Genesis 48:14

48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. ¹  Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

Genesis 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ²  will Israel bless, ³  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ⁴ 

[48:14]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.

[48:20]  ² 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.

[48:20]  ³ tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

[48:20]  ⁴ 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.