Genesis 48:15-22
15And he blessed Joseph and said,“The God abefore whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 bthe angel who has credeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let dmy name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them egrow into a multitude ▼
▼Or let them be like fish for multitude
in the midst of the earth.”17When Joseph saw that his father glaid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19But his father refused and said, h“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ihis younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude ▼
▼Hebrew fullness
of nations.” 20So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
k‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but lGod will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22Moreover, I have given to myou rather than to your brothers one mountain slope ▼
▼Or one portion of the land; Hebrew shekem, which sounds like the town and district called Shechem
that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”
Copyright information for
ESV