Genesis 46-48
New English Translation
The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt
46 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had.[a] When he came to Beer Sheba[b] he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night[c] and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!” 3 He said, “I am God,[d] the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there.[e] Joseph will close your eyes.”[f]
5 Then Jacob started out[g] from Beer Sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little children, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent along to transport him. 6 Jacob and all his descendants took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they went to Egypt.[h] 7 He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons,[i] his daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.
8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt—Jacob and his sons: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.
9 The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman).
11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah,[j] Jashub,[k] and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters numbered thirty-three in all.[l]
16 The sons of Gad: Zephon,[m] Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister.
The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.
18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.
19 The sons of Rachel the wife of Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,[n] bore them to him.
21 The sons of Benjamin:[o] Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.
23 The son of Dan: Hushim.[p]
24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.
26 All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons.)[q] 27 Counting the two sons[r] of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy.[s]
28 Jacob[t] sent Judah before him to Joseph to accompany him to Goshen.[u] So they came to the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. When he met him,[v] he hugged his neck and wept on his neck for quite some time.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”[w] 31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh,[x] ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds;[y] they take care of livestock.[z] They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 Pharaoh will summon you and say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle[aa] from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen,[ab] for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting[ac] to the Egyptians.”
Joseph’s Wise Administration
47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father, my brothers, their flocks and herds, and all that they own have arrived from the land of Canaan. They are now[ad] in the land of Goshen.” 2 He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.[ae]
3 Pharaoh said to Joseph’s[af] brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.”[ag] 4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents[ah] in the land. There is no[ai] pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men[aj] among them, put them in charge[ak] of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him[al] before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed[am] Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How long have you lived?”[an] 9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All[ao] the years of my travels[ap] are 130. All[aq] the years of my life have been few and painful;[ar] the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.”[as] 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.[at]
11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory[au] in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses,[av] just as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household, according to the number of their little children.
13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away[aw] because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as payment[ax] for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace.[ay] 15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians[az] came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die[ba] before your very eyes because our money has run out?”
16 Then Joseph said, “If your money is gone, bring your livestock, and I will give you food[bb] in exchange for[bc] your livestock.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys.[bd] He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our[be] lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become[bf] Pharaoh’s slaves.[bg] Give us seed that we may live[bh] and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.”[bi]
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each[bj] of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe.[bk] So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 Joseph[bl] made all the people slaves[bm] from one end of Egypt’s border to the other end of it. 22 But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate[bn] the land. 24 When the crop comes in, give[bo] one-fifth of it to Pharaoh. The remaining four-fifths will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.” 25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! You are showing us favor,[bp] and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”[bq]
26 So Joseph made it a statute,[br] which is in effect[bs] to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.
28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years[bt] of Jacob’s life were 147 in all. 29 The time[bu] for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh[bv] and show me kindness and faithfulness.[bw] Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest[bx] with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Joseph[by] said, “I will do as you say.”
31 Jacob[bz] said, “Swear to me that you will do so.”[ca] So Joseph[cb] gave him his word.[cc] Then Israel bowed down[cd] at the head of his bed.[ce]
Manasseh and Ephraim
48 After these things Joseph was told,[cf] “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When Jacob was told,[cg] “Your son Joseph has just[ch] come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed. 3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The Sovereign God[ci] appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful[cj] and will multiply you.[ck] I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants[cl] as an everlasting possession.’[cm]
5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine.[cn] Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 Any children that you father[co] after them will be yours; they will be listed[cp] under the names of their brothers in their inheritance.[cq] 7 But as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died—to my sorrow[cr]—in the land of Canaan. It happened along the way, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are the[cs] sons God has given me in this place.” His father[ct] said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”[cu] 10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing[cv] because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph[cw] brought his sons[cx] near to him, and his father[cy] kissed them and embraced them. 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected[cz] to see you[da] again, but now God has allowed me to see your children[db] too.”
12 So Joseph moved them from Israel’s knees[dc] and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 Joseph positioned them;[dd] he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father.[de] 14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger.[df] Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked—
the God who has been my shepherd[dg]
all my life long to this day,
16 the angel[dh] who has protected me[di]
from all harm—
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them,[dj]
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him.[dk] So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude[dl] of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you[dm] will Israel bless,[dn] saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.[do]
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you[dp] and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 As one who is above your[dq] brothers, I give to you the mountain slope,[dr] which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 46:1 tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”
- Genesis 46:1 sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.
- Genesis 46:2 tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.
- Genesis 46:3 tn Heb “the God.”
- Genesis 46:4 tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”
- Genesis 46:4 tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.
- Genesis 46:5 tn Heb “arose.”
- Genesis 46:6 tn Heb “and they took their livestock and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 46:7 tn The Hebrew text adds “with him” here. This is omitted in the translation because it is redundant in English style (note the same phrase earlier in the verse).
- Genesis 46:13 tc The MT reads “Puvah” (cf. Num 26:23); Smr and Syriac read “Puah” (cf. 1 Chr 7:1).
- Genesis 46:13 tc The MT reads יוֹב (yov, “Job,”) but Smr, supported by the LXX, reads יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “Jashub”) (see Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1).
- Genesis 46:15 tn Heb “all the lives of his sons and his daughters, thirty-three.”
- Genesis 46:16 tc The MT reads “Ziphion,” but see Num 26:15, Smr and the LXX, all of which read “Zephon.”
- Genesis 46:20 sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
- Genesis 46:21 sn The sons of Benjamin. It is questionable whether youthful Benjamin had ten sons by the time he went into Egypt, but it is not impossible. If Benjamin was born when Joseph was six or seven, he was ten when Joseph was sold into Egypt, and would have been thirty-two at this point. Some suggest that the list originally served another purpose and included the names of all who were in the immediate family of the sons, whether born in Canaan or later in Egypt.
- Genesis 46:23 tn This name appears as “Shuham” in Num 26:42. The LXX reads “Hashum” here.
- Genesis 46:26 tn Heb “All the people who went with Jacob to Egypt, the ones who came out of his body, apart from the wives of the sons of Jacob, all the people were sixty-six.”sn The number sixty-six includes the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah) listed in vv. 8-25 minus Er and Onan (deceased), and Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim (already in Egypt).
- Genesis 46:27 tn The LXX reads “nine sons,” probably counting the grandsons of Joseph born to Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 1 Chr 7:14-20).
- Genesis 46:27 tn Heb “And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two people; all the people belonging to the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.”sn The number seventy includes Jacob himself and the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim) listed in vv. 8-25, minus Er and Onan (deceased). The LXX gives the number as “seventy-five” (cf. Acts 7:14).
- Genesis 46:28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 46:28 tn Heb “to direct before him to Goshen.”
- Genesis 46:29 tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”
- Genesis 46:30 tn Heb “after my seeing your face that you are still alive.”
- Genesis 46:31 tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”
- Genesis 46:32 tn Heb “feeders of sheep.”
- Genesis 46:32 tn Heb “for men of livestock they are.”
- Genesis 46:34 tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”
- Genesis 46:34 sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.
- Genesis 46:34 tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (toʿevah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.
- Genesis 47:1 tn Heb “Look they [are] in the land of Goshen.” Joseph draws attention to the fact of their presence in Goshen.
- Genesis 47:2 tn Heb “and from the whole of his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.”
- Genesis 47:3 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 47:3 tn Heb “both we and our fathers.”
- Genesis 47:4 tn Heb “to sojourn.”
- Genesis 47:4 tn Heb “for there is no.” The Hebrew uses a causal particle to connect what follows with what precedes. The translation divides the statement into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 47:6 tn Heb “men of skill.”
- Genesis 47:6 tn Heb “make them rulers.”sn Put them in charge of my livestock. Pharaoh is, in effect, offering Joseph’s brothers jobs as royal keepers of livestock, a position mentioned often in Egyptian inscriptions, because the Pharaohs owned huge herds of cattle.
- Genesis 47:7 tn Heb “caused him to stand.”
- Genesis 47:7 sn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb translated “blessed” is difficult in this passage, because the content of Jacob’s blessing is not given. The expression could simply mean that he greeted Pharaoh, but that seems insufficient in this setting. Jacob probably praised Pharaoh, for the verb is used this way for praising God. It is also possible that he pronounced a formal prayer of blessing, asking God to reward Pharaoh for his kindness.
- Genesis 47:8 tn Heb “How many are the days of the years of your life?”
- Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “the days of.”
- Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “sojournings.” Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places.
- Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “the days of.”
- Genesis 47:9 tn The Hebrew word רַע (raʿ) can sometimes mean “evil,” but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point.
- Genesis 47:9 tn Heb “and they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”
- Genesis 47:10 tn Heb “from before Pharaoh.”
- Genesis 47:11 tn Heb “a possession,” or “a holding.” Joseph gave them a plot of land with rights of ownership in the land of Goshen.
- Genesis 47:11 sn The land of Rameses is another designation for the region of Goshen. It is named Rameses because of a city in that region (Exod 1:11; 12:37). The use of this name may represent a modernization of the text for the understanding of the intended readers, substituting a later name for an earlier one. Alternatively, there may have been an earlier Rameses for which the region was named.
- Genesis 47:13 tn The verb לַהַה (lahah, = לָאָה, laʾah) means “to faint, to languish”; it figuratively describes the land as wasting away, drooping, being worn out.
- Genesis 47:14 tn Or “in exchange.” On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.
- Genesis 47:14 tn Heb “house.”
- Genesis 47:15 tn Heb “all Egypt.” The expression is a metonymy and refers to all the people of Egypt.
- Genesis 47:15 tn The imperfect verbal form has a deliberative force here.
- Genesis 47:16 tn The word “food” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 47:16 tn On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.
- Genesis 47:17 tn The definite article is translated here as a possessive pronoun.
- Genesis 47:18 tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.
- Genesis 47:19 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.
- Genesis 47:19 sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.
- Genesis 47:19 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 47:19 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav plus subject plus negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.
- Genesis 47:20 tn The Hebrew text connects this clause with the preceding one with a causal particle (כִּי, ki). The translation divides the clauses into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 47:20 tn The Hebrew text adds “upon them.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 47:21 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 47:21 tc The MT reads “and the people he removed to the cities,” which does not make a lot of sense in this context. Smr and the LXX read “he enslaved them as slaves.”
- Genesis 47:23 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive is equivalent to a command here.
- Genesis 47:24 tn The perfect form with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here.
- Genesis 47:25 tn Heb “we find favor in the eyes of my lord.” Some interpret this as a request, “may we find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
- Genesis 47:25 sn Slaves. See the note on this word in v. 21.
- Genesis 47:26 tn On the term translated “statute” see P. Victor, “A Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,” VT 16 (1966): 358-61.
- Genesis 47:26 tn The words “which is in effect” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 47:28 tn Heb “the days of the years.”
- Genesis 47:29 tn Heb “days.”
- Genesis 47:29 sn On the expression put your hand under my thigh see Gen 24:2.
- Genesis 47:29 tn Or “deal with me in faithful love.”
- Genesis 47:30 tn Heb “lie down.” Here the expression “lie down” refers to death.
- Genesis 47:30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “swear on oath to me.” The words “that you will do so” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 47:31 tn Heb “swore on oath to him.”
- Genesis 47:31 sn The Hebrew verb normally means “bow down,” especially in worship or prayer. Here it might simply mean “bend low,” perhaps from weakness or approaching death. The narrative is ambiguous at this point and remains open to all these interpretations.
- Genesis 47:31 tc The MT reads מִטָּה (mittah, “bed, couch”). The LXX reads the word as מַטֶּה (matteh, “staff, rod”) and interprets this to mean that Jacob bowed down in worship while leaning on the top of his staff. The LXX reading was used in turn by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 11:21).
- Genesis 48:1 tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.
- Genesis 48:2 tn Heb “and one told and said.” The verbs have no expressed subject and can be translated with the passive voice.
- Genesis 48:2 tn Heb “Look, your son Joseph.”
- Genesis 48:3 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “Sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
- Genesis 48:4 tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.
- Genesis 48:4 tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.
- Genesis 48:4 tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 48:4 tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (ʾakhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ʾakhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).
- Genesis 48:5 sn They will be mine. Jacob is here adopting his two grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim as his sons, and so they will have equal share with the other brothers. They will be in the place of Joseph and Levi (who will become a priestly tribe) in the settlement of the land. See I. Mendelsohn, “A Ugaritic Parallel to the Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh,” IEJ (1959): 180-83.
- Genesis 48:6 tn Or “you fathered.”
- Genesis 48:6 tn Heb “called” or “named.”
- Genesis 48:6 sn Listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. This means that any subsequent children of Joseph will be incorporated into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
- Genesis 48:7 tn Heb “upon me, against me,” which might mean something like “to my sorrow.”
- Genesis 48:9 tn Heb “my.”
- Genesis 48:9 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 48:9 tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the imperative.
- Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “heavy.”sn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is important to the story. The weakness of Israel’s sight is one of several connections between this chapter and Gen 27. Here there are two sons, and it appears that the younger is being blessed over the older by a blind old man. While it was by Jacob’s deception in chap. 27, here it is with Jacob’s full knowledge.
- Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 48:10 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 48:11 tn On the meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּלַל (palal) here, see E. A. Speiser, “The Stem pll in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6. Speiser argues that this verb means “to estimate” as in Exod 21:22.
- Genesis 48:11 tn Heb “your face.”
- Genesis 48:11 tn Heb “offspring.”
- Genesis 48:12 tn Heb “and Joseph brought them out from with his knees.” The two boys had probably been standing by Israel’s knees when being adopted and blessed. The referent of the pronoun “his” (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 48:13 tn Heb “and Joseph took the two of them.”
- Genesis 48:13 tn Heb “and he brought near to him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” and “him” (Joseph and his father respectively) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 48:14 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-concessive here.
- Genesis 48:15 tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 48:16 sn Smr reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.
- Genesis 48:16 tn The verb גָּאַל (gaʾal) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).
- Genesis 48:16 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
- Genesis 48:17 tn Heb “it was bad in his eyes.”
- Genesis 48:19 tn Heb “fullness.”
- Genesis 48:20 tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.
- Genesis 48:20 tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”
- Genesis 48:20 sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.
- Genesis 48:21 tn The pronouns translated “you,” “you,” and “your” in this verse are plural in the Hebrew text.
- Genesis 48:22 tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.
- Genesis 48:22 tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (shekhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).
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