May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac , and may they increase greatly on the earth .”
17
When Jo seph saw his fa ther plac ing his right hand on Ephra im ’ s head he was dis pleased ; so he took hold of his fa ther ’ s hand to move it from Ephra im ’ s head to Ma nas seh ’ s head . 18 Jo seph said to him , “ No , my fa ther , this one is the first born ; put your right hand on his head .”
19
But his fa ther re fused and said , “ I know , my son , I know . He too will be come a peo ple , and he too will be come great . Nev er the less , his younger broth er will be great er than he , and his descen dants will be come a group of na tions .” 20 He blessed them that day and said ,
“ In your a name will Israel pronounce this blessing :
‘ May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh .’”
So he put Ephra im ahead of Ma nas seh .
21
Then Is ra el said to Jo seph , “ I am about to die , but God will be with you b and take you b back to the land of your b fa thers . 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land c than to your broth ers , the ridge I took from the Am o rites with my sword and my bow .”
Genesis 49:7 | 91
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49:1-28Ref — Dt 33:1-29
Then Ja cob called for his sons and said :
49 “ Gath er around so I can tell you what will hap pen to you in days to come .
2
“ Assemble and listen , sons of Jacob ; listen to your father Israel .
3
“ Reuben , you are my firstborn , my might , the first sign of my strength , excelling in honor , excelling in power .
4
Turbulent as the waters , you will no longer excel , for you went up onto your father ’ s bed , onto my couch and defiled it .
5
“ Simeon and Levi are brothers — their swords d are weapons of violence .
6
Let me not enter their council , let me not join their assembly , for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased .
7
Cursed be their anger , so fierce , and their fury , so cruel !
I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel . a
20 The Hebrew is singular . b
21 The Hebrew is plural . c
22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem . d
5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain .
Yahweh ), whose identity is often blurred with Yahweh himself ( see note on 21:17 ). This blurring of these identities is fitting with the parallel usage of ha ‘ elohim in Hebrew ( which may be literally rendered as “ the God ”) in v . 11 and v . 15 . Jacob had divine encounters several times in his life and at several of these times it seems that God appeared to him in bodily form ( see 28:13 and note ; 32:24 and note ) and the Angel of God also appeared to Jacob ( see 31:11 and note ). bless The Hebrew word used here is singular , not plural . The plural form of this word in Hebrew would have distinguished God from the Angel in the blessing . The singular form here blurs their identities . 48:20 Ephraim ahead of Manasseh Ephraim would become the more noteworthy of the two tribes , eventually becoming virtually synonymous with the northern kingdom of Israel ( Isa 7:17 ; Hos 5:12 ). Compare note on Ge 48:1 – 22 . 48:21 you The Hebrew text here uses a plural form , indicating that Jacob ’ s blessing refers to the whole nation of Israel , not just to Joseph . 48:22 ridge of land The Hebrew word used here , shekhem , is identical to the Hebrew name of the location Shechem . Jacob purchased land at Shechem ( 33:18 – 19 ) and Joseph was later buried there ( Jos 24:32 ). with my sword and my bow This probably does not refer back to the massacre at Shechem ( Ge 34 ) or Jacob ’ s purchase of land at Shechem ( 33:19 ), but to another incident in Jacob ’ s lifetime that is not recorded in Genesis . Jacob did not participate in the massacre at Shechem ; instead he condemned it ( 34:30 ; 49:5 – 7 ).
49:1 – 27 Commonly referred to as the “ Blessing of Jacob ,” this chapter actually contains a mixture of blessings and curses on his 12 sons who essentially function as the eponymous ( or name giving ) ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel ( compare note on 48:1 – 22 ). Genesis 49 does not follow the birth order of Jacob ’ s children found in chs . 29 – 30 . In chs . 29 – 30 , Zebulun is the tenth son overall ( the sixth and last son by Leah ). Jacob also blesses Zebulun before Issachar , though Issachar was born before Zebulun ( 30:17 – 20 ); this inversion also occurs in Dt 33:18 .
49:1 what will happen to you in days to come Jacob ’ s blessings and curses speak about the distant future of the 12 tribes of Israel . In this way , his words in ch . 49 function prophetically . 49:4 you will no longer excel Jacob demotes Reuben for his immorality . While sexual immorality in certain contexts may not have merited such a demotion — as Judah is not demoted for his actions with Tamar ( ch . 38 ) — Reuben ’ s actions had dishonored his father and were an attempt to usurp his fathers ’ leadership of the tribe ( see note on 35:22 ). 49:5 their swords are weapons of violence References the murder of the men of Shechem ( see ch . 34 ). The tribe of Simeon quickly lost its importance in Israel ’ s national history . From the exodus ( Nu 1:23 ) to the end of the wilderness wanderings ( Nu 26:14 ), its population decreased from 59,300 to 22,200 people . In addition , rather than obtaining its own region , Simeon ’ s inheritance was allotted within the tribe of Judah ’ s territory ( Jos 19:1 – 9 ).