Commentary - Genesis 48:8-20

Bird's-eye view

In this profoundly significant episode, the patriarch Jacob, now on his deathbed, formally adopts Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own, thereby elevating them to the status of heads of tribes in Israel. The central action of the passage is the patriarchal blessing, a formal and binding pronouncement that shapes the future destiny of the recipients. But this is no ordinary blessing ceremony. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the physically blind Jacob deliberately crosses his hands, subverting all cultural and natural expectations. He bestows the greater blessing of the right hand upon the younger son, Ephraim, and the lesser blessing upon the firstborn, Manasseh. This is not a senile mistake but a deliberate, prophetic act. It serves as a powerful illustration of a central biblical theme: God's sovereign election. Divine grace consistently overturns human hierarchies of birthright, age, and merit. God chooses whom He will choose, and His purposes are not bound by our traditions or sense of propriety. This event not only sets the future trajectory for the two most powerful tribes of the northern kingdom but also serves as a living parable of the gospel itself, where the last become first and God's choice falls upon the undeserving.

Joseph, the practical administrator, is displeased by this apparent breach of protocol and attempts to correct his father. But Jacob's response, "I know, my son, I know," reveals that his spiritual sight is perfectly clear. He is not confused; he is prophesying. The passage concludes with the establishment of a new standard for blessing in Israel, cementing the precedence of Ephraim over Manasseh and enshrining the principle of sovereign grace into the memory of the covenant people.

Outline

Context In Genesis

This chapter occurs at the very end of Jacob's long and tumultuous life. Having been reunited with his long-lost son Joseph, he has spent the last seventeen years living peacefully in Goshen. Now, as he approaches death, his attention turns to the essential business of settling his affairs, which in the patriarchal economy means transmitting the covenant blessing. In the first part of the chapter (vv. 1-7), Jacob formally adopts Joseph's sons, giving Joseph a double portion of the inheritance by making his two sons equal to his other sons, like Reuben and Simeon. This act sets the stage for the blessing that follows. This scene is a deliberate echo of Isaac blessing Jacob instead of Esau in Genesis 27, but with a crucial difference. While the earlier blessing involved deception and strife, this one is characterized by divine clarity and prophetic purpose. It is the final major act of Jacob's life, demonstrating his maturity as a patriarch who now walks not by sight, but by faith, and who understands that the covenant flows according to God's sovereign pleasure, not human convention.

Key Issues

The Crossed Hands of Providence

The central image of this text is that of an old, blind man deliberately crossing his arms to bless his grandsons. This is not a picture of confusion; it is a picture of profound theological truth. Joseph, the man of affairs, has everything arranged neatly. The firstborn, Manasseh, is positioned at Jacob's right hand, and the younger, Ephraim, is at his left. Everything is set to proceed according to custom, according to the natural order of things. Joseph understands primogeniture. He understands protocol. What he momentarily fails to grasp is that he is dealing with the economy of grace, not the economy of nature.

God's providence, directed by His sovereign good pleasure, frequently "crosses its hands." It bypasses the strong, the first, the entitled, and the credentialed in order to choose the weak, the last, and the unlikely. He chose Abel's offering, not Cain's. He chose Isaac, the son of promise, not Ishmael, the son of the flesh. He chose Jacob, the heel-grabber, not Esau, the rugged outdoorsman. And now, He chooses Ephraim over Manasseh. This pattern runs straight through the Bible, culminating in the gospel itself. The gospel is the ultimate crossed-hands event, where God rejects the self-righteous and embraces the tax collector, where He calls not the wise and powerful but the foolish and the weak, and where salvation comes not through the rights of the first Adam but through the grace of the Second.

Verse by Verse Commentary

8-10 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?” And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

Jacob's question, "Who are these?" is not because he is unaware of their existence. He has been in Egypt for seventeen years. Rather, it is the formal start of a legal, covenantal ceremony. It is the equivalent of a judge asking, "Who is the man before the court?" Joseph's answer is crucial: "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." He acknowledges God as the source of his children, and he identifies them as children of the exile, born "here" in Egypt. Jacob, whose physical eyes are failing, is about to demonstrate that his spiritual eyes are sharp. The physical affection he shows, the kissing and embracing, is not mere sentimentality. It is the embrace of adoption, welcoming them into the covenant line as his own sons.

11-12 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your seed as well.” Then Joseph took them from his knees and bowed with his face to the ground.

Jacob's statement is a testimony to the overflowing, more-than-we-can-ask-or-imagine nature of God's grace. His highest hope was simply to see Joseph again. But God, in His goodness, not only restored his son but allowed him to see the next generation. This is the logic of grace; it always exceeds our expectations. Joseph's response is one of profound reverence. He takes the boys from between his father's knees, a posture of submission and reception, and bows low. Joseph may be the second most powerful man in the world, but in this covenantal context, he is a son receiving an inheritance from his father, the patriarch. He honors the office and the God who established it.

13-14 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

Here is the central action. Joseph, the meticulous planner, arranges everything perfectly. The firstborn, Manasseh, is presented to Jacob's right hand, the hand of power and preeminence. The younger, Ephraim, is presented to the left. The procedure is set. But Jacob, guided by a wisdom not his own, deliberately ignores the careful arrangement. He crosses his arms, an intentional and awkward gesture, to place his right hand on the younger son. The text explicitly notes the reason this was so shocking: "although Manasseh was the firstborn." The narrator wants us to feel the jolt. The foundational rule of primogeniture is being publicly and prophetically overturned.

15-16 And he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd throughout my life to this day, The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless these boys; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

The blessing itself is first for Joseph, fulfilled through his sons. Jacob invokes God in three magnificent ways. First, as the covenant God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. This grounds the blessing in redemptive history and the covenant promises. Second, as his personal God, the one who has been his shepherd all his life. This is a tender, personal testimony from a man whose life was marked by wandering and trouble. God was his faithful guide. Third, as the angel who has redeemed me from all evil. This is a reference to the Angel of the Lord, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Jacob understands that his redemption is not from a few troubles, but from "all evil." He then bestows the blessing: that his name and the covenant name live on in them, and that they be extraordinarily fruitful. This is the heart of the Abrahamic promise.

17-18 But Joseph saw that his father set his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and it was displeasing in his sight; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.”

Joseph's reaction is entirely understandable from a human point of view. He sees what appears to be a mistake born of blindness. The text says it was "displeasing in his sight." He sees a breach of protocol, an injustice to his firstborn. So he physically intervenes, trying to move his father's hand. His words are respectful but firm: "Not so, my father." He explains the situation as though his father were simply confused. "This one is the firstborn." Joseph is operating according to the visible facts, according to the law of nature. He wants to make sure the paperwork is in order.

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become the fullness of nations.”

Jacob's refusal is emphatic. "I know, my son, I know." This is not the protest of a confused old man; it is the calm assurance of a prophet. 'I am not mistaken. I am seeing with different eyes.' He then prophesies the destiny of both sons. Manasseh will not be cursed; he too will be great. But the younger, Ephraim, will be greater than he. And then comes the stunning statement: Ephraim's seed will become the fullness of nations, or melo ha-goyim. This phrase echoes the promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. This is a promise that bursts the boundaries of a single tribe. It points toward the day when the Gentiles, the nations, would be brought into the covenant people of God through the work of the ultimate younger brother, Jesus Christ.

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ ” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

The act is finalized. Jacob establishes a new formula for blessing in Israel. When someone wants to wish the greatest fruitfulness and success upon another, they will invoke the names of these two boys. And in that very formula, the divine reversal is memorialized for all time. He names Ephraim first. The narrator concludes with a simple, powerful summary of the whole event: "Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh." God's will was done.

Application

The story of the crossed hands of Jacob is a story for us. We live in a world that is obsessed with birthright, credentials, status, and what is naturally due. We arrange our sons and daughters before God, hoping He will bless them according to our well-laid plans. But the gospel is a constant reminder that God is not bound by our arrangements. He is the one who chooses, and He chooses according to grace.

This should be a profound comfort to us. It means that no one is disqualified from God's blessing because they lack the right pedigree. It means the younger son, the black sheep, the one who doesn't fit the mold, is a candidate for astonishing grace. It means that we, who were Gentiles and not a people, have been made the people of God. We are all Ephraim. We have been chosen, adopted, and blessed, not because we were first or best, but because God in His mercy crossed His hands over the whole of human history to place His favor upon us in Christ.

This should also be a warning against pride. If we believe we have some claim on God because of our heritage, our piety, or our position, we are thinking like Joseph. We are trying to arrange God's hands for Him. We must come to God with empty hands, recognizing that we are the younger brother, the undeserving one, and simply receive the blessing that He freely gives. For in the kingdom of God, the race is not to the swift, the battle is not to the strong, and the blessing is not to the firstborn, but all is of grace.