Genesis 49:22

49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, ¹ 

a fruitful bough near a spring

whose branches ²  climb over the wall.

Exodus 1:7

1:7 The Israelites, ³  however, ⁴  were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, ⁵  so that the land was filled with them.

Numbers 26:28-37

Manasseh

26:28 The descendants of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. 26:29 The Manassehites: from Machir, the family of the Machirites (now Machir became the father of Gilead); from Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. 26:30 These were the Gileadites: from Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; from Helek, the family of the Helekites; 26:31 from Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; from Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; 26:32 from Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; from Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 26:33 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 26:34 These were the families of Manasseh; those numbered of them were 52,700. ⁶ 

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. ⁷  These were the descendants of Joseph by their families.

Deuteronomy 33:17

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, ⁸ 

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Joshua 17:17

17:17 Joshua said to the family ⁹  of Joseph – to both Ephraim and Manasseh: “You have many people and great military strength. You will not have just one tribal allotment.

[49:22]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text appears to mean “[is] a son of fruitfulness.” The second word is an active participle, feminine singular, from the verb פָּרָה (parah, “to be fruitful”). The translation “bough” is employed for בֵּן (ben, elsewhere typically “son”) because Joseph is pictured as a healthy and fruitful vine growing by the wall. But there are difficulties with this interpretation. The word “son” nowhere else refers to a plant and the noun translated “branches” (Heb “daughters”) in the third line is a plural form whereas its verb is singular. In the other oracles of Gen 49 an animal is used for comparison and not a plant, leading some to translate the opening phrase בֵּן פָּרָה (ben parah, “fruitful bough”) as “wild donkey” (JPS, NAB). Various other interpretations involving more radical emendation of the text have also been offered.

[49:22]  ² tn Heb “daughters.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[1:7]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive vav marks a contrast with the note about the deaths of the first generation.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Using מְאֹד (mÿ’od) twice intensifies the idea of their becoming strong (see GKC 431-32 §133.k).

[26:34]  ⁶ sn The Manassehites increased from 32,200 to 52,700.

[26:37]  ⁷ sn This is a significant reduction from the first count of 40,500.

[33:17]  ⁸ 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.

[17:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “house.”