Genesis 48:5

5 Now then thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came to thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasse, as Ruben and Symeon they shall be mine.

Genesis 48:5 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 48:5

And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh
Ephraim was the youngest, but is mentioned first, as he afterwards was preferred in the blessing of him: which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto
thee into Egypt;
and therefore must be twenty years of age, or upwards: for Jacob had been in Egypt seventeen years, and he came there when there had been two years of famine, and Joseph's sons were born to him before the years of famine began, ( Genesis 41:50 ) ; of these Jacob says, they [are] mine: as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine;
that is, by adoption; should be reckoned not as his grandchildren, but as his children, even as his two eldest sons, Reuben and Simeon; and so should be distinct tribes or heads of them, as his sons would be, and have a distinct part and portion in the land of Canaan; and thus the birthright was transferred from Reuben, because of his incest, to Joseph, who in his posterity had a double portion assigned him.

Genesis 48:5 In-Context

3 And Jacob said to Joseph, My God appeared to me in Luza, in the land of Chanaan, and blessed me,

4 and said to me, Behold, I will increase thee, and multiply thee, and will make of thee multitudes of nations; and I will give this land to thee, and to thy seed after thee, for an everlasting possession.

5 Now then thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came to thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasse, as Ruben and Symeon they shall be mine.

6 And the children which thou shalt beget hereafter, shall be in the name of their brethren; they shall be named after their inheritances.

7 And as for me, when I came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, Rachel, thy mother, died in the land of Chanaan, as I drew night to the horse-course of Chabratha of the land , so as to come to Ephratha; and I buried her in the road of the course; this is Bethlehem.