Genesis 48:5

5 Therefore thy two sons, that be born to thee in the land of Egypt, before that I came hither to thee, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, shall be areckoned to me (Ephraim and Manasseh, just like Reuben and Simeon, shall be reckoned as 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 when Joseph entered to him, he said, Almighty God appeared to me in Luz (Almighty God appeared to me at Luz), which is in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4 and (he) said, I shall increase thee, and multiply thee, and I shall make thee into companies of peoples, and I shall give to thee this land, and to thy seed after thee, into everlasting possession (and I shall give this land to thee, and to thy descendants after thee, for an everlasting possession).

5 Therefore thy two sons, that be born to thee in the land of Egypt, before that I came hither to thee, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, shall be areckoned to me (Ephraim and Manasseh, just like Reuben and Simeon, shall be reckoned as mine);

6 forsooth the others which thou shalt beget after them shall be thine; and they shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions (and they shall be called after the names of their brothers in their inheritance).

7 Forsooth when I came from Mesopotamia, Rachel was dead to me in the land of Canaan, in that way; and it was the beginning of summer; and (before that) I entered into Ephratah, and I buried her beside the way of Ephratah, which by another name is called Bethlehem. (And when I came from Paddan-aram, Rachel died, and left me on the way, in the land of Canaan; and it was the beginning of summer; and before that I entered into Ephrath, I buried her beside the way to Ephrath, which by another name is called Bethlehem.)