Genesis 48:1-8

1 And it came to pass after these things that it was told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph comes unto thee. Then Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed

3 and said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me

4 and said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of peoples and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

6 And those whom thou hast begotten after them shall be thine and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

7 Because when I came from Padanaram, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons and said, Who are these?

Genesis 48:1-8 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.