“1 And it came to pass after these things, that [one] told Joseph,
Behold, thy father [is] sick: and he took with him his two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And [one] told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son
Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon
the bed. 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at
Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 And said unto me, Behold, I
will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a
multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee
[for] an everlasting possession. 5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and
Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came
unto thee into Egypt, [are] mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be
mine. 6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine,
[and] shall be called after the name of their brethren in their
inheritance. 7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me
in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet [there was] but a little way
to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the
same [is] Bethlehem.”
“8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who [are] these? 9 And
Joseph said unto his father, They [are] my sons, whom God hath given me
in this [place]. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I
will bless them. 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, [so that]
he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them,
and embraced them. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to
see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12 And Joseph
brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his
face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right
hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward
Israel’s right hand, and brought [them] near unto him. 14 And Israel
stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] upon Ephraim’s head, who
[was] the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his
hands wittingly; for Manasseh [was] the firstborn. 15 And he blessed
Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did
walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16 The Angel
which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be
named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let
them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 17 And when Joseph
saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it
displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from
Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said unto his father,
Not so, my father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon
his head. 19 And his father refused, and said, I know [it], my son, I
know [it]: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great:
but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed
shall become a multitude of nations. 20 And he blessed them that day,
saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and
as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said unto
Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again
unto the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to thee one
portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite
with my sword and with my bow.” (Ge 48:1-22 AV)
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