48:1–7 The end of chapter 47 may have seemed like a deathbed scene (cf. 47:29), but there is still an “after this” (48:1) before Jacob’s final illness. Yet clearly the news that his father is ill concerns Joseph profoundly, and the decision to take his two sons with him to visit his ailing father anticipates the prospect of a final blessing (v. 1). Unlike Jacob’s own attempt to steal a blessing from his aging father in Genesis 27, there is no deception in this visit; though Jacob’s eyesight is failing, as Isaac’s had been (48:10), his mind is clear, and he gathers his strength and sits up in bed to pronounce the blessing (v. 2).

First, Jacob takes the time to remind Joseph of the source and nature of the blessing. He is not merely passing on his own hopes and dreams, a sentimental wish for good for his descendants. Rather, he is passing on the blessing he himself received from God Almighty (ʾEl Shaddai)671 at Bethel (here described by its Canaanite name, Luz; v. 3; cf. 28:13–15). This point is underlined in the text by the shift in his own name from Jacob in the first half of verse 2 to Israel in the second.672 In fact the blessing Jacob pronounces is larger than that found in Genesis 28; it also includes the expanded blessing that Jacob received on his return to Bethel, now bearing his new name, Israel (cf. 35:10–12). There God promised Jacob fruitfulness and that his offspring would become a “company” (Hb. qahal, “assembly”)673 of peoples who would receive the land of Canaan as a permanent possession (ʾakhuzzah; 48:4; cf. 17:8), in contrast to the temporary ʾakhuzzah that Joseph has given them in the land of Egypt (cf. 47:11). In light of the Lord’s promise of fruitfulness it cannot escape Jacob’s attention that one of his grandchildren standing before him bears the name “Fruitful” (Ephraim; cf. 41:52). The reference here foreshadows the elevation of the younger son, Ephraim, over the older, Manasseh, which is the theme of the later part of the chapter.

In light of this it is fitting that Jacob then effectively adopts Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own, granting them equal inheritance rights with their uncles and thus effectively granting Joseph a double share of the inheritance, such as would normally be given to the firstborn (48:5). The normal entitlement to the firstborn’s birthright had earlier been forfeited by Reuben because of his sin (35:22; 1 Chron. 5:1–2). Any subsequent children born to Joseph in Egypt will be counted as Joseph’s own; indeed, they will receive their inheritance through their brothers and not in their own right (Gen. 48:6).674 This special status of Joseph’s two sons reflects Jacob’s unique love for Rachel, Joseph’s mother, and his great sadness when she died on the way to Ephrath (or Bethlehem) and had to be buried there rather than in the family burial plot at the cave of Machpelah (v. 7; cf. Genesis 23; 25:9).675 Yet she is still buried in the Land of Promise, as Jacob himself longs to be. The two events Jacob mentions—his meeting with God at Luz/Bethel and the death of Rachel—bracketed his time outside the Promised Land, during all of which time the Lord had been with him.

48:8–14 When Jacob’s grandchildren are brought to him by Joseph, his first response is “Who are these?” (48:8). Jacob’s apparent failure to recognize his grandchildren, whom he has now known for the past seventeen years, has puzzled commentators. Yet several factors could account for this, including Jacob’s dimmed eyesight (v. 10). More significantly, if this episode represents an adoption ceremony, as Nahum Sarna argues, then the formal identification of the parties would be an important legal step.676 It also serves as an important connection between this blessing scene and Genesis 27, where a similarly sight-challenged Isaac asks the same question of Jacob (27:18). These similarities serve to highlight the profound differences between the stories. In this case there is no deception or trickery involved—even though once again the younger son receives the greater blessing (48:17–19). Yet there will be a blessing for both Ephraim and Manasseh, and indeed for all Israel’s other sons, who will share in the promise of becoming a multitude of nations.

When Joseph brings his two sons to his father, Jacob kisses and embraces them both, overwhelmed by the unexpected work of God in his own life. He had given up hope of ever seeing Joseph’s face again after that fateful journey to visit his brothers, yet now he has seen not only Joseph but Joseph’s children as well (v. 11). In the OT, given the relatively high mortality rate, to see one’s children’s children was a blessing, not an expectation (cf. Ps. 128:6); here even more is at stake, since Jacob identifies Joseph’s sons as his “seed” (Hb. zeraʿ), alluding once more to the promises to his ancestors.677 Out of deep respect for his father Joseph prostrates himself before him and then formally presents the two boys before Jacob so that they might receive his blessing, carefully positioning the older son, Manasseh, by Jacob’s right hand and the younger, Ephraim, by his left hand, so that the older might be blessed first by his grandfather (Gen. 48:13). Israel, however—called by this name here in recognition of the long-term impact of the actions that will follow—switches his hands so that the primary blessing is given to Ephraim, the younger son, and not to Manasseh.

48:15–16 Despite Jacob’s favoring of Ephraim over Manasseh—a final time in the book of Genesis that a younger son is raised over the older—the blessing that Jacob pronounces is for both boys (v. 16). Ephraim will be primus inter pares (“first among equals”) over Manasseh rather than a blessed brother over against a cursed one, as was the case for Isaac and Ishmael and for Jacob and Esau.

The blessing begins by identifying the God who will provide it, the God of Jacob’s father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham (v. 15). Just as Abraham and Isaac had “walked before God” (cf. 17:1; 24:40), so too this God has been Jacob’s shepherd throughout his life (48:15). This is the first use of what will become a favorite appellation for Israel’s God as the biblical narrative unfolds (49:24; Pss. 23:1; 28:9; 80:1; Eccles. 12:11; Isa. 40:11; etc.). The metaphor of shepherd encompasses both strength and protection, along with tender care for the flock, and thus is a natural image to describe the Lord’s care for his people.

Jacob also calls the Lord “the angel who has redeemed me from all evil” (Gen. 48:16). Calling God an “angel” is unusual and likely represents the same idea as “angel of the Lord,” who seems to represent God on earth in unique ways, so that, when the angel speaks, God speaks (cf. Ex. 3:2–4). The angel of the Lord has not been explicitly mentioned in the Jacob narrative, though his role as a redemptive figure was clear in Genesis 16; 22, where he came to rescue Hagar and then Isaac, and angels have figured significantly in Jacob’s life, most notably in Genesis 33 at Penuel.678 The divine nature of the angel in Genesis 48:16 is clear both from the parallelism with the previous clauses and by the fact that Jacob seeks a blessing from him; nowhere else in the Bible does an angel possess the authority to bless anyone (except perhaps 32:27–30, where the figure is clearly a manifestation of God himself).

The content of the blessing includes God’s protection and redeeming presence with the boys, as alluded to in the titles ascribed to the God from whom the blessing comes. This is the first use in the Bible of the Hebrew verb gaʾal (“redeem”; 48:16), which, together with the noun form, goʾel (“kinsman-redeemer”), will become a key descriptor of God’s work on behalf of his people (Ex. 6:6; 15:13; Isa. 44:6; etc.). Jacob also asks that through these boys the family names—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. Ex. 33:1; Deut. 9:27; 2 Kings 13:23; Jer. 33:26; Matt. 8:11; Acts 7:32)—might continue to be remembered. This family name that will be pronounced upon them is encapsulated in the form “Israel,” given to Jacob at Penuel (Genesis 33). This perpetual remembering contrasts with the name Manasseh, which means “forgetting” (41:51): Joseph can never truly forget his father’s household.

Finally, Jacob prays that God’s blessing upon the boys would result in their “growing into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (48:16). This would represent a fulfillment of the divine blessing to “be fruitful and multiply” (cf. v. 4). The word translated “grow” (dagah) is elsewhere unattested; some have seen a connection to a similar root meaning “fish,” suggesting that their fruitfulness is being compared to the teeming hordes of the sea (1:21–22; cf. 48:16 ESV mg.). The connection between the verbal roots is uncertain, though the abundance of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh is already apparent during the time of the exodus and the conquest.679 Given the focus elsewhere in Jacob’s blessing on the land of Canaan, the word ʾerets (“earth”) could be rendered “land” here; what is in view is not global domination but fruitfulness in the Land of Promise.680

48:17–22 Jacob earlier crossed over his hands in order to bestow the primary blessing on the younger son, Ephraim, rather than the older son, Manasseh (v. 14). In response Joseph is displeased and, assuming at first that this is the result of confusion on the part of his elderly father, seeks to switch his father’s hands back so that Manasseh, the firstborn, might receive the primary blessing (v. 17). Yet Jacob insists on giving Ephraim the primary blessing. Manasseh too will become a great people, to be sure, but the younger brother will be even more blessed and his offspring even more abundant (v. 19). Indeed, in later years, after the northern kingdom secedes from the tribal alliance, the north is known interchangeably as Israel and Ephraim (e.g., Isaiah 7). Both of their names will be used as a blessing, but Ephraim’s will come before Manasseh’s (Gen. 48:20).

Jacob’s concluding words in this scene are for Joseph, granting him a special blessing distinct from his brothers. He promises that God will be with Joseph, just as he had earlier been with Jacob, and will bring him back to the land of Canaan, a promise fulfilled long after Joseph’s death, when his descendants bring his bones from Egypt to bury them in the Promised Land (50:25; Ex. 13:19)—a privilege that does not seem to be afforded to any of his brothers. Jacob also grants Joseph a special personal bequest, a particular piece of property that he took by conquest from the Amorites (Gen. 48:22). The exact nature and location of this property is uncertain and much debated, but the primary point is clear and has been central to this whole chapter. Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph remains intact until the end; he is determined that Joseph receive a double blessing, both directly and through his children. What is more, the gift is a further act of faith on the part of Jacob, for the bequest will be of no value to Joseph as long as he and his descendants remain in Egypt. It will be appropriated only if God brings his people back to the land of Canaan and grants it to them as their lasting inheritance.