The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS 47:30

163

GENESIS 48:16

me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. 31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head. Genesis 48 Jacob (147 years old) blesses Joseph’s two sons (Note - This event took place when 1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, 1 GOD ALMIGHTY appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 And said unto me, 2 Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; 3 and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5 And now thy two sons, 4 Ephraim and 5 Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Sime- on, they shall be mine. 6 And thy issue, which thou begettest af- ter them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7 And as for me, when I came from Pa- Joseph was 57 years old) Date - 1685 BC/AM 2315

1. “ El Shaddai ” - Exo 6:3 2. Gen 28:13-15 3. Gen 28:13 4. Note - Ephraim was approximately 23 years old here. 5. Note - Manasseh was approximately 24 years old here. 6. Gen 35:16-20

dan, 6 Rachel died by me in the land of Ca- naan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem. 8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and 7 I will bless them. 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And 8 he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16 The 9 ANGEL which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of

7. Heb 11:21 8. I Chro 5:1 9. or, “Angel

of God (Gen 31:11); angel of his presence (Isa 63:9); Christ Himself” (Gen 32:24-30)

48:5 Interestingly enough, when preparing to bless his son Joseph, Jacob named Joseph’s second born son ( Ephraim ) first and his first born son ( Manasseh ) second. The reason for this reversal (vs 14) is because God wanted His people to learn to focus on being “fruitful” while suffering ( Ephraim ), not “forgetful” of the suffering ( Manasseh ). Being fruitful during times of suffering points to a trust in God, which brings glory to God ( Heb 11:6 ). 48:14 The act of “laying on of hands” ( laid it ) symbolizes the power to transfer one of five things: 1. Blessings – God alone has the last say when it comes to transferring blessings (Gen 25:20-23 & 48:13-20 and Mk 10:13-16). 2. Judgment – God alone has the last say when it comes to transferring judgment (Exo 7:1-4 and Lev 16:20-22,26 ). 3. Commission (ordination) – God alone has the last say when it comes to transferring commission (Num 27:18-23, I Tim 5:22 and Acts 6:6 & 13:1-3). 4. Holy Spirit influence for witnessing purposes – God alone has the last say when it comes to transferring Holy Spirit power to others for witnessing (Acts 8:14-20 & 9:17 & 19:6). 5. Healing – God alone has the last say when it comes to transferring healing (Mk 5:21-24,35-41 & 6:5, Acts 28:8 and Mk 16:18 ) 48:16 The King James Study Bible notes:

The angel which redeemed me from all evil in verse 16 refers to Christ Himself, pictured as redeeming ( go’el ) him from all calamity. This is the first mention of the go’el in the Bible, meaning “a savior” or “deliverer” (cf. Ex. 6:6; Is. 59:20; both of which speak of God as redeeming His people). 1

1 The King James Study Bible . Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson Pub., 1988. Print.