48:17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. 1 So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 48:18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude 2 of nations.” 48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you 3 will Israel bless, 4 saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 5
48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you 6 and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 48:22 As one who is above your 7 brothers, I give to you the mountain slope, 8 which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
1 tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”
2 tn Heb “fullness.”
3 tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.
4 tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”
5 sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.
6 tn The pronouns translated “you,” “you,” and “your” in this verse are plural in the Hebrew text.
7 tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.
8 tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (shÿkhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).