GENESIS
CHAPTER 48
Jacob tells of the appearance of God to him in Luz—He adopts Ephraim and Manasseh as his own children—Jacob blesses Joseph—He puts Ephraim before Manasseh—Seed of Ephraim shall become a multitude of nations—Israel shall come again into the land of their fathers.
1 AND it came to pass after these things, that one 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 cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3 And Jacob 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 people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
5 ¶ And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which 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 thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by 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; the same is Beth-lehem.
9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.
14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, [ The Birthright. This history takes on an additional dimension of importance when one considers the Hebrew law of primogeniture, or the birthright. Under this law, for example, if a man had three sons, his estate would be divided not three ways, but four, with a quarter going to each of the three sons and the fourth quarter going to the birthright son. To have the birthright meant power, property, and a measure of wealth to help defray the cost of managing the estate, to take care of any daughters and, who knows, maybe there would be a little left over for an executor’s fee.
Being the first son, Reuben held the birthright. But he lost it because he defiled his father’s bed. The question is, who was to get the birthright now? Was it to go to the second son, Simeon, or to any of the older boys? No! The Hebrew law of primogeniture required that the birthright go to the first son of the second wife. So the birthright went to Joseph (see 1 Chronicles 5:1–2). That’s why he was given the coat of many colors. The original Hebrew of that passage, "pargud mesuyyar is a paraphrase of passim, which accordingly is not to be translated 'a coat of many colors,' but 'an upper garment in which figures are woven.'" It wasn’t because he was a favorite son, necessarily. It was because he was the birthright son. The coat carried that special designation. Of course, this infuriated his ten older brothers. You remember that they angrily sold Joseph into Egypt.
Joseph then married Asenath, and she gave birth to two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (see Genesis 41:45, 50–52).
Patriarchal blessings were as important then as they are now. When the father of these two sons felt that the time was appropriate for his boys to receive patriarchal blessings, he took them to patriarch Israel, who by that time was elderly. His eyes were described as “dim for age” (Genesis 48:10). (I presume he had cataracts.) You remember the story. Israel crossed his hands, put his right hand on the head of the younger Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. Joseph tried to correct his father, but Israel persisted in his plan to give the patriarchal blessings in that order. He bestowed upon them blessings of greatness and conferred the birthright upon Ephraim (see Genesis 48:20; also D&C 133:34). ] and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 ¶ And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day.
16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
17 And when Joseph saw that his father [ Jacob. ] laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
[ Here we have the patriarchal blessing of Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph. When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. So Joseph grabbed his father’s hand, and tried remove it from Ephraim’s head to place it on Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head. And Jacob refused and said, I know it, my son, I know it. Then he said according to Young's Literal Translation 48:19 And his father refuseth, and saith, "I have known, my son, I have known; he also becometh a people, and he also is great, and yet, his young brother is greater than he, and his seed is the fulness of the nations"(Hebrew melo’ haggoyim - which means fulness of completeness - his ancestors will eventually be the one's who will bear the primary responsiblity to administer the temple blessings to the world);. ]
20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.