Genesis 48:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’

NIV: and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’

NASB: and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

CSB: He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and numerous; I will make many nations come from you, and I will give this land as a permanent possession to your future descendants.’

NLT: He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful, and I will multiply your descendants. I will make you a multitude of nations. And I will give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

KJV: And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

NKJV: 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.’

Jacob is ill and nearing the end of his life (Genesis 48:1–3). Joseph has brought his two sons to Jacob, presumably so the three of them could receive a blessing from the patriarch before his death. In the previous verse, Jacob began to recall the time God Almighty appeared to him at Bethel, also known as Luz. There, the Lord had blessed him (Genesis 28:12–15). This was when Jacob was returning to Canaan after spending two decades working for his father-in-law in Padan-aram while hiding from the wrath of his brother Esau (Genesis 27:41–43).

Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim listen as Jacob continues to describe one of the central promises given to him by God. This is a key covenant God made with Jacob's grandfather Abraham (Genesis 17:8) and that his own father Isaac passed down to him for an inheritance (Genesis 28:3–4). God would make Jacob "to be fruitful and multiply." This meant that his offspring would be very numerous, starting with his own 12 sons and their sons after them. Next Jacob told Joseph that God said his family would become a company of peoples who would take "everlasting possession" of the land of Canaan.

Despite his habit of being fearful and negative, Jacob appears to have held on to this promise from God throughout his life. Now, on his deathbed, he means for Joseph to understand that the family's future blessing is in Canaan—not in Egypt.

Genesis 48:1–22 describes the blessing Jacob pronounces over Joseph's oldest two sons. Significantly, Jacob claims Joseph's two oldest sons as his own, ensuring that each will receive a full portion of his inheritance. This means Joseph's family will receive a double portion. Jacob blesses the pair with a prayer for God's blessing in their lives as he himself has experienced it.

Genesis 48 describes Jacob's deathbed blessing of Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. In a surprising move, Jacob claims Joseph's two oldest boys as his own. This makes each a full heir. The result is that Joseph's family will receive a double portion of the inheritance. Jacob prays for them to receive many of the blessings God has given to him during his long life. In another twist, Jacob gives greater blessing to the younger of his two grandsons.

Despite a long, difficult life, Jacob survives another 17 years after moving to Egypt. The suffering of his son, Joseph, resulted in the salvation of his family line. Now truly at the end of his days, Jacob claims Joseph's oldest two sons as his own—giving them full rights to a portion of his inheritance. The following chapters will include Jacob's remaining blessings for his sons, and a description of the death and burials of both Jacob and Joseph.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.