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Genesis Chapter Forty-eight
Preface
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. (Hebrews 11:21)
This chapter, along with verse 31 of the preceding chapter, is the historical basis for Hebrews 11:21, i.e., that it was an act of faith when Jacob (Israel) pronounced his blessing upon his two grandchildren—the sons of Joseph.
The importance of these events and the recording of them in Hebrews 11 is that they are acts of faith. It is critical that God’s children understand that without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6)—the primary substance that must compose all legitimate spiritual activity. It is by faith (in Christ) that a person is eternally saved (justified), and it is by faith that a person is able to walk in Christ (i.e., be filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit that abides within) unto divine (righteous) good works (Colossians 2:6; Ephesians 2:10).
This chapter continues a theme of two competing sons initially established in chapter 4 with Cain and Abel, then in chapters 25-28 with Jacob and Esau, and later in chapter 38 (vss. 27-30) with Perez and Zerah. Often the younger supplants the elder, which indicates that God works in ways different from the expected course of events.
Genesis 48:1-7 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
It was both traditional and common during these times that fathers of the Jewish community would pass on to their progeny the pronouncement of a blessing from God. Now that Jacob (Israel) was sick and apparently near death (Genesis 47:29), Joseph wished to secure such a blessing for himself and his sons.
As soon as Jacob received word that Joseph was near he gained strength, sat up, and prepared to bestow God’s blessing on the house of Joseph. It is significant that the foundation of his blessing to Joseph was centered in God’s promise to Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 35:9-13). This is the fifth time the name El Shaddai (God Almighty) is found in Genesis (17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 49:25). “Luz” is the older name for “Bethel.” A comparison of Jacob’s recall of this blessing with the recording of it in chapter 35 brings out additional clarification of its meaning as well as the writer’s perspective, which in turn is amplification by the Holy Spirit concerning the matter. The two specific augmentations to God’s promise are as follow:
The two sons of Joseph were Manasseh and Ephraim (41:50-52). Jacob reversed their birth order. He also said that they were as much his sons as were Reuben and Simeon, his first and second sons (29:32, 33). Because of the outrageous acts of Reuben (35:22) and Simeon (34:25), both of them had fallen from favor; Levi was also implicated in the outrage of Simeon (34:25). Therefore the rights and privileges of the firstborn son were passed down to two other sons, Judah (49:8-12) and Joseph (49:22-26). Reuben as the firstborn could have received a double portion of the father’s inheritance. But Jacob gave the double share to Joseph (v. 22). Joseph’s two sons are then counted with their uncles as founders of the tribes of Israel. (Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible, Nelson Bibles, A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982)
Ephraim was blessed as the “firstborn,” rather than the older, Manasseh (vs. 19), thus continuing the theme that the blessing did not always follow the lines of natural descent or natural right. The blessing was therefore a “gift,” and not necessarily a “right.” Judah rather than Joseph ultimately gained preeminence among his brothers. As important as Joseph is in the structure of the Genesis narratives, his role is subordinate to that of Judah. Consequently, the blessing of Judah and not the blessings of the sons of Joseph plays the dominant role in the continuing story of the promise and the blessing. The house of David comes from Judah from which comes the Messiah. Ephraim and Manasseh have an important role in the texts dealing with the divided northern kingdom, but the importance of that kingdom, which ultimately was exiled and lost in the Dispersion, pales in light of the rising “Star of David.”
The mention of Rachel and her burial site could be prompted by the fact that just as she had borne Jacob “two sons” (44:27, Joseph and Benjamin) at a time when he was about to enter (48:7) the land, so also Joseph had given Jacob “two sons” just at the time when he was about to enter Egypt. Such symmetry suggests that Ephraim and Manasseh are seen as replacements of Joseph and Benjamin, which furthers the sense of divine providence behind Jacobs’s life.
Furthermore, Jacob’s recollection is virtually verbatim to that of the account of Rachel’s death in 35:16-19. Both passages stress the site of “Ephrath,” which is identified as Bethlehem. As in the earlier cases of the concern for the burial of the patriarchs in the Promised Land, Jacobs’s mention of Rachel’s burial is tied to the promise that the land would be an “eternal possession” of the seed of Abraham, a reminder of the faithfulness of God to His covenant promise. (Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Old Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, 1994)
Genesis 48:8-14 Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, "Who are these?" And Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place." And he said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them." Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, "I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!" So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
There is no mention of Ephraim and Manasseh in the account of Jacob’s blessing of his sons in chapter 49, so their blessing is recounted in detail here. Although Joseph attempted to position his sons so that Manasseh, the natural firstborn, would receive the “blessing or right of the firstborn,” Jacob reversed the order and gave it to Ephraim.
Genesis 48:15, 16 And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Although it appears that Jacob (Israel) first blessed Joseph, it was the blessing of his sons that was a blessing to Joseph. His blessing ties his faith to the faith of the patriarchs of Abraham and Isaac and is a continuation of the manner in which many of the earliest patriarchs “walked with God” (Genesis 5:22, 24; 6:9).
The “Angel” is an abbreviated way of referring to the Angel of the Lord (Genesis 16:7; 22:11; 24:7). The phrase “the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil” amplifies the phrase “the God who has fed me all my life long to this day.” One is the other.
It is disputed whether the angel of the Lord (Gen 16:7-14; 22:11, 14, 15; Ex 3:2; Jud 2:1, 4; 5:23; 6:11-24; 13:3) or angel of God (Gen 21:17-19; 31:11-13) is one of the angels or an appearance of God Himself. The fact that the angel speaks not merely in the name of God but as God in the first person singular leaves no doubt that the angel of the Lord is a theophany—a self-manifestation of God (Gen 17:7 ff.; 22:11 ff.; 31:13). The angel identifies Himself with God and claims to exercise the prerogatives of God. Sometimes He is distinguished from God (2 Sam 24:16; Zech 1:12f.). Yet when distinguished, the identity as Deity remains (cf. Zech 3:1 f.; 12:8). Therefore, any distinction between the angel and the Lord is only a distinction between the Lord invisible and the Lord manifest. Since the angel of the Lord ceases to appear after the incarnation of Christ, it is often inferred that the angel is in the OT a preincarnate appearance of the Second Person of the Trinity. (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, Charles C. Ryrie, Ph.D., Dean of Doctoral Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas)
It is clear that Jacob (Israel) wanted Joseph’s two sons to inherit the blessing God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and himself; therefore, the blessing of the two sons in fact picks up the theme of the promise to Abraham. They are to be called by Jacob’s name and the “name” of Abraham and Isaac, just as God had promised Abraham: “I will make your name great,” and were to increase greatly just as God had promised Abraham to make him into a great nation (Genesis 12:2).
Genesis 48:17-21 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Joseph tried in vain to get his father Jacob to reverse the order of the blessing on his two sons, but Jacob let him know that he knew exactly what he was doing. Once again in Genesis, God overturned the expected order of things. The older would serve the younger—just as Jacob himself had been elevated over his older brother in the past (27:1-28:9). This issue of preeminence addresses the larger question that receiving the blessing offered by God does not rest with one’s natural status in the world. Rather, it is based solely on God’s grace.
Jacob recited the names of Joseph’s sons with the youngest first. From then on, Joseph’s two sons were known in that order. Jacob also informed Joseph that God would be with him and would bring him back to the land of his fathers (Canaan). This was fulfilled after Joseph’s death (Genesis 50:24-26).
By Jacob blessing Joseph’s two sons on the same level as his own two sons, Jacob gave to Joseph the double share, which he “took from the hand of the Amorite” with his sword and his bow. This promise would be fulfilled when the Israelites returned to Canaan to possess the land God had given them (Genesis 15:12-21). |