson # 311
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 48:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 48, which is divided into four sections: (1) The introduction to Jacob blessing Joseph (48:1-2). (2) Jacob adopts Joseph’s sons in order to elevate them to the status of founding fathers (48:3-12). (3) Jacob confers blessing on Joseph who is represented by his sons with Ephraim receiving the greater blessing (48:13-20). (4) Jacob gives Joseph the portion of the land he took from the Amorites (48:21-22).
Although Jacob adopts Joseph’s two sons, giving them founding father status, which would make the total number of tribes in Israel as thirteen, the number of tribes in Israel still remained at twelve by eliminating the tribe of Levi’s territorial share (See Joshua 14:1-4).
Genesis 48-50 brings to a conclusion the story of Jacob, which began in Genesis 35 and the story of Joseph, which began in Genesis 37.
There are two significant themes recorded in Genesis 48: (1) Jacob adopts Joseph’s sons and elevates them to the status of Israelite tribes. (2) Ephraim receives a greater status over the first-born Manasseh.
By way of review of what we have covered thus far in Genesis 48, we have noted the following:
In Genesis 48:1-4, Joseph visits his father after being informed that he has become sick and his father in turn recalls the promises that God gave him before entering into the ceremony of adopting Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Then in Genesis 48:5-12, Jacob adopts Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
This evening we will study Genesis 48:13-20, which records Jacob blessing Ephraim and Manasseh.
Genesis 48:1, “Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, ‘Behold, your father is sick.’ So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.”
Genesis 48:2, “When it was told to Jacob, ‘Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,’ Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed.”
Genesis 48:3-4, “Then Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’”
Genesis 48:5, “Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.”
Genesis 48:6, “But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance.”
Genesis 48:7, “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
Genesis 48:8, “When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, ‘Who are these?’”
Genesis 48:9, “Joseph said to his father, ‘They are my sons, whom God has given me here.’ So he said, ‘Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.’”
Genesis 48:10, “Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.”
Genesis 48:11, “Israel said to Joseph, ‘I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.’”
Genesis 48:12, “Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground.”
In Genesis 48:5-12 we have the account of the adoption ritual whereas in Genesis 48:13-20, we have the record of the blessing ritual.
Genesis 48:13, “Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him.”
Genesis 48:1 lists Manasseh first since he was the first-born and Ephraim second and this is important since this represents Joseph’s viewpoint that by primogeniture rights the older will be greater than the younger, however, Jacob will reverse it.
Therefore, Joseph positions his two sons in such a way as to ensure that his father’s right hand, the symbol of action and power and blessing will rest on Manasseh, his firstborn since the eldest son would receive the greater blessing.
Throughout the Scriptures, the right hand side is regarded as the place of honor, strength, power, glory and blessing (See Exodus 15:6; Deuteronomy 11:29; Psalm 89:13; 110:1; Proverbs 3:16; Ecclesiastes 10:2; Matthew 25:33; Acts 2:33; Hebrews 1:3).
In Genesis 48:10, Joseph’s sons were brought close to Israel for the adoption whereas in Genesis 48:13 they are brought close to him for the blessing.
Genesis 48:14, “But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.”
The Holy Spirit guides Israel to put his right hand on the head of the younger of Joseph’s two boys, Ephraim and not Manasseh, the older of the two since it is the will of God that Ephraim and not Manasseh receive the greater blessing.
Israel put his right hand on the head of the younger son, Ephraim rather than the firstborn, Manasseh since the Holy Spirit gave him revelation that Ephraim would be greater than Manasseh as indicated by his explanation to Joseph as to why he gave Ephraim the greater blessing, which is recorded in Genesis 48:19.
Therefore, the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh was prophetic since it was inspired by God the Holy Spirit and spoke of their future descendants.
Genesis 48:19 records that Israel gave both boys the same blessing, thus indicating that the only reason why Israel blessed Ephraim with his right hand and not Manasseh was that God gave him revelation that Ephraim’s descendants would become a multitude of nations.
Further indicating that both boys receive the same blessing is that Israel blessed their father as recorded in Genesis 48:16.
This is not the first time in Scripture that we have seen the younger son having precedence over the older son.
If you recall, in Genesis 25, we saw Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah, however, the Lord chose Jacob to inherit the blessings, privileges, promises and responsibilities of the Abrahamic covenant since he was a believer and Esau was not even though he was the older of the two boys.
Also, in Genesis 38, we saw that even though Tamar’s midwife used the scarlet thread to identify Zerah as Judah’s firstborn, God considered Perez the firstborn as demonstrated in that he always appears before Zerah in the genealogical lists (See Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:20-21; Matthew 1:3) and that both David and Jesus Christ would descend from Perez (See Ruth 4:18-22; Matthew 1:3; Luke 3:33).
Dr. Thomas L. Constable commenting on Israel laying his hands on Joseph’s boys, writes, “This is the first of many scriptural instances of the laying on of hands (v. 14). By this symbolic act, a person transferred a spiritual power or gift to another. This rite was part of the ceremony of dedicating a person or group to an office (Num. 27:18, 23; Deut. 34:9; Matt. 19:13; Acts 6:6; 8:17; etc.), offering sacrifices, and the healings Jesus Christ and the apostles performed. In this case Jacob symbolically transferred a blessing from himself to Joseph's sons. Once uttered, blessings were irreversible (cf. Num. 23:20; Rom. 11:29).” (Notes on Genesis, 2005 Edition, page 266)
Genesis 48:15-16, “He blessed Joseph, and said, ‘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 evil, bless the lads and may my name live on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac and may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’”
The statement “He (Israel) blessed Joseph” means that Israel is blessing Joseph through his two sons and this is indicated in that Joseph received the double portion of the family inheritance according to 1Chronicles 5:1-2 and both Ephraim and Manasseh were equally blessed according to Genesis 48:19.
Next, Israel identifies the Source of the blessing who is the one and only God and gives a three-fold description of Him referring to each member of the Trinity.
“The God” is composed of the definite article ha (h^), “the” and the noun Elohim (<yh!Oa$), “God” and together they mean “the one and only God,” or “the one true God” in contrast to the multi-god culture of the heathen world.
The statement “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked” refers God the Father and to the fact that Israel’s grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac lived in the presence of the one and only God or in other words, they experienced intimate fellowship with the one and only God.
Fellowship with the Lord constitutes living in the presence of God and involves confessing sin to the Father in order to be restored to fellowship followed by obedience to the Word of the Lord in order to maintain that fellowship (1 John 1:5-2:6) and to experience the covenant blessings.
Obedience to the Word of the Lord constitutes walking by means of faith meaning taking the Lord at His Word to deliver on His promises.
Therefore, the statement “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked” implies that like Abraham and Isaac, Ephraim and Manasseh must live in the presence of God and experience intimate fellowship with Him in order to experience the covenant blessings.
As we have noted in our past studies of the book of Genesis the “Abrahamic” covenant was “unconditional” meaning that its fulfillment was dependent upon the Lord’s faithfulness.
However, we have also noted that an unconditional covenant may have “blessings” attached to it that are conditioned on the response of the recipient and that response is simply faith or to trust that God will deliver on His promise, which expresses itself in obedience to the commands of God.
For example, the blessings that Abraham received in Genesis 12:1-3 were conditioned on his obedience to the Lord’s command to leave his country and his father’s house and go to the land, which the Lord would show him, namely, the land of Canaan.
The “blessings” that Abraham received in Genesis 22:17-18 were conditioned on his obedience to the Lord’s command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.
The “fulfillment” of unconditional covenants does “not” depend on the continued obedience of the recipient but rather the faithfulness of God who instituted the covenant.
Abraham and Isaac failed to operate in faith many times, yet the Lord remained faithful to the covenant promises He made to Abraham.
The Lord was responsible to fulfill the agreement and Abraham’s part was to obey the Lord’s commands, which would manifest his faith in the Lord.
Therefore, many of the “blessings” of the covenant were conditioned upon the patriarchs’ obedience whereas the “fulfillment” of the covenant depended upon the faithfulness of God rather than Abraham’s obedience.
The statement “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked” implies Ephraim and Manasseh must also walk by faith in the promises of God in order to experience the covenant blessings that Abraham and Isaac experienced.
The statement “the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day” means that Israel acknowledges that throughout his life God the Holy Spirit has shepherded him by providing for him and protecting him and guiding him.
Psalm 23:1-3, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.”
“Angel” is the noun mal’akh (Ea*l+m^) (mal-awk), which means, “messenger” is used in the Old Testament with reference to “elect” angels (Gen. 19:1; Ps. 91:11) and men (Deut. 2:26; Josh. 6:17) and of the “preincarnate” Christ (Gen. 22:11; Zech. 3:1).
In Genesis 48:16, “the angel” is a reference to the “preincarnate” Christ since Israel in context Israel is speaking of His relationship to God.
The preincarnate Christ manifested Himself to Israel both visibly and audibly seven times in his life (1st time: Genesis 28:10-22; 2nd time: 31:3; 3rd time: 31:10-13; 4th time: 32:24-32; 5th time: 35:1; 6th time: 35:9; 7th time: 46:2).
The statement “the angel who has redeemed me from all evil” is therefore a reference to God the Son and means that Israel acknowledges that the preincarnate Christ had delivered him throughout his life from evil in the sense of harm.
“Redeem” is the verb ga’al (la^F*) (gaw-al), which means, “to deliver.”
“Evil” is the adjective ra` (ur^) (rah), which is often used to denote “independence from God, which is manifested by disobedience and rebellion,” however, Israel is speaking of “physical harm.”
The Lord had delivered Israel from physical harm many times in his life such as delivering him from Esau when fleeing Canaan (See Genesis 28:10-19), and when arriving back in Canaan (See Genesis 32), and He delivered him from Laban (See Genesis 32-33) and from the Canaanites and Perizzites (See Genesis 34).
Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.”
Next, Israel makes four requests of God for the sons of Joseph.
The first request “bless the lads (Ephraim and Manasseh)” expresses Israel’s Spirit inspired desire that God would endue Ephraim and Manasseh with power for success, prosperity, fecundity (offspring in large numbers) and longevity.
The second request “may my name live on in them” expresses Israel’s Spirit inspired desire that God would reckon that both Ephraim and Manasseh would be among the twelve tribes of Israel and perpetuate the family line.
The third request “(may) the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac (live on in them)” expresses Israel’s Spirit inspired desire that God would reckon Ephraim and Manasseh as part of the family that is heir to the blessings, privileges, responsibilities and promises of the Abrahamic covenant.
Israel’s fourth and final request “may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” expresses Israel’s Spirit inspired desire that the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh would become a multitude.
This request was fulfilled according to a comparison of two censuses taken during the course of Israel’s wandering in the desert under Moses prior to entering Canaan under Joshua.
The combined number of males in Ephraim and Manasseh increased from 72,700 (See Numbers 1:32-35) in the second year after the Exodus to 85,200 forty years later (See Numbers 26:28-37).
In contrast, the combined populations of Reuben and Simeon during the same period decreases from 105,800 to 65,930.
In his farewell address, Moses in Deuteronomy 33:17 refers to the “myriads of Ephraim” and the “thousands of Manasseh.”
Genesis 48:17, “When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.”
Genesis 48:18, “Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.’”
It displeased Joseph that his father had put his right hand on the head of his youngest son Ephraim rather than the older of the two, Manasseh since he considered it a disregard of primogeniture rights meaning that the oldest son was to receive a greater blessing than the younger.
Joseph attempted to remove his father’s hand from Ephraim’s head since he undoubtedly thought that his father made an error due to his poor eyesight.
Just as Esau attempted to have his father Isaac reverse the blessing he gave to Jacob (See Genesis 27:34-36) so Joseph attempts to reverse the blessing given to Ephraim and have his father bestow it on Manasseh, the firstborn.
However, once the blessing has been given it is irrevocable (See Numbers 23:20; Romans 11:29), which is especially true when the blessing is inspired by the Holy Spirit as was the case with both Jacob and Ephraim.
Joseph did not realize that God the Holy Spirit directed his father to place his right hand upon the head of Ephraim and pronounce a blessing on him that was prophetic.
Genesis 48:19, “But 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 shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.’”
Israel’s statement “I know, my son, I know” means that he understood which of the two young men were the firstborn, understanding fully primogeniture rights and indicates that it was intentional that he gave the blessing of the firstborn to Ephraim rather than Manasseh.
His statement “He also will become a people and he also will be great” means that Manasseh’s descendants would become one of the tribes of Israel and would have an impact on the nation.
“People” is the noun `am (<u^), which is used of people in terms of their being kinsmen, relatives or members of a tribe.
The statement “However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations” means Ephraim’s descendants would have numerical superiority over his brother’s descendants and would have a greater impact upon the nation of Israel.
“Multitude” is the noun melo (aOm+) (mel-o), “fullness” and “nations” is the noun goy (yw{G) (go-ee), which refers to a specific group of people that form a political entity, thus the text literally reads, “the fullness of nations.”
Notice that Israel prophesied that Manasseh would become a “people” in the sense of a tribe while on the other hand Ephraim’s descendants will become “the fullness of nations” indicating the numerical superiority that Ephraim’s descendants will have over those of Manasseh.
Bruce K. Waltke, “In the census taken in the second year after the Exodus, the male population of Ephraim is 20 percent more than that of Manasseh (See Numbers 1:33, 35). In the second census a generation later, however, the male population of Manasseh exceeds that of Ephraim (Numbers 26:34, 37) by 40 percent (cf. 1 Chronicles 7:20-23). Eventually, however, Ephraim gains the numerical superiority (cf. Deuteronomy 33:17).” (Genesis, page 600, Zondervan).
This blessing/prophecy was fulfilled during the Judges period when Ephraim had grown very large and influential and when the tribe of Ephraim took the lead among the ten northern tribes and flourished to the extent that the Jews used the name Ephraim equally with the name Israel.
Genesis 48:20, “He blessed them that day, saying, ‘By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.”
The prepositional phrase “by you” is in the singular referring to Joseph who is blessed through his two sons.
The noun Elohim, “God” is used rather than the covenant name of God, which is Yahweh, “Lord” since Israel is emphasizing the omnipotence of God and that God is able to bring to pass that which He has purposed for Ephraim and Manasseh.
The statement “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh” is a prophecy that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh will be so blessed that future generations in Israel will invoke their names as a pattern for divine blessing and that they shall in the course of time become proverbial for blessing in Israel.