Genesis 48:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

NIV: When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

NASB: When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

CSB: When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, he thought it was a mistake and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.

NLT: But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

KJV: And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

NKJV: 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.

As Jacob, named Israel by God (Genesis 35:9–11) approaches death, he is blessing two of his grandsons: the oldest sons of Joseph (Genesis 48:1–12). Before Jacob began the prayer of blessing, Joseph had taken great care to arrange his two sons before Jacob so that the old man could put his right hand on the older son's head and his left hand on that of Ephraim, the younger one. Strong customs demanded that it is the oldest son who receives the honor of the greater blessing (Genesis 48:13–16).

Jacob, however, had inexplicably switched his hands to place his right hand on the younger brother's head and his left hand on Manasseh, the oldest. Of course, Jacob is quite old and blind.

At first, Joseph is upset when he realizes what has happened. It's possible he did not realize what happened because he was bowing between his sons at the time; his face might have been down such that he missed what his father was doing. The Hebrew word translated "displeased" is from a similar root term to those translated as "evil." In other words, Joseph is very distressed, even angry. He obviously expected the greater blessing to go to his oldest son. Whether he's angry about which son is more blessed, or the thought that his blind father might have made a mistake, Scripture does not say.

Joseph assumes he just made an odd mistake and now attempts to fix it by physically grabbing Jacob's right hand to move it to Manasseh's head. However, Jacob will make clear in the following verses that this is not an error (Genesis 48:19).

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.