48:14
“And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn).”
The chapter at a glance
The chapter in brief
Told that his father is ill, Joseph brings his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Israel gathers his strength and sits up in bed, recalls God Almighty’s promise to him at Luz, and adopts Joseph’s sons as his own: “Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.” He remembers burying Rachel on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. Nearly blind, he kisses and embraces the boys: “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” Joseph places Manasseh at his father’s right hand and Ephraim at his left, but Israel crosses his hands and lays his right hand on the younger. He blesses them in the name of the God before whom his fathers walked, the God who has been his shepherd all his life, and “the angel who has redeemed me from all evil.” When Joseph tries to move his father’s hand, Jacob refuses, “I know, my son, I know,” and declares that the younger will be greater. He promises that God will bring them back to the land of their fathers and gives Joseph one portion more than his brothers.
Hebrews picks this scene out as Jacob’s act of faith: “By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph” (Hebrews 11:21). The crossed hands sum up a pattern that runs through Genesis: Abel over Cain, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Perez over Zerah, and now Ephraim over Manasseh. God’s blessing does not follow the order of birth or even the expectations of a godly father. It follows God’s free choice, which is grace (Romans 9:10-13). The man who once deceived his own blind father to take a blessing now, blind himself, gives one with the open eyes of faith. And the threefold naming of God in verses 15-16 ends with “the angel who has redeemed me.” Many Reformed readers see in this angel an appearance of the Son before His incarnation, the One who would one day redeem His people with His own blood; others read a created angel sent by God, or a poetic way of naming God Himself. On every reading Jacob’s Redeemer is God, and that redemption is accomplished in Christ.
Points for discussion
vv. 1–7
Adopted into Israel
Jacob begins with God’s promise at Luz (Genesis 28:13-15; 35:9-12), because the adoption rests on it. Joseph’s two sons will stand as full tribes, which gives Joseph the double share that belonged to the firstborn; 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 says Reuben’s birthright passed to the sons of Joseph. Sons born in Egypt to an Egyptian mother become heads of tribes in Israel, a quiet sign that grace crosses lines people draw. Then Jacob remembers Rachel, Joseph’s mother, buried on the road to Bethlehem, the town that will later be David’s and Christ’s (Micah 5:2).
vv. 8–12
“God has let me see”
“I never expected to see your face” is the voice of a man who had given up hope; “God has let me see your offspring also” is the voice of one who has received far more than he asked (Ephesians 3:20). Joseph then bows with his face to the earth before his father. The dream once had the father bowing to the son (Genesis 37:10); here, at the end, the exalted son bows.
vv. 13–20
The crossed hands
The right hand carried the greater blessing, and Joseph arranges the boys carefully for it. Jacob crosses his arms on purpose, and when Joseph objects he answers, “I know, my son, I know.” This is no mistake of failing eyes. Later history bears him out: Ephraim became the leading tribe of the north, and the prophets often use its name for the whole northern kingdom (Hosea 11:8).
For discussion
Why does God so often choose the younger, the weaker or the unexpected in Genesis? Test your answer against 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.
vv. 15–16
The angel who redeemed
Three lines name the One who blesses: the God of the fathers, the God who shepherded Jacob, and the angel who redeemed him. The verb “bless” that follows is singular in Hebrew, so the three titles name one blesser, and the angel stands where God stands. Hosea says of Jacob that “he strove with the angel and prevailed” and then “met God at Bethel” (Hosea 12:4). Readers differ on who the angel is. Many Reformed readers see in the angel of the LORD an appearance of the Son before His incarnation; on that reading “angel” names His work as messenger, not a created nature. Others read the line as a poetic way of speaking of God Himself, or of a created angel God sent. On either reading the Son did not become anything He was not; He took our flesh only at the incarnation (John 1:14). Either way, Jacob’s God is a Redeemer (ga’al), the kinsman who buys back, and that name finds its fullness in Christ (Galatians 4:4-5).
vv. 21–22
One mountain slope
The word for “mountain slope” is shekem, literally “shoulder,” and it is also the name of the town Shechem. Joseph’s bones would be buried at Shechem (Joshua 24:32), and John notes “the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph” (John 4:5). Jacob says he took it “with my sword and with my bow”; no such battle is recorded. Some connect it with the violence at Shechem in Genesis 34, which Jacob condemned; others take it as an event the text does not tell. The text does not settle it.
Threads across the chapter
Seeing and not seeing. Israel’s eyes are dim (v. 10), yet God has let him see beyond his hope (v. 11), and he sees further than Joseph in crossing his hands (v. 19).
The younger first. The crossed hands (vv. 14, 19-20) continue the pattern of Abel, Isaac, Jacob and Perez.
The God of the whole life. God Almighty at Luz (v. 3), the God of the fathers, the Shepherd and the Redeemer (vv. 15-16) name the God who carried Jacob from beginning to end.
The land ahead. The everlasting possession (v. 4), Rachel’s grave in Canaan (v. 7) and “bring you again to the land” (v. 21) keep the promise in view from Egypt.
Key words
- 48:15
- רֹעֶה ro'eh“Shepherd”; “the God who has been my shepherd all my life long”
- 48:16
- מַלְאָךְ mal'akh“Angel,” messenger; here set in parallel with God Himself
- 48:16
- גָּאַל ga'al“Redeemed”; the kinsman’s act of rescuing and buying back
- 48:22
- שְׁכֶם shekem“Mountain slope,” literally “shoulder”; the same word as the town of Shechem
Cross-references
- Hebrews 11:21By faith Jacob blessed each of the sons of Joseph
- 1 Chronicles 5:1-2The birthright given to the sons of Joseph
- Genesis 32:24-30Jacob wrestles with the man and sees God face to face
- Hosea 12:3-5Jacob strove with the angel and met God at Bethel
- Romans 9:10-13God’s purpose of election, not because of works
- Joshua 24:32Joseph’s bones buried at Shechem
- John 4:5The field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph
- Psalm 23:1The LORD is my shepherd
- 1
Why might Hebrews 11:21 choose this moment, of all Jacob’s life, as his great act of faith?
- 2
What does Jacob’s adoption of Egyptian-born grandsons as full sons of Israel suggest about God’s grace?
- 3
Joseph tries to correct his father’s hands. When have we tried to steer God’s blessing toward what seemed proper to us?
- 4
Jacob calls God his Shepherd and Redeemer at the end of a troubled life. What would it take for us to say the same about our own story?
- 5
Who is “the angel who has redeemed me from all evil”? Weigh the readings with Genesis 32:24-30 and Hosea 12:3-5.
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