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Genesis 48:9-19

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9 Joseph said to his father, "1They are my sons, whom God has given me here." So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that 2I may bless them."
10 Now 3the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he 4kissed them and embraced them.
11 Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well."
12 Then Joseph took them from his knees, and 5bowed with his face to the ground.
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.
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 6Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 He blessed Joseph, and said, "7The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, 8The God who has been my shepherd all * my life to this day,
16 9The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, 10Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And 11may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
17 When Joseph saw that his father 12laid 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.
18 Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head."
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 13his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."
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Genesis 48:9-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 48

Joseph, hearing that his father Jacob was sick, paid him a visit, Ge 49:1,2; at which time Jacob gave him an account of the Lord's appearing to him at Luz, and of the promise he made unto him, Ge 49:3,4; then he adopted his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and blessed them, and Joseph also, Ge 49:5-16; and whereas he crossed his hands when he blessed the sons of Joseph, putting his right hand on the youngest, and his left hand on the eldest, which was displeasing to Joseph, he gave him a reason for so doing, Ge 49:17-20; and then assured him that God would bring him, and the rest of his posterity, into the land of Canaan, where he assigned him a particular portion above his brethren, Ge 49:21,22.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 13

  • 1. Genesis 33:5
  • 2. Genesis 27:4
  • 3. Genesis 27:1
  • 4. Genesis 27:27
  • 5. Genesis 42:6
  • 6. Genesis 41:51, 52
  • 7. Genesis 17:1
  • 8. Genesis 49:24
  • 9. Gen 22:11, 15-18; Genesis 28:13-15; Genesis 31:11
  • 10. Hebrews 11:21
  • 11. Genesis 28:14; Genesis 46:3
  • 12. Genesis 48:14
  • 13. Genesis 28:14; Genesis 46:3

Footnotes 11

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.