Genesis 48
48 And it cometh to pass, after these things, that [one] saith to Joseph, `Lo, thy father is sick;' and he taketh his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.
^2 ^And [one] declareth to Jacob, and saith, `Lo, thy son Joseph is coming unto thee;' and Israel doth strengthen himself, and sit upon the bed.
^3 ^And Jacob saith unto Joseph, `God Almighty hath appeared unto me, in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blesseth me,
^4 ^and saith unto me, Lo, I am making thee fruitful, and have multiplied thee, and given thee for an assembly of peoples, and given this land to thy seed after thee, a possession age-during.
^5 `And now, thy two sons, who are born to thee in the land of Egypt, before my coming unto thee to Egypt, mine they [are]; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon they are mine;
^6 ^and thy family which thou hast begotten after them are thine; by the name of their brethren they are called in their inheritance.
^7 `And I -- in my coming in from Padan-[Aram] Rachel hath died by me in the land of Canaan, in the way, while yet a kibrath of land to enter Ephrata, and I bury her there in the way of Ephrata, which [is] Bethlehem.'
^8 ^And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph, and saith, `Who [are] these?'
^9 ^and Joseph saith unto his father, They [are] my sons, whom God hath given to me in this [place];' and he saith, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I bless them.'
^10 ^And the eyes of Israel have been heavy from age, he is unable to see; and he bringeth them nigh unto him, and he kisseth them, and cleaveth to them;
^11 ^and Israel saith unto Joseph, `To see thy face I had not thought, and lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.'
^12 ^And Joseph bringeth them out from between his knees, and boweth himself on his face to the earth;
^13 ^and Joseph taketh them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left towards Israel's right, and bringeth [them] nigh to him.
^14 ^And Israel putteth out his right hand, and placeth [it] upon the head of Ephraim, who [is] the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh; he hath guided his hands wisely, for Manasseh [is] the first-born.
^15 ^And he blesseth Joseph, and saith, `God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked habitually: God who is feeding me from my being unto this day:
^16 ^the Messenger who is redeeming me from all evil doth bless the youths, and my name is called upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and they increase into a multitude in the midst of the land.'
^17 ^And Joseph seeth that his father setteth his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it is wrong in his eyes, and he supporteth the hand of his father to turn it aside from off the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh;
^18 ^and Joseph saith unto his father, `Not so, my father, for this [is] the first-born; set thy right hand on his head.'
^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;'
^20 ^and he blesseth them in that day, saying, `By thee doth Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh;' and he setteth Ephraim before Manasseh.
^21 ^And Israel saith unto Joseph, `Lo, I am dying, and God hath been with you, and hath brought you back unto the land of your fathers;
^22 ^and I -- I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my sword and by my bow.'
TLV
48 After these things, someone told Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. 2 When someone told Jacob, saying, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in the bed.
3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El Shaddai appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me.” 4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and multiply you and turn you into an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 So now, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just like Reuben and Simeon. 6 Any descendent of yours whom you father after them will be yours; they will be identified by the names of their brothers for their inheritance. 7 “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way, in the land of Canaan, while we were still a distance from entering Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They’re my sons, whom God has given me here.”
Then he said, “Please bring them to me, so I may bless them.”
10 Now Israel’s eyes had grown heavy with old age—he could not see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and hugged them. 11 Then Israel said to Joseph, “To see your face, I didn’t expect—and look, God has let me see your offspring as well!”
12 Then Joseph took them from his knees and bowed with his face down to the ground. 13 Then Joseph took the two of them—Ephraim with his right hand across from Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand across from Israel’s right—and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it upon Ephraim’s head (though he was the younger), and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands (though Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has shepherded me
throughout my life to this day,16 The Angel who redeemed me
from all evil,May He bless the boys,
and may they be called by my name,
and by the name of my fathers,
Abraham and Isaac.May they multiply to a multitude
in the midst of the land.”17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand upon Ephraim’s head, it was wrong in his eyes. So his took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not like that, my father, because this one’s the firstborn. Put your right hand upon 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 become great. But his younger brother will become greater than he and his seed will be the fullness of the nations.” 20 Then he blessed them that day saying,
“In you shall Israel bless by saying:
‘May God make you
like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’”Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die. But God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Now I myself give you one portion more than your brothers, that which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
OJB
48 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Yosef, Hinei, Avicha is choleh (ill); and he took with him his two banim, Menasheh and Ephrayim.
2 And one told Ya’akov, and said, Hinei, the ben of thee Yosef cometh unto thee; and Yisroel strengthened himself, and sat up upon the mittah (bed).
3 And Ya’akov said unto Yosef, El Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in Eretz Kena’an, and made on me a brocha,
4 And said unto me, Hineni, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a kehal of ammim; and will give HaAretz Hazot to thy zera after thee for an achuzzat olam (everlasting possession).
5 And now thy two banim, Ephrayim and Menasheh, which were born unto thee in Eretz Mitzrayim before I came unto thee into Mitzrayim, are mine; like Reuven and Shimon, they shall be mine.
6 And thy moledet, which are born to thee after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the shem of their achim in their nachalah.
7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in Eretz Kena’an in the way, when there was yet but a space of land to go unto Ephratah; and I buried her there by the derech Ephrat; the same is Beit-Lechem.
8 And Yisroel beheld Bnei Yosef, and said, Who are these?
9 And Yosef said unto aviv, They are my banim, whom Elohim hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, now, unto me, and I will make upon them a brocha.
10 Now the eyes of Yisroel were dim from age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11 And Yisroel said unto Yosef, I never expected to see thy face; and, hinei, Elohim hath showed me also thy zera.
12 And Yosef brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the ground.
13 And Yosef took them both, Ephrayim in his yamin toward smol Yisroel, and Menasheh on his smol toward yamin Yisroel, and brought them near unto him.
14 And Yisroel stretched out his yamin, and laid it upon rosh Ephraim, who was the younger, and his smol upon rosh Manasseh, guiding his hands intentionally; for Menasheh was the bechor.
15 And he made on Yosef a brocha, and said, HaElohim, before whom my Avot Avraham and Yitzchak did walk, HaElohim Who was Roeh to me all my life long unto this day,
16 The Malach which redeemed me from kol rah, may he make a brocha on the ne’arim, and let my shem be named on them, and the shem of my Avot Avraham and Yitzchak; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of ha’aretz.
17 And when Yosef saw that aviv laid his yamin upon the rosh Ephrayim, it displeased him; and he took hold of yad aviv, to remove it from rosh Ephrayim unto rosh Menasheh.
18 And Yosef said unto aviv, Not so, Avi; for this is the bechor; put thy yamin upon his rosh.
19 And aviv refused, and said, I know it, beni (my son), I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly achiv hakaton shall be greater than he, and his zera shall become a multitude of Goyim.
20 And he made a brocha on them that day, saying, In thee shall Yisroel bless, saying, Elohim make thee like Ephrayim and like Menasheh; and he set Ephrayim before Menasheh.
21 And Yisroel said unto Yosef, Hinei I die; but Elohim shall be with you, and bring you back unto the Eretz Avoteichem.
22 Moreover, I have given to thee one portion above thy achim, which I took out of the yad HaEmori with my cherev and with my keshet.
NOTES:
Heiser, Michael S.. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Lexham Press. Kindle Edition.
The parallel position of elohim and mal’ak (“angel”) is unmistakable. Since the Bible very clearly teaches that God is eternal and existed before all things, and that angels are created beings, the point of this explicit parallel is not to say that God is an angel. On the other hand, it affirms that this angel is God.9 But the most striking feature is the verb (“may he bless”). In Hebrew, the verb “bless” in this passage is not grammatically plural, which would indicate two different persons are being asked to bless the boys. Rather, it is singular, thereby telegraphing a tight fusion of the two divine beings on the part of the author. In other words, the writer had a clear opportunity to distinguish the God of Israel from the angel, but instead merges their identities.