“Genesis 48:17-22”

Friday, May 01, 2020

“When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.’ 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 descendants shall become a multitude of nations.’ 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. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

“When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him…” (verse 17) Throughout the pages of the Old and New Testaments, the right hand was excessively symbolic of strength and authority, and indicated greater power and ampler blessings. The right hand of God is expressive of His power (Exodus 15:6; Psalm 20:6; Matthew 26:64), honor (Psalm 110:1; Colossians 3:1) and salvation (Psalm 16:8; 18:35). On the great and final Day of Judgment, Jesus equates those who have done the will of God with His “sheep” that He will gather to His right hand of salvation, glory and honor (Matthew 25:33-34), and the disobedient with the goats separated on His left hand and destined for the “eternal fire” of everlasting shame and punishment (Matthew 25:41). “A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left” (Ecclesiastes 10:2)

When Joseph saw that his father intended to bestow the greater honor and blessing upon his younger son, it “displeased” him because societal convention and longstanding tradition dictated that such a privilege be reserved for the firstborn son. It is possible as well that Joseph’s heart harbored greater love and superior favor for Manasseh than for Ephraim. Joseph promptly “grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head,” and exclaimed “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn” (verse 18). He had intentionally placed Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand to avoid any confusion, and still Joseph feared his father’s blinded eyes would cause a terrible blunder. “He attributes the ‘error’ to his father’s failing eyesight (v.10), an ironic touch in view of the manner in which Jacob years before had exploited his own father’s failing vision (27:1-29).” (Nahum Sarna)

“But his father refused and said, ‘I know, my son, I know…’” (verse 19) Israel’s blinded eyes had not misdirect his feeble hands, and he was completely cognizant of what he was about to do. The great patriarch spoke words of comfort, sobering as they were, about the favorite son of his favorite son: “He also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” “Only the prophetic gift of God could have enabled Jacob to declare what was said here. Indeed it came to pass… It was not the gift of nature that determined the passing of God's blessing to one person or to another, but the sovereign purpose of Almighty God. Again and again, a similar thing had happened in the lives of the patriarchs. Isaac the younger had been chosen over Ishmael, Jacob the younger had been chosen over Esau, Joseph the younger had been chosen over Reuben; and now once more, Ephraim the younger had been chosen instead of Manasseh. It shall ever be thus in the kingdom of God, for Jesus said, ‘The first shall be last and the last shall be first’ (Matthew 19:30).” (James Burton Coffman)

“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’” (verse 20) The names of Ephraim and Manasseh would be synonymous with splendor and prosperity in future eras of God’s chosen people. “There can be no greater blessing for the two lads than that their names be invoked by future generations of Israel as paradigms of a glorious destiny.” (Nahum Sarna) When the great patriarch uttered these prophetic words he “put Ephraim before Manasseh.”

“I give you one portion more than your brothers…” (verse 22) The word “portion” in this enigmatic phrase in the Hebrew is “Shechem”. “The allusion may no longer be clear; but it evidently refers to the city of Shechem, and has some bearing upon its subsequent position as a principal city in the tribe of Ephraim, and as the site of Joseph’s burial-place.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and colleges)

“Which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.” (verse 22) There is no Biblical reference to this event, and no allusion to Jacob ever being a man of violence or war. “All things considered, it seems best to regard this as a prophecy that children of Joseph would inherit the area around Shechem at a point in time centuries later when the inheritance would be divided among the sons of Jacob. ‘The words are a prophetic utterance pointing forward to the conquest of Canaan; and Jacob here ascribes to himself what would be done by his posterity in wresting the area from the Amorites.’ Many scholars have pointed out here that the prophetic tense is used in which the past is used for the future, indicating the CERTAINTY of what was prophesied.” (James Burton Coffman)

Please read Genesis 49:1-7 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

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