| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Genesis Chapter
Forty-eight
Genesis 48
Outlines
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
GENESIS 48
Joseph
hearing that his
father Jacob was sick
paid him a visit
Genesis 49:1; at
which time Jacob gave him an account of the Lord's appearing to him at Luz
and
of the promise he made unto him
Genesis 49:3; then
he adopted his two sons
Ephraim and Manasseh
and blessed them
and Joseph
also
Genesis 49:5; and
whereas he crossed his hands when he blessed the sons of Joseph
putting his
right hand on the youngest
and his left hand on the eldest
which was
displeasing to Joseph
he gave him a reason for so doing
Genesis 49:17; and
then assured him that God would bring him
and the rest of his posterity
into
the land of Canaan
where he assigned him a particular portion above his
brethren
Genesis 49:21.
Genesis 48:1. Now it came to
pass after these things that Joseph was told
“Indeed your father is
sick”; and he took with him his two sons
Manasseh and Ephraim.
YLT 1And it cometh to pass
after these things
that [one] saith to Joseph
`Lo
thy father is sick;' and he taketh his two
sons with him
Manasseh and Ephraim.
And it came to
pass after these things
....
Some little time after
Jacob had sent for Joseph
and conversed with him about his burial in the land
of Canaan
and took an oath to bury him there
for then the time drew nigh that
he must die:
that one
told Joseph
behold
thy father is sick;
he was very infirm when he
was last with him
and his natural strength decaying apace
by which he knew
his end was near; but now he was seized with a sickness which threatened him
with death speedily
and therefore very probably dispatched a messenger to
acquaint Joseph with it. Jarchi fancies that Ephraim
the son of Joseph
lived
with Jacob in the land of Goshen
and when he was sick went and told his father
of it
but this is not likely from what follows:
and he took
with him his two sons
Manasseh and Ephraim;
to see their grandfather
before he died
to hear his dying words
and receive his blessing.
Genesis 48:2. 2 And
Jacob was told
“Look
your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel
strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.
YLT 2And [one] declareth to Jacob
and saith
`Lo
thy son Joseph is coming unto thee;' and Israel doth strengthen himself
and
sit upon the bed.
And one
told Jacob
....
The same that came from
Jacob to Joseph might be sent back by him to
his father
to let him know that
he was coming to see him
or some other messenger sent on purpose; for it can
hardly be thought that this was an accidental thing on either side:
and said
behold
thy son Joseph cometh unto thee;
to pay him a visit
and
which no doubt gave him a pleasure
he being his beloved son
as well as he was
great and honourable:
and Israel
strengthened himself
and sat upon his bed;
his spirits revived
his
strength renewed
he got fresh vigour on hearing his son Joseph was coming; and
he exerted all his strength
and raised himself up by the help of his staff
and sat upon his bed to receive his son's visit; for now it was when he blessed
the sons of Joseph
that he leaned upon the top of his staff and worshipped
as
the apostle says
Hebrews 11:21.
Genesis 48:3. 3 Then
Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan
and blessed me
YLT 3And Jacob saith unto Joseph
`God Almighty
hath appeared unto me
in Luz
in the land of Canaan
and blesseth me
And Jacob said
unto Joseph
....
Being come into his
bedchamber
and sitting by him
or standing before him:
God Almighty
appeared unto at Luz in the land of Canaan;
the same with Bethel
where God appeared
both at his going to Padanaram
and at his return from
thence
Genesis 28:11;
which of those times is here referred to is not certain; very likely he refers
to them both
since the same promises were made to him at both times
as after
mentioned:
and blessed me;
promised he would bless
him
both with temporal and spiritual blessings
as he did as follows.
Genesis 48:4. 4 and
said to me
‘Behold
I will make you fruitful and multiply you
and I will make
of you a multitude of people
and give this land to your descendants after you as
an everlasting possession.’
YLT 4and saith unto me
Lo
I am making thee
fruitful
and have multiplied thee
and given thee for an assembly of peoples
and given this land to thy seed after thee
a possession age-during.
And said unto
me
behold
I will make thee fruitful
....
In a spiritual sense
in
grace and good works; in a literal sense
in an increase of worldly substance
and especially of children:
and multiply
thee;
make his posterity
numerous as the sand of the sea:
and I will make
of thee a multitude of people;
a large nation
consisting
of many tribes
even a company of nations
as the twelve tribes of Israel were:
and I will give
this land unto thy seed after thee
for an everlasting possession;
the land of Canaan
they
were to possess as long as they were the people of God
and obedient to his
law; by which obedience they held the land
even unto the coming of the
Messiah
whom they rejected
and then they were cast out
and a "Loammi"
(i.e. not my people
Hosea 1:9) written
upon them
and their civil polity
as well as church state
at an end: and
besides
Canaan was a type of the eternal inheritance of the saints in heaven
the spiritual Israel of God
which will be possessed by them to all eternity.
Genesis 48:5. 5 And
now your two sons
Ephraim and Manasseh
who were born to you in the land of
Egypt before I came to you in Egypt
are mine; as Reuben and Simeon
they shall be mine.
YLT 5`And now
thy two sons
who are born to thee
in the land of Egypt
before my coming unto thee to Egypt
mine they [are]; Ephraim
and Manasseh
as Reuben and Simeon they are mine;
And now thy two
sons
Ephraim and Manasseh
....
Ephraim was the youngest
but is mentioned first
as he afterwards was preferred in the blessing of him:
which were born
unto thee in the land of Egypt
before I came unto thee into Egypt;
and therefore must be
twenty years of age
or upwards: for Jacob had been in Egypt seventeen years
and he came there when there had been two years of famine
and Joseph's sons
were born to him before the years of famine began
Genesis 41:50; of
these Jacob says
they
are mine: as Reuben and Simeon
they shall be mine;
that is
by adoption;
should be reckoned not as his grandchildren
but as his children
even as his
two eldest sons
Reuben and Simeon; and so should be distinct tribes or heads
of them
as his sons would be
and have a distinct part and portion in the land
of Canaan; and thus the birthright was transferred from Reuben
because of his
incest
to Joseph
who in his posterity had a double portion assigned him.
Genesis 48:6. 6 Your
offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the
name of their brothers in their inheritance.
YLT 6and thy family which thou hast begotten after
them are thine; by the name of their brethren they are called in their
inheritance.
And thy issue
which thou begettest after them
shall be thine
....
The children of Joseph
that either were
or would be begotten after Ephraim and Manasseh; though
whether ever any were is not certain; and this is only mentioned by way of
supposition
as Jarchi interprets it
"if thou shouldest beget"
&c. these should be reckoned his own
and not as Jacob's sons
but be
considered as other grandchildren of Jacob's were
and not as Ephraim and
Manasseh:
and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their
inheritance;
they should not have
distinct names
or make distinct tribes
or have a distinct inheritance; but
should be called either the children of Ephraim
or the children of Manasseh
and should be reckoned as belonging either to the one tribe
or the other
and have
their inheritance in them
and with them
and not separate.
Genesis 48:7. 7 But
as for me
when I came from Padan
Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan
on the way
when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I
buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is
Bethlehem).”
YLT 7`And I -- in my coming in from Padan-[Aram]
Rachel hath died by me in the land of Canaan
in the way
while yet a kibrath
of land to enter Ephrata
and I bury her there in the way of Ephrata
which
[is] Bethlehem.'
And as for me
when I came from Padan
....
From Syria
from Laban's
house:
Rachel died by
me in the land of Canaan;
his beloved wife
the
mother of Joseph
on whose account he mentions her
and to show a reason why he
took his sons as his own
because his mother dying so soon
he could have no
more children by her; and she being his only lawful wife
Joseph was of right
to be reckoned as the firstborn; and that as such he might have the double
portion
he took his two sons as his own
and put them upon a level with them
even with Reuben and Simeon. By this it appears
as by the preceding account
that Rachel came with him into the land of Canaan
and there died:
in the way
when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath;
about a mile
or two
thousand cubits
as Jarchi observes:
and I buried
her there in the way of Ephrath;
where she died
and dying
in childbed
could not be kept so long as to carry her to Machpelah
the
burying place of his ancestors; and especially as he had his flocks and herds
with him
which could move but slowly; and what might make it more difficult to
keep her long
and carry her thither
it might be
as Ben Melech conjectures
summertime; and the Vulgate Latin adds to the text
without any warrant from
the original
"and it was springtime"; however
she was buried in the
land of Canaan
and which is taken notice of
that Joseph might observe it: it
follows:
the same is
Bethlehem;
that is
Ephrath; and so
Bethlehem is called Bethlehem Ephratah
Micah 5:2; whether
these are the words of Jacob
or of Moses
is not certain
but said with a view
to the Messiah
the famous seed of Jacob that should be born there
and was.
Genesis 48:8. 8 Then
Israel saw Joseph’s sons
and said
“Who are these?”
YLT 8And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph
and
saith
`Who [are] these?'
And Israel
beheld Joseph's sons
....
Ephraim and Manasseh
of
whom he had been speaking as if they were absent
and he might not know until
now that they were present
for his eyes were dim that he could not see
clearly
Genesis 49:10; he
saw two young men standing by Joseph
but knew not who they were
and therefore
asked the following question:
and said
who are
these?
whose sons are they? the
Targum of Jonathan is
"of whom were these born to thee?'as if he knew them
to be his sons
only inquired who the mother of them was; but the answer shows
he knew them not to be his sons
and as for his wife
he could not be ignorant
who she was.
Genesis 48:9. 9 And
Joseph said to his father
“They are my sons
whom God has given me in
this place.” And he said
“Please bring them to me
and I will bless
them.”
YLT 9and Joseph saith unto his father
`They [are]
my sons
whom God hath given to me in this [place];' and he saith
`Bring them
I pray thee
unto me
and I bless them.'
And Joseph said
unto his father
they are my sons
whom God hath given me in this place
....
In the land of Egypt; he
accounts his sons as the gifts of God
as children are
Psalm 127:3; and it
was not only a sentiment of the Jews
that children are the gift of God; hence
the names of Mattaniah
Nathaniel
&c. but of Heathens
as the Greeks and
Romans
among whom are frequent the names of men which show it
as Theodorus
Deodatus
Apollodorus
Artemidorus
&c.
and he said
bring them
I pray thee
unto me
and I will bless them;
not in a common way
barely wishing them prosperity and happiness
but as a patriarch and prophet
under the influence and inspiration of the Spirit of God
declaring what would
befall them
and what blessings they should be partakers of
in time to come.
Genesis 48:10. 10 Now
the eyes of Israel were dim with age
so that he could not see. Then
Joseph brought them near him
and he kissed them and embraced them.
YLT 10And the eyes of Israel have been heavy from
age
he is unable to see; and he bringeth them nigh unto him
and he kisseth
them
and cleaveth to them;
Now the eyes of
Israel were dim for age
....
Or "heavy"F16כבדו "graves erant"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius
& Tremellius
Piscator
&c.
that he could not lift them up easily and
see clearly; his eyebrows hung over
his eyes were sunk in his head
and the
humours pressed them through old age
that it was with difficulty he could
perceive an object
at least not distinctly:
so that he could not see;
very plainly
otherwise he
did see the sons of Joseph
though he could not discern who they were
Genesis 49:8
and he brought
them near unto him;
that he might have a
better sight of them and bless them:
and he kissed
them
and embraced them:
as a token of his
affection for them.
Genesis 48:11. 11 And Israel said to Joseph
“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact
God has also shown me your
offspring!”
YLT 11and Israel saith unto Joseph
`To see thy
face I had not thought
and lo
God hath shewed me also thy seed.'
And Israel said
unto Joseph
I had not thought to see thy face
....
Some years ago he never
expected to have seen him any more; he had given him up for lost
as a dead
man
when his sons brought him his coat dipped in blood; and by reason of the
long course of years which passed before ever he heard anything of him:
and
lo
God
hath showed me also thy seed;
it was an additional
favour to see his offspring; it can hardly be thought
that in a course of seventeen
years he had been in Egypt
he had not seen them before
only he takes this
opportunity
which was the last he should have of expressing his pleasure on
this occasion.
Genesis 48:12. 12 So
Joseph brought them from beside his knees
and he bowed down with his face to
the earth.
YLT 12And Joseph bringeth them out from between his
knees
and boweth himself on his face to the earth;
And Joseph
brought them out from between his knees
....
Either from between his
own
where they were kneeling
as he was sitting
in order that they might be
nearer his father
to receive his blessing by the putting on of his hands; or
rather from between his father's knees
he
as Aben Ezra observes
sitting on
the bed
having kissed and embraced them
they were still between his knees;
and that they might not be burdensome to his aged father
leaning on his
breast
and especially
in order to put them in a proper position for his
benediction
he took them from thence
and placed them over against him to his
right and left hand:
and he bowed
himself with his face to the earth;
in a civil way to his
father
and in reverence of him; in a religious way to God
expressing his
thankfulness for all favours to him and his
and as supplicating a blessing for
his sons through his father
under a divine influence and direction.
Genesis 48:13. 13 And
Joseph took them both
Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand
and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand
and brought them
near him.
YLT 13and Joseph taketh them both
Ephraim in his
right hand towards Israel's left
and Manasseh in his left towards Israel's
right
and bringeth [them] nigh to him.
And Joseph took
them both
Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand
....
He took Ephraim his
youngest son in his right hand
and led him up to his father
by which means he
would stand in a right position to have his grandfather's left hand put upon
him:
and Manasseh in
his left hand toward Israel's right hand;
Manasseh his eldest son he
took in his left hand
and brought him to his father
and so was in a proper
position to have his right hand laid upon him
as seniority of birth required
and as he was desirous should be the case:
and brought them
near unto him;
in the above manner
so
near as that he could lay his hands on them.
Genesis 48:14. 14 Then
Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head
who was
the younger
and his left hand on Manasseh’s head
guiding his hands knowingly
for Manasseh was the firstborn.
YLT 14And Israel putteth out his right hand
and
placeth [it] upon the head of Ephraim
who [is] the younger
and his left hand
upon the head of Manasseh; he hath guided his hands wisely
for Manasseh [is]
the first-born.
And Israel
stretched out his right hand
....
Not directly forward
but
across
or otherwise it would have been laid on Manasseh
as Joseph designed it
should by the position he placed him in:
and laid it
upon Ephraim's head
who was the younger
the right hand being the
strongest and most in use
as it was reckoned most honourable to sit at it
so
to have it imposed
as being significative of the greater blessing:
and his left
hand upon Manasseh's head;
who was the older:
guiding his
hands wittingly;
this was not done
accidentally
but on purpose: or made his "hands to understand"F17שכל את ידיו
"intelligere fecit suas manus"
Paguinus
Montanus
Vatablus
Drusius
Cartwright.
they acted as if they understood what he would have
done
as Aben Ezra; as if they were conscious of what should be
or would be;
though he could not see clearly and distinctly
yet he knew
by the position of
them before him
which was the elder and which was the younger: he knew that
Joseph would set the firstborn in such a position before him as naturally to
put his right hand on him
and the younger in such a position as that it would
be readiest for him to put his left hand on him; and therefore
being under a
divine impulse and spirit of prophecy
by which he discerned that the younger
was to have the greater blessing
he crossed his bands
or changed them
and
put his right hand on Ephraim
and his left hand on Manasseh:
for Manasseh was
the firstborn;
or rather
thoughF18כי "tametsi"
Tigurine version;
"quamvis"
Piscator; so some in Fagius. he was the firstborn
as Aben
Ezra.
Genesis 48:15. 15 And
he blessed Joseph
and said: “God
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac
walked
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day
YLT 15And he blesseth Joseph
and saith
`God
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked habitually: God who is feeding
me from my being unto this day:
And he blessed
Joseph
....
In his sons who were
reckoned for him
and became the heads of tribes in his room:
and said
God
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk;
in whom they believed
whom they professed
and whom they feared
served
and worshipped
and with
whom they had communion:
the God which
fed me all my long unto this day;
who had upheld him in life
provided for him all the necessaries of life
food and raiment
and had
followed him with his goodness ever since he had a being
and had fed him as
the great shepherd of the flock
both with temporal and spiritual food
being
the God of his life
and of his mercies in every sense.
Genesis 48:16. 16 The
Angel who has redeemed me from all evil
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them
And the name of my fathers
Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the
earth.”
YLT 16the Messenger who is redeeming me from all
evil doth bless the youths
and my name is called upon them
and the name of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac; and they increase into a multitude in the midst of
the land.'
The Angel which
redeemed me from all evil
bless the lads
....
Ephraim and Manasseh
now
about twenty years old or upwards: this is not to be understood of a created
angel he wishes to be their guardian
but of an eternal one
the Son of God
the Angel of God's presence
the Angel of the covenant; the same with the God
of his father before mentioned
as appears by the character he gives him
as
having "redeemed him from all evil"; not only protected and
preserved him from temporal evils and imminent dangers from Esau
Laban
and
others; but had delivered him from the power
guilt
and punishment of sin
the
greatest of evils
and from the dominion and tyranny of Satan the evil one
and
from everlasting wrath
ruin
and damnation; all which none but a divine Person
could do
as well as he wishes
desires
and prays
that he would
"bless" the lads with blessings temporal and spiritual
which a
created angel cannot do; and Jacob would never have asked it of him:
and let my name
be named on them
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
having adopted them
he
foretells they would be called not only the sons of Joseph
but the children of
Israel or Jacob
and would have a name among the tribes of Israel
and be heads
of them
as well as would be called the seed of Abraham and of Isaac
and
inherit their blessings: and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the
earth; where they increased as fishes
as the word signifiesF19וידגו "et instar piscium sint"
Pagninus
Montanus; so Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Ainsworth
and the Targum of
Onkelos
and Jarchi.
and more than any other of the tribes; even in the times
of Moses the number of them were 85
200 men fit for war
Numbers 26:34; and
their situation was in the middle of the land of Canaan.
Genesis 48:17. 17 Now
when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim
it
displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from
Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.
YLT 17And Joseph seeth that his father setteth his
right hand on the head of Ephraim
and it is wrong in his eyes
and he
supporteth the hand of his father to turn it aside from off the head of Ephraim
to the head of Manasseh;
And when Joseph
saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim
it displeased
him
....
To see the younger
preferred to the elder; parents
generally speaking
having the greatest regard
to the firstborn with respect to honour and estate
and to them
in those
times
the patriarchal blessing particularly was thought to belong; but it did
not always go to them
but to the younger
as in Jacob's own case:
and he held up
his father's hand
to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head;
he took him by the right
hand
and lifted it up from the head of Ephraim
and held it in order that he
might put it by his direction on the head of Manasseh.
Genesis 48:18. 18 And
Joseph said to his father
“Not so
my father
for this one is the
firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
YLT 18and Joseph saith unto his father
`Not so
my
father
for this [is] the first-born; set thy right hand on his head.'
And Joseph said
unto his father
not so
my father
....
It is not right
it should
not so be
that the right hand should be put on the youngest
and the left hand
on the eldest:
for this is
the firstborn;
directing him to Manasseh
and seeking to guide his hand towards him:
put thy right
hand upon his head;
Joseph was for proceeding
according to the order of birthright
but Jacob was directed by a spirit of
prophecy
as follows.
Genesis 48:19. 19 But
his father refused and said
“I know
my son
I know. He also shall become a
people
and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be
greater than he
and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
YLT 19And his father refuseth
and saith
`I have
known
my son
I have known; he also becometh a people
and he also is great
and yet
his young brother is greater than he
and his seed is the fulness of
the nations;'
And his father
refused
....
To have any alteration
made
and therefore
though Joseph lifted it up from. Ephraim's head and held
it over it
Jacob put it on again and went on with the blessing:
and said
I
know it
my son
I know it;
he knew what he did
and
he repeats it to confirm it
as well as to show the vehemency of his mind
and
his resolution to abide by what he had done; he knew on whom he laid his right
hand
and he knew that Manasseh was the firstborn: so the Targum of Jonathan:
and he also
shall become a people;
a tribe or nation:
and he also
shall be great;
in number
riches
and
honour:
but truly his
younger brother shall be greater than he;
more numerous
as the
tribe of Ephraim was
than that of Manasseh
when they came out of Egypt; for
in numbering them there appeared to be 8300 more in the one tribe than in the
other
Numbers 1:33
as
well as more honourable; Ephraim's standard was placed before Manasseh's
Numbers 2:18; and
upon the division of the tribes in Rehoboam's time
as Jeroboam was of the
tribe of Ephraim
that tribe was at the head of the ten tribes
and the seat of
the kingdom was in it
and the whole kingdom of Israel often goes by the name
of Ephraim:
and his seed
shall become a multitude of nations;
that is
of families
for
as nations are called families
Amos 3:1; so
families may be called nations; the Targum of Onkelos is
"his sons shall
be rulers among the people
'so Joshua
who was of the tribe of Ephraim
conquered and subdued the nations of the Canaanites
and Jeroboam of this tribe
ruled over the ten tribes or nations of Israel: it may be rendered
"his
seed shall fill the nations"F20יהיה מלא הגוימ "implebit
nationes"
Munster; "erit plenitudo gentium"
Pagninus
Montanus
Schmidt; "impletio gentium"
Tigurine version.
or be
"the fulness" of them; which Jarchi interprets of the whole world
being filled with the fame and renown of Joshua
who was of this tribe
when
the sun and moon stood still in his days; but it is best to understand this of
the large share he should have of the land of Canaan among the rest of the
tribes or nations of Israel.
Genesis 48:20. 20 So
he blessed them that day
saying
“By you Israel will bless
saying
‘May God
make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
YLT 20and he blesseth them in that day
saying
`By
thee doth Israel bless
saying
God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh;' and
he setteth Ephraim before Manasseh.
And he blessed
them that day
....
That Joseph visited him
and this be did "by faith"; believing that what he had said
concerning them would be accomplished
as the apostle observes
Hebrews 11:21
saying
in thee
shall Israel bless;
in Joseph
as the Targum
of Jonathan
that is
in his seed
in his sons Ephraim and Manasseh
when the
Israelites blessed any
they should make use of their names:
saying
God
make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh:
as great and honourable
as rich and wealthy
as fruitful and prosperous as they; and the Targum says
this custom continues with the Jews to this day
to put their hands on persons
to bless them; if a son
they say
"God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh;'if
a daughter
"God make thee as Sarah and Rebekah:"
and he set
Ephraim before Manasseh;
not only in this form of
benediction
but in all that he had said and done before; he preferred him to
Manasseh by putting his right hand upon him
and giving him the superior
blessing: and it is no unusual thing for the younger to be set before the
elder
both by God and man
but especially by the Lord
who seeth not as man
seeth
and proceeds not according to carnal descent
or those rules men go by:
there had been many instances before this
as Abel was preferred to Cain
Shem
to Japheth
Abraham to Nahor
Isaac to Ishmael
and Jacob to Esau; as there
were after it
as Moses to Aaron
and David to his brethren.
Genesis 48:21. 21 Then Israel said to
Joseph
“Behold
I am dying
but God will be with you and bring you back to the
land of your fathers.
YLT 21And Israel saith unto Joseph
`Lo
I am
dying
and God hath been with you
and hath brought you back unto the land of
your fathers;
And Israel said
unto Joseph
behold
I die
....
Expected to die very
shortly; and he not only speaks of it as a certain thing
and what would
quickly be
but with pleasure and comfort
having no fear and dread of it on
him
but as what was agreeable to him
and he had made himself familiar with:
but God shall
be with you;
with Joseph and his
posterity
and with all his brethren
and theirs
to comfort and support them
to guide and counsel them
to protect and defend them
to carry them through
all they had to endure in Egypt
and at length bring them out of it; he
signifies he was departing from them
but God would not depart from them
whose
presence would be infinitely more to them than his; and which
as it made him
the more easy to leave them
so it might make them more easy to part with him:
and bring you
again unto the land of your fathers;
the land of Canaan
where
their fathers
Abraham
Isaac
and Jacob
had dwelt
and which was given to
them and theirs for an inheritance
and where Joseph and his brethren had
lived
and would be brought thither again
as the bones of Joseph were
and as
all of them in their posterity were in Joshua's time.
Genesis 48:22. 22 Moreover
I have given to you one portion above your brothers
which I took from the hand
of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
YLT 22and I -- I have given to thee one portion
above thy brethren
which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my
sword and by my bow.'
Moreover
I
have given to thee one portion above thy brethren
....
The word for
"portion" is "Shechem"
and which some take to be
not an
appellative
as we do
but the name of a city
even Shechem; so the Targum of
Jonathan and Jarchi interpret it; and though that is not directly meant
yet
there is a reference had to it
and it seems to be enigmatically understood;
for this portion or parcel spoken of was near to Shechem
and not only that
but the city itself
and all the adjacent country
came to the lot of Ephraim
and were possessed by that tribe:
which I took
out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow;
not referring
as some
think
to the taking and spoiling of the city of Shechem by his sons
and so
said to be done by him in them; for Jacob would never make that his act and
deed
which he so much abhorred and detested
and still did
as appears by what
he says of it in the following chapter; nor was this taken from the Amorite
but from the Hivite
and not by his sword and bow
whether taken literally or
metaphorically
and so interpreted of his prayer and supplication
as by
Onkelos; but he was so far from assisting in that affair by supplication
that
his imprecations fell on Levi and Simeon
for that fact of theirs: if this is
to be understood of the city of Shechem
what Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom propose
seems most agreeable
that this is said by way of anticipation
the past tense
being put for the future; Jacob
under a spirit of prophecy
foreseeing and
declaring that his sons
and he in his sons in future time
would take it out
of the hands of the Amorites
the principal of the Canaanitish nations
and
then it should be given to Joseph's seed; but the first and special regard is
to the part or parcel of ground which lay near Shechem; and this Jacob is said
to take by his sword and bow
which some interpret of his money
which were his
arms and defence
and which he had got by much labour; and if it could be
proved that his money was marked with a sword and bow upon it
as the Persian
Darics were with an archer with his bow and arrow
and therefore called
sagittaries or archersF21Vid. Heidegger. Hist. Patriarch. tom. 2.
Exercit. 22. sect. 12. p. 690.
it would countenance this sense; though even
then it could not with propriety be said that he by this means obtained it of
the Amorite
since he bought it of the children of Hamor the Hivite; but it
seems more likely
that after Jacob departed from Shechem to Hebron
the
Amorite came and seized on this parcel of ground; which he hearing of
went
with his sons and servants
and recovered it out of their hands by his sword
and bow; though this warlike action of his is nowhere recorded in Scripture
the Jewish writersF23Shalshalet Hakabala
fol. 5. 1. say
that Jacob
and his sons had very grievous war with the Amorites on account of the
slaughter and captivity of the Shechemites: by giving to Joseph this portion
above his brethren
it appears that the birthright was become his
he having
the double portion
and indeed all that Jacob had of his own in the land of
Canaan; and hence Joseph's bones were buried here
it being his own ground; see
Joshua 24:32.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》