nd
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 Josephs 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 Israels left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward
Israels right hand, and brought them near unto him.
14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and
laid it upon Ephraims head, who was the younger, and his
left hand upon Manassehs 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
fathers hand, to remove it from Ephraims head unto Manassehs
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.