Genesis 48:20
So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jacob’s blessing isn't just a personal word to Joseph's sons; it establishes a future tradition. The phrase "In thee shall Israel bless" means that the way Israelites would pronounce blessings on future generations was to invoke Ephraim and Manasseh as the standard of God's favor. This shows how deeply these two grandsons had already become embedded in the identity and hopes of the entire nation of Israel.
As Jacob is nearing the end of his life in Egypt, he calls for Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to bless them. Jacob recounts how God appeared to him and promised to make him fruitful, multiply him, and give him a great nation, a promise that now extends to Joseph's sons. Despite Joseph's attempt to correct him, Jacob intentionally places his right hand, the hand of the greater blessing, on the younger son, Ephraim, positioning him before the elder, Manasseh.
Jacob's words here don't just bless his grandsons; they establish a lasting pattern for how God's people would invoke blessings for generations to come.
Jacob pronounces a blessing on Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, that becomes a standard phrase for future generations:
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Jacob deliberately crosses his hands, placing his right hand on the younger son's head. This wasn't a mistake; it was a divine statement about how God's favor operates.
The most striking detail in this verse is Jacob's action:
Understand the original words
Yiśrā’ēl · Hebrew Proper Noun
The name given to Jacob by God, representing the covenant lineage. It signifies the identity of the people of God and the continuation of the patriarchal promises.
c. 1805 BC
Jacob's family migrates to Egypt
Jacob and his entire family, including his son Joseph and Joseph's young sons Manasseh and Ephraim, moved to Egypt to escape a severe famine. They settled in the land of Goshen.
c. 1775 BC
Joseph's death
Joseph, who had risen to great power in Egypt, died. His family remained in Egypt, and their population continued to grow.
Unknown, likely centuries later
New Pharaohs rise
A new dynasty of Pharaohs came to power in Egypt who did not remember Joseph's service. They began to fear the growing Israelite population and enslaved them.
c. 1446 BC
Moses leads the Exodus
After generations of slavery, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. This event marked the formation of Israel as a unified nation.
c. 1406 BC— this verse
Jacob blesses Joseph's sons
As Jacob was dying in Egypt, he adopted Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own. He intentionally crossed his hands to place his right hand, the hand of greater blessing, on the younger son, Ephraim, signifying a preference that would shape the future of the Israelite tribes.
This passage uses a similar formulaic blessing, invoking God to make a woman like Rachel and Leah, who were the matriarchs that built up the house of Israel, mirroring the way Ephraim and Manasseh are used as models for blessing.
1 Samuel 1:28Hannah’s prayer echoes the sentiment of this verse when she dedicates Samuel, asking that he might 'continue there forever,' implying a lasting legacy and divine favor, similar to how Ephraim and Manasseh are blessed for perpetuity.
Jeremiah 29:22This verse shows how the people of Israel later used the names of Ephraim and Manasseh in a curse, demonstrating how the blessing established in Genesis 48:20 had become a widely recognized formula for invoking divine favor or disfavor.
Galatians 3:29Paul explains how believers become heirs of Abraham's blessing, which transcends physical lineage, paralleling Jacob's adoption of Joseph's sons into the patriarchal line, showing how God's blessings can extend beyond natural inheritance.
pulpitGenesis 48:20: "And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh."
Verse 20. - And he (i.e. Jacob) blessed them that day, saying, In thee (i.e. in Joseph, who is still identified with his sons) shall Israel (the nation) bless, saying, God (Elohim, the supreme source of all blessing) make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim Before Manasseh - "in the position of his hands, and the…
clarkeGenesis 48:20: "And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh."
In thee shall Israel bless - That is, in future generations the Israelites shall take their form of wishing prosperity to any nation or family from the circumstance of the good which it shall be known that God has done to Ephraim and Manasseh: May God make thee as fruitful as Ephraim, and multiply thee as Manasseh! So, to their…
Jacob’s blessing isn't just a personal word to Joseph's sons; it establishes a future tradition. The phrase "In thee shall Israel bless" means that the way Israelites would pronounce blessings on future generations was to invoke Ephraim and Manasseh as the standard of God's favor. This shows how deeply these two grandsons had already become embedded in the identity and hopes of the entire nation of Israel.
As Jacob is nearing the end of his life in Egypt, he calls for Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to bless them. Jacob recounts how God appeared to him and promised to make him fruitful, multiply him, and give him a great nation, a promise that now extends to Joseph's sons. Despite Joseph's attempt to correct him, Jacob intentionally places his right hand, the hand of the greater blessing, on the younger son, Ephraim, positioning him before the elder, Manasseh.
As Jacob is nearing the end of his life in Egypt, he calls for Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to bless them. Jacob recounts how God appeared to him and promised to make him fruitful, multiply him, and give him a great nation, a promise that now extends to Joseph's sons. Despite Joseph's attempt to correct him, Jacob intentionally places his right hand, the hand of the greater blessing, on the younger son, Ephraim, positioning him before the elder, Manasseh.
"So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh." — Jacob’s blessing isn't just a personal word to Joseph's sons; it establishes a future tradition. The phrase "In thee shall Israel bless" means that the way Israelites would pronounce blessings on fut…
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