Genesis 48:3-4

48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The sovereign God ¹  appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful ²  and will multiply you. ³  I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants ⁴  as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ 

[48:3]  ¹ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[48:4]  ² tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.

[48:4]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.

[48:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[48:4]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).