Genesis 48:22

48:22 As one who is above your ¹  brothers, I give to you the mountain slope, ²  which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Numbers 26:34-37

26:34 These were the families of Manasseh; those numbered of them were 52,700. ³ 

Ephraim

26:35 These are the Ephraimites by their families: from Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; from Beker, the family of the Bekerites; from Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. 26:36 Now these were the Shuthelahites: from Eran, the family of the Eranites. 26:37 These were the families of the Ephraimites, according to those numbered of them, 32,500. ⁴  These were the descendants of Joseph by their families.

Deuteronomy 33:13-17

Blessing on Joseph

33:13 Of Joseph he said:

May the Lord bless his land

with the harvest produced by the sky, ⁵  by the dew,

and by the depths crouching beneath;

33:14 with the harvest produced by the daylight ⁶ 

and by ⁷  the moonlight; ⁸ 

33:15 with the best ⁹  of the ancient mountains

and the harvest produced by the age-old hills;

33:16 with the harvest of the earth and its fullness

and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. ¹⁰ 

May blessing rest on Joseph’s head,

and on the top of the head of the one set apart ¹¹  from his brothers.

33:17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,

and may his horns be those of a wild ox;

with them may he gore all peoples,

all the far reaches of the earth.

They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, ¹² 

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

[48:22]  ¹ tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.

[48:22]  ² 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).

[26:34]  ³ sn The Manassehites increased from 32,200 to 52,700.

[26:37]  ⁴ sn This is a significant reduction from the first count of 40,500.

[33:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the harvest of the heavens.” The referent appears to be good crops produced by the rain that falls from the sky.

[33:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “goings forth of the sun.”

[33:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “and from the harvest of the yield of.” This has been simplified in the translation to avoid redundancy.

[33:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the moon.” Many English versions regard this as a reference to “months” (“moons”) rather than the moon itself (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[33:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “head” or “top.”

[33:16]  ¹⁰ tn The expression “him who resided in the bush” is frequently understood as a reference to the appearance of the Lord to Moses at Sinai from a burning bush (so NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT; cf. Exod 2:2-6; 3:2, 4). To make this reference clear the word “burning” is supplied in the translation.

[33:16]  ¹¹ sn This apparently refers to Joseph’s special status among his brothers as a result of his being chosen by God to save the family from the famine and to lead Egypt.

[33:17]  ¹² sn Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph who became founders of the two tribes into which Joseph’s descendants were split (Gen 48:19-20). Jacob’s blessing granted favored status to Ephraim; this is probably why Ephraim is viewed here as more numerous than Manasseh.