The End of the Patriarchs
a commentary on Genesis 48
Welcome back to another Biblit! Last week in Genesis 47 we left off with a quick conversation between Joseph and his dying father. Jacob asked Joseph to swear he would bury his bones back in the promised land, and Joseph obliged. We don’t know how much time has passed since then, but I can’t imagine it was much. Let’s jump on to this commentary of Genesis 48.
Context
We pick up in Genesis 48 with another conversation between Jacob and Joseph. However, this time it also includes Joseph’s two eldest children, Manasseh (the firstborn) and Ephraim (the second born).
Jacob summons them so that he can bless Joseph’s sons as his own. Before Jacob ever gets to the blessing, however, he first points all blessings back to God. He recounts his time way back from Genesis 28 when he first fled Esau and escaped to Paddan. If you recall, it was there in the land of Luz that Jacob first encountered God in his famous “Jacob’s Ladder” dream. The same land Jacob renamed Bethel.
Jacob reiterates all the promises of God in this passage to his son:
“I will make you fruitful and numerous; I will make many nations come from you, and I will give this land as a permanent possession to your future descendants.” (Genesis 48:4 CSB).
After this, Jacob tells Joseph that he wishes to adopt his children as his own! The next few parts of the passage go through this ceremony. It’s easy to miss, but Jacob’s words are deliberate and explain a lot:
“Ephraim and Manasseh belong to me just as Reuben and Simeon do.” (Genesis 48:5 CSB).
It’s interesting because Jacob switches the order of Ephraim and Manasseh, saying the second-born first (which will be important shortly). It’s also interesting that he mentions Reuben and Simeon because they are the ones that should have received the blessings, being Jacob’s first and second born by blood.
At this point, things start to look familiar. We see them go through a few different custom rituals, which if Jacob’s memory is still with him would remind him of when he dressed in goat’s fur to trick Isaac.
Jacob first asks who the two children are; identification was part of the ritual. Ironically, Jacob, like his father, has troubled eyesight. However, there is no trickery this time around. Jacob asks for the children to be brought near to him so he can kiss them. All part of the normal customs.
Until this next part.
One interesting piece that is different from when Isaac blessed Jacob, is that Ephraim and Manasseh are placed on Jacob’s knee. It just so happens that the knee was an important symbol in this culture. It showed parental care or in this case, adoption. Everything has a meaning.
Joseph takes the children back in his arms to prepare them for the blessing. He places them in front of his father so that Jacob can place his right hand on Manasseh (the firstborn). The right hand was often used in this culture (and also ours today) in legal matters and thus since this was specifically the firstborn blessing, Jacob’s right hand belonged to Manasseh. At least, that’s what Joseph believed.
However, to his great surprise, Jacob crosses his hands!
Joseph tries to correct him, but Jacob tells him he knows what he’s doing. Jacob says this is the Lord’s prophetic blessing over the children. That once again the younger shall become greater than the older. Thus Jacob grants Ephraim the firstborn blessing.
We see this come to fruition later in scripture when Ephraim becomes the prominent nation in northern Israel. We also see the name Ephraim used by God synonymously with Israel too.
The last inheritance Jacob gives is a mountain slope or ridge that he said he took from the Amorites. Some people view this last inheritance as an expression for the double portion of the Promised Land that Joseph receives through his two sons. Others think this is the section of land in Shechem that Jacob purchased. The Hebrew word used here is in fact, Shechem; we just translate it as “mountain slope” or “ridge”. We see in Joshua 24:32, that this land was given to Joseph’s descendants:
“Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. It was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.” (Joshua 24:32 CSB).
Interpretation
There are a couple of things in this passage that really stood out to me in particular.
Joseph still insists on tradition. Joseph was clearly blessed by the Lord with gifts of prophecy as we see him interpret many dreams. However, he doesn’t give Joseph a full glimpse of His plan or future. Joseph still needs to trust God. We see him struggle with this when he tries to correct Jacob from blessing Ephraim over Manasseh. Which, side note; at this point in time, you’d think these men would have realized God’s plans don’t follow traditions. In fact, the firstborn tradition hasn’t really been followed a single time. Isaac was chosen over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, and now Joseph’s sons over Reuben and Simeon. I don’t know why they keep insisting the firstborn gets the blessing!
Jacob’s response to God. If we look at the way Jacob guides this whole conversation with Joseph, we see a definite heart change from the younger Jacob. The first thing he does is remember all the promises God has already fulfilled in his life up to that time. He takes time to honor God for that, and only after that does he bless Ephraim and Manasseh. Furthermore, we see in this blessing a cool transition. He talks about God’s promises already fulfilled and then transitions into his faith that God will be faithful in the future too! He remembers God’s faithfulness to fuel his hope for the future. It is encouraging to see how faithful Jacob is now when he grew up riddled with fears, doubts, and a distrust in the Lord!
Application
I love the life of Jacob. I love seeing how much he has grown over the years from a man filled with fear to a man that gives everything to God. It is so encouraging to me and my own life! I think we can always apply Jacob’s life lessons to our own lives. Here are my thoughts from this passage.
Do we hold onto tradition or trust God? Joseph was gifted by God to interpret dreams, but at this moment he still fell to the normal traditions of the world rather than trusting in God’s ways. Now, to be fair, we don’t know his true motives. Jacob was basically blind and Joseph may just have been trying to be helpful. I think it’s still true, though, that Joseph was definitely surprised Ephraim got the blessing; he was surprised by God’s plan. We will probably always be surprised by God’s plans because His plans are higher than ours. The hard part is letting go of our own plans and traditions and leaning into God’s plans, but we must always submit our wills to God’s; just like Joseph did.
Our response to God. I want to make sure to take more time and reflect on the promises of God fulfilled. To see His plan at work and praise Him for it! To recognize that God gave me immense peace over choosing which college to go to because His plan was already in motion. A plan that would wind up sending me to Durham, NC of all places. Where I could meet and marry the love of my life. All part of the Lord’s plan, and it started so long ago. I also love that Jacob continuously prays God’s promises and assures people using God’s promises. I think I mentioned this before, but we heard a sermon a few weeks ago about prayer. Specifically about praying God’s promises back to Him. We have started doing this recently and I think it’s truly deepened my relationship with the Lord and provided guidance and wisdom in our lives.