Genesis 48:5-6

48:5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. ¹  Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. 48:6 Any children that you father ²  after them will be yours; they will be listed ³  under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁴ 

[48:5]  ¹ sn They will be mine. Jacob is here adopting his two grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim as his sons, and so they will have equal share with the other brothers. They will be in the place of Joseph and Levi (who will become a priestly tribe) in the settlement of the land. See I. Mendelsohn, “A Ugaritic Parallel to the Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh,” IEJ (1959): 180-83.

[48:6]  ² tn Or “you fathered.”

[48:6]  ³ tn Heb “called” or “named.”

[48:6]  ⁴ sn Listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. This means that any subsequent children of Joseph will be incorporated into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.