GENESIS CHAPTER 48 ------------------ Verses 1-2, Some time had passed between Jacob being sick and when Joseph had conversed with his father about his burial place. Now Jacob was sick and that time that they had spoke about drew closer. And now upon hearing that his father Jacob was sick, Joseph went with his two sons to see his father. Verses 3-4, Jacob gives account to Joseph how that God Almighty had appeared to him at Luz in the land of Canaan and had blessed him and made a promise to him concerning his seed and the land. Luz = "almond tree" 1) the early name of Bethel and probably the name of the town in close proximity to the actual location of the altar and pillar of Jacob. Compare: Gen 28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city [was called] Luz at the first. {Bethel: that is, The house of God} Isaac speaking to Jacob: Ge 28:3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; God speaking to Jacob in a dream at Luz: Gen 28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I [am] the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I [am] with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done [that] which I have spoken to thee of. Gen 35:9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. 10 And God said unto him, Thy name [is] Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11 And God said unto him, I [am] God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. Gen 35:15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. God Almighty = El Shadday {shad-dah'-ee} All Powerful, omnipotent. This is the same term used for Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation. The Greek word that was translated "Almighty" appears in the New Testament 10 times, and 9 of those times are in the book of Revelation. One time it was translated "omnipotent." This same Greek word used to describe Christ in verse 8 of chapter 1 was used to describe God the Father, without doubt, in chapter 21 verse 22. Verses 5-6, Jacob mentions Joseph's two sons, not by age, but by blessing. He mentions Ephraim first, who is the younger, and then Manasseh. Their age: "which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt." Jacob had been in Egypt for 17 years now (47:28). Gill puts their age at about 20 years or greater, since they were born to Joseph before the famine (41:50) and Jacob came to Egypt when there were two years left of the 7 year famine. Jacob adopts Joseph's two sons as his own sons. They are as Reuben and Simeon. They will be heads of distinct tribes and will have a distinct part and portion in the land of Canaan. Any other sons that Joseph would have would not be distinct tribes but would called after the name of either Ephraim or Manasseh. Verse 7, Padan = Padanaram. Means "field." This may be the reason why Jacob adopts Joseph's two sons. His lawful wife, Joseph's mother, died so early, and did not give him more children. Remember Rachel is the one Jacob loved, but was tricked into marrying Leah (who he thought to be Rachel) first, and then worked another 7 years for Rachel. Ephrath: the same [is] Bethlehem. Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting. {everlasting: Heb. the days of eternity} Verse 8, Jacob's eyes were dim (vs 10) and perhaps had not seen them though he had been speaking of them. So, he asks, who are they? Or, whose sons are they? Verse 9, Joseph informs his father that they are indeed his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob informs Joseph that he wants to bless them. Heb 7:7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. Verse 10, They came near to Jacob, so that he could see them, his eyes being dim. Jacob embraces them and kissed them. Verse 11, Jacob never thought that he would see Joseph again, but by God's providence he has seen him and his seed. Verse 12, This verse is somewhat confusing. This expression makes it sound as if these two boys were small children, instead of young men. Gill thinks that they were kneeling between his father's knees, as Jacob was sitting up upon his bed (vs 2). Joseph knew that his father was about to bless them (verse 9), and took them up toward his father to receive the blessing and he bowed himself toward the ground. Perhaps his father stood up as well, as the book of Hebrews seems to perhaps indicate, "leaning upon his staff." (Heb 11:21) Verse 13, Joseph brought the boys and positioned them before his father such that Manasseh was on Jacob's right hand, getting the blessing of the first born, and Ephraim would be on Jacob's left hand. Verse 14, But Jacob crossed his hands knowingly and placed his right hand on Ephraim's head and his left hand on Manasseh's head. This he did on purpose and by faith as the book of Hebrews tells us. He knew exactly what he was doing. Heb 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, [leaning] upon the top of his staff. Verses 15-16, Gill says that Jacob blessed Joseph IN his two sons. That is, by blessing his two sons, he blessed Joseph. Jacob's words were, "bless the lads." Verses 17-18, The thing displeased Joseph and he held up his father's hands to remove and switch them. He probably thought his father made a mistake. In those days the patriarchal blessing was thought to belong to the first born. Verses 19-20, Being led by the Spirit of God, Jacob refused to let Joseph switch his hands. The younger, again, is preferred before the elder. "But truly his younger brother shall be greater than he" (vs 19). In number when they came out of Egypt. 8300 more in number. Nu 1:33 Those that were numbered of them, [even] of the tribe of Ephraim, [were] forty thousand and five hundred. Nu 1:35 Those that were numbered of them, [even] of the tribe of Manasseh, [were] thirty and two thousand and two hundred. "and he set Ephraim before Manasseh." (vs 20). Ephraim's standard was placed before Manasseh's standard. Num 2:18 On the west side [shall be] the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim [shall be] Elishama the son of Ammihud. Num 2:20 And by him [shall be] the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh [shall be] Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Verse 21, Jacob speaks of death with comfort and no fear. This can only be done truly by faith. Men may pretend to die brave, but to have true peace and comfort within, a man must have GOD GIVEN faith. God would be with his posterity and would bring them out again into the land of Canaan, which was promised to them. Joseph's bones would go out, though he died in Egypt, but he would go out in his posterity. Verse 22, "One portion above thy brethren," speaking to Joseph. His two sons will become two tribes, so out of his will come two tribes and not one. portion = sh@kem {shek-em'} 1) shoulder, back 1a) shoulder, shoulder-blade 1b) back (in general) Ge 33:19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. Certainly he is not speaking about the terrible thing that his sons had done in the city of Shechem. Gill thinks that Jacob is speaking by way of prophecy and that they will take it out of the hands of the Amorites.