Genesis 48 commentary

The death-beds of believers, with the prayers and counsels of dying persons, are suited to make serious impressions upon the young, the gay, and the prosperous: we shall do well to take children on such occasions, when it can be done properly. If the Lord please, it is very desirable to bear our dying testimony to his truth, to his faithfulness, and the pleasantness of his ways. And one would wish so to live, as to give energy and weight to our dying exhortations. All true believers are blessed at their death, but all do not depart equally full of spiritual consolations. Jacob adopted Joseph's two sons. Let them not succeed their father, in his power and grandeur in Egypt; but let them succeed in the inheritance of the promise made to Abraham. Thus the aged dying patriarch teaches these young persons to take their lot with the people of God. He appoints each of them to be the head of a tribe. Those are worthy of double honour, who, through God's grace, break through the temptations of worldly wealth and preferment, to embrace religion in disgrace and poverty. Jacob will have Ephraim and Manasseh to know, that it is better to be low, and in the church, than high, and out of it.

The two good men own God in their comforts. Joseph says, They are my sons whom God has given me. Jacob says, God hath showed me thy seed. Comforts are doubly sweet to us when we see them coming from God's hand. He not only prevents our fears, but exceeds our hopes. Jacob mentions the care the Divine providence had taken of him all his days. A great deal of hardship he had known in his time, but God kept him from the evil of his troubles. Now he was dying, he looked upon himself as redeemed from all sin and sorrow for ever. Christ, the Angel of the covenant, redeems from all evil. Deliverances from misery and dangers, by the Divine power, coming through the ransom of the blood of Christ, in Scripture are often called redemption. In blessing Joseph's sons, Jacob crossed hands. Joseph was willing to support his first-born, and would have removed his father's hands. But Jacob acted neither by mistake, nor from a partial affection to one more than the other; but from a spirit of prophecy, and by the Divine counsel. God, in bestowing blessings upon his people, gives more to some than to others, more gifts, graces, and comforts, and more of the good things of this life. He often gives most to those that are least likely. He chooses the weak things of the world; he raises the poor out of the dust. Grace observes not the order of nature, nor does God prefer those whom we think fittest to be preferred, but as it pleases him. How poor are they who have no riches but those of this world! How miserable is a death-bed to those who have no well-grounded hope of good, but dreadful apprehensions of evil, and nothing but evil for ever!

1. After these things. Moses now passes to the last act of Jacob’s life, which, as we shall see, was especially worthy of remembrance. For, since he knew that he was invested by God with no common character, in being made the father of the fathers of the Church, he fulfilled, in the immediate prospect of death, the prophetic office, respecting the future state of the Church, which had been enjoined upon him. Private persons arrange their domestic affairs by their last wills; but very different was the method pursued by this holy man, with whom God had established his covenant, with this annexed condition, that the succession of grace should flow down to his posterity. But before I enter fully on the consideration of this subject, these two things are to be observed, to which Moses briefly alludes: first, that Joseph, being informed of his father’s sickness, immediately went to see him; and, secondly, that Jacob, having heard of his arrival, attempted to raise his feeble and trembling body, for the sake of doing him honor. Certainly, the reason why Joseph was so desirous of seeing his father, and so prompt to discharge all the other duties of filial piety, was, that he regarded it as a greater privilege to be a son of Jacob, than to preside over a hundred kingdoms. For, in bringing his sons with him, he acted as if he would emancipate them from the country in which they had been born, and restore them to their own stock. For they could not be reckoned among the progeny of Abraham, without rendering themselves detested by the Egyptians. Nevertheless, Joseph prefers that reproach for them, to every kind of wealth and glory, if they may but become one with the sacred body of the Church. His father, however, rising before him, pays him becoming honor, for the kindness received at his hand. Meanwhile, by so doing, he fulfils his part in the prediction, which before had inflamed his sons with rage; lest his constituting Ephraim and Manasseh the heads of two tribes, should seem grievous and offensive to his sons.

3. And Jacob said unto Joseph. The design of the holy man was to withdraw his son from the wealth and honors of Egypt, and to reunite him to the holy race, from which he had been, for a little while, separated. Moreover, he neither proudly boasts of his own excellence, nor of his present riches, nor of his power, for the sake of inducing his son to comply with his wishes; but simply sets before him the covenant of God. So also it is right, that the grace of adoption, as soon as it is offered to us, should, by filling our thoughts, extinguish our desire for everything splendid and costly in the world. This passage is, doubtless, remarkable. Joseph was possessed of the most exalted dignity; he foresees that the most excellent nobility would pass, through the memory of his name, to his posterity: he is able to leave them an ample patrimony: nor would it be difficult so to advance them in royal favor, that they might obtain rank among the nobles of the kingdom. Too many examples show how easy it is not only to be caught, but altogether fascinated, by such allurements. Yea, the greater part know, by their own experience, that, as soon as the least ray of hope beams upon us, from the world, we are torn away from the Lord, and alienated from the pursuit of the heavenly life. If a very few drops thus inebriate our flesh, how dangerous is it to drink from the full bowl? But to all the riches and honors of Egypt, Jacob opposes the vision in which God had adopted himself and his race, as his own people. Whenever, therefore, Satan shall try to entangle us with the allurements of the world, that he may draw us away from heaven, let us remember for what end we are called; in order that, in comparison with the inestimable treasure of eternal life, all that the flesh would otherwise prefer, may become loathsome. For, if holy Joseph formerly held an obscure vision in such esteem, that, for this sole object, forgetting Egypt, he gladly passed over to the despised flock of the Church; how shameful, at this day, is our folly, how vile our stupor, how detestable our ingratitude, if, at least, we are not equally affected, when our heavenly Father, having opened the gate of his kingdom, with unutterable sweetness invites us to himself? At the same time, however, we must observe, that holy Jacob does not obtrude vain imaginations, for the purpose of alluring his son; but places before him the sure promise of God, on which he may safely rely. Whence we are taught, that our faith is not rightly founded on anything except the sole word of God; and also, that this is a sufficiently firm support of faith, to prevent it from ever being shaken or overthrown by any devices whatever. Wherefore, whenever Satan attempts to draw us hither and thither by his enticements, let us learn to turn our minds to the word of God, and so firmly to rely upon its hidden blessings, that, with a lofty spirit, we may spurn those things which the flesh now sees and touches. Jacob says that God appeared to him in the land of Canaan, in order that Joseph, aspiring after that land, might become alienated in the affection of his heart from the kingdom of Egypt.

And blessed me. In this place the word blessed does not signify the present effect or manifestation of a happy life, in the way in which the Lord is sometimes said to bless his people, when he indeed declares, by the favor with which he follows them, that he openly makes them happy, because they are received under his protection. But Jacob regards himself as blessed, because he, having embraced the grace promised to him, does not doubt of its effect. And, therefore, I take what immediately follows; namely, I will make thee fruitful, etc., as explanatory of what precedes. Now the Lord promised that he would cause an assembly of nations to descend from him: because thirteen tribes, of which the whole body of the nation consisted, were, in a sense, so many nations. But since this was nothing more than a prelude to that greatness which should afterwards follow, when God, having scattered seed over the whole world, should gather together a church for himself, out of all nations; we may, while we recognize the accomplishment of the benediction under the old dispensation, yet allow that it refers to something greater. When therefore the people increased to so great a multitude, and thirteen populous tribes flowed from the twelve patriarchs, Jacob began already to grow to an assembly of nations. But from the time that the spiritual Israel was diffused through all quarters of the world, and various nations were congregated into one Church, this multiplication tended towards its completion. Wherefore, it is no wonder that holy Jacob should so highly estimate this most distinguished mark of divine favor, though, indeed, it was deeply hidden from carnal perception. But inasmuch as the Lord had held him long in suspense, profane men have said, that the old man was in his dotage. Few indeed are to be found, in this age, like Joseph, who disregarding the enjoyment of pleasures which are at hand, yield entire submission to the plain declaration of God’s word. But as Jacob, relying in confidence on invisible grace, had overcome every kind of temptation: so now his son, and the true heir of his faith, regards with reverence the oracles of the Lord; esteeming more highly the promise which he was persuaded had come down from heaven, though it was in the form of a dream, than all the riches of Egypt which he enjoyed.

For an everlasting possession. We have elsewhere shown the meaning of this expression: namely, that the Israelites should be perpetual heirs of the land until the coming of Christ, by which the world was renewed. The Hebrew word עולם (olam) is by some taken merely for a long time, by others for eternity: but seeing that Christ prolongs, to the end of time, the grace which was previously shadowed forth to the patriarchs; the phrase, in my judgment, refers to eternity. For that portion of land was promised to the ancient people of God, until the renovation introduced by Christ: and now, ever since the Lord has assigned the whole world to his people, a fuller fruition of the inheritance belongs to us.

5. And now thy two sons. Jacob confers on his son the special privilege, that he, being one, should constitute two chiefs; that is, that his two sons should succeed to an equal right with their uncles, as if they had been heirs in the first degree. But what is this! that a decrepit old man assigns to his grandchildren, as a royal patrimony, a sixth part of the land in which he had entered as a stranger, and from which now again he is an exile! Who would not have said that he was dealing in fables? It is a common proverb, that no one can give what he has not. What, therefore, did it profit Joseph to be constituted, by an imaginary title, lord of that land, in which the donor of it was scarcely permitted to drink the very water he had dug for with great labour, and from which, at length, famine expelled him? But it hence appears with what firm faith the holy fathers relied upon the word of the Lord, seeing they chose rather to depend upon his lips, than to possess a fixed habitation in the land. Jacob is dying an exile in Egypt; and meanwhile, calls away the governor of Egypt from his dignity into exile, that he may be well and happy. Joseph, because he acknowledges his father as a prophet of God, who utters no inventions of his own, esteems as highly the dominion offered to him, which has never yet become apparent, as if it were already in his possession. Moreover, that Jacob commands the other sons of Joseph, (if there should be any,) to be reckoned in the families of these two brothers, is as if he directed them to be adopted by the two whom he adopts to himself.

7. And as for me, when I came from Padan. He mentions the death and burial of his wife Rachel, in order that the name of his mother might prove a stimulus to the mind of Joseph. For since all the sons of Jacob had sprung from Syria, it was not a little to the purpose, that they should be thoroughly acquainted with the history which we have before considered, namely, that their father, returning into the land of Canaan, by the command and under the protection of God, brought his wives with him. For if it was not grievous to women, to leave their father, and to journey into a distant land, their example ought to be no slight inducement to their sons to bid farewell to Egypt; and at the command of the same God, strenuously prepare themselves for taking possession of the land of Canaan.

8. And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons. I have no doubt that he had inquired concerning the youths, before he called them his heirs. But in the narration of Moses there is a hysteron proteron. And in the answer of Joseph we observe, what we have elsewhere alluded to, that the fruit of the womb is not born by chance, but is to be reckoned among the precious gifts of God. This confession indeed finds a ready utterance from the tongues of all; but there are few who heartily acknowledge that their seed has been given them by God. And hence a large proportion of man’s offspring becomes continually more and more degenerate: because the ingratitude of the world renders it unable to perceive the effect of the blessings of God. We must now briefly consider the design of Moses: which was to show that a solemn symbol was interposed, by which the adoption might be ratified. Jacob puts his hands upon his grandsons; for what end? Truly to prove that he gave them a place among his sons: and thus constitutes Joseph who was one, into two chiefs. For this was not his wish as a private person; according to the manner in which fathers and grandfathers are wont to pray for prosperity to their descendants: but a divine authority suggested it, as was afterwards proved by the event. Therefore he commands them to be brought near to him, that he might confer on them a new honor, as if he had been appointed the dispenser of it by the Lord; and Joseph, on the other hand, begins with adoration, giving thanks to God.

12. And Joseph brought them out. Moses explains more fully what he had touched upon in a single word. Joseph brings forth his sons from his own lap to his father’s knees, not only for the sake of honor, but that he may present them to receive a blessing from the prophet of God; for he was certainly persuaded, that holy Jacob did not desire to embrace his grandsons after the common manner of men; but inasmuch as he was the interpreter of God, he wished to impart to them the blessing deposited with himself. And although, in dividing the land of Canaan, he assigned them equal portions with his sons, yet the imposition of his hands had respect to something higher; namely, that they should be two of the patriarchs of the Church, and should hold an honorable preeminence in the spiritual kingdom of God.

14. And Israel stretched out his right hand. Seeing his eyes were dim with age, so that he could not, by looking, discern which was the elder, he yet intentionally placed his hands across. And therefore Moses says that he guided his hands wittingly, because he did not rashly put them forth, nor transfer them from one youth to the other for the sake of feeling them: but using judgment, he purposely directed his right hand to Ephraim who was the younger: but placed his left hand on the first-born. Whence we gather that the Holy Spirit was the director of this act, who irradiated the mind of the holy man, and caused him to see more correctly, than those who were the most clear-sighted, into the nature of this symbolical act. I shall avoid saying more, because we shall be able to inquire into it from other passages.

15. God before whom. Although Jacob knew that a dispensation of the grace of God was committed to him, in order that he might effectually bless his grandchildren; yet he arrogates nothing to himself, but suppliantly resorts to prayer, lest he should, in the least degree, detract from the glory of God. For as he was the legitimate administrator of the blessing, so it behaved him to acknowledge God as its sole Author. And hence a common rule is to be deduced for all the ministers and pastors of the Church. For though they are not only called witnesses of celestial grace, but are also entrusted with the dispensation of spiritual gifts; yet when they are compared with God, they are nothing; because he alone contains all things within himself. Wherefore let them learn willingly to keep their own place, lest they should obscure the name of God. And truly, since the Lord, by no means, appoints his ministers, with the intention of derogating from his own power; therefore, mortal man cannot, without sacrilege, desire to seem anything separate from God. In the words of Jacob we must note, first, that he invokes God, in whose sight his fathers Abraham and Isaac had walked: for since the blessing depended upon the covenant entered into with them, it was necessary that their faith should be an intervening link between them and their descendants. God had chosen them and their posterity for a people unto himself: but the promise was efficacious for this reason, because, being apprehended by faith, it had taken a lively root. And thus it came to pass, that they transmitted the light of succession to Jacob himself. We now see that he does not bring forward, in vain, or unseasonably, that faith of the fathers, without which he would not have been a legitimate successor of grace, by the covenant of God: not that Abraham and Isaac had acquired so great an honor for themselves, and their posterity; or were, in themselves, so excellent; but because the Lord seals and sanctions by faith, those benefits which he promises us, so that they shall not fail.

The God which fed me. Jacob now descends to his own feelings, and states that from his youth he had constantly experienced, in various ways, the divine favor towards him. He had before made the knowledge of God received through his word, and the faith of his fathers, the basis of the blessing he pronounces; he now adds another confirmation from experience itself; as if he would say, that he was not pronouncing a blessing which consisted in an empty sound of words, but one of which he had himself enjoyed the fruit, all his life long. Now though God causes his sun to shine indiscriminately on the good and evil, and feeds unbelievers as well as believers: yet because he affords, only to the latter, the peculiar sense of his paternal love in the use of his gifts, Jacob rightly uses this as a reason for the confirmation of his faith, that he had always been protected by the help of God. Unbelievers are fed, even to the full, by the liberality of God: but they gorge themselves, like swine, which, while acorns are falling for them from the trees, yet have their snouts fixed to the earth. But in God’s benefits this is the principal thing, that they are pledges or tokens of his paternal love towards us. Jacob, therefore, from the sense of piety, with which the children of God are endued, rightly adduces, as proof of the promised grace, whatever good things God had bestowed upon him; as if he would say, that he himself was a decisive example to show how truly and faithfully the Lord had engaged by covenant to be a father to the children of Abraham. Let us also learn hence, carefully to consider and meditate upon whatever benefits we receive from the hand of God, that they may prove so many supports for the confirmation of our faith. The best method of seeking God is to begin at his word; after this, (if I may so speak,) experimental knowledge is added. Now whereas, in this place, the singular gratitude of the holy man is conspicuous; yet this circumstance adds to his honor, that, while involved in manifold sufferings, by which he was almost borne down, he celebrates the continual goodness of God. For although, by the rare and wonderful power of God, he had been, in an extraordinary manner, delivered from many dangers; yet it was a mark of an exalted and courageous mind, to be able to surmount so many and so great obstacles, to fly on the wings of faith to the goodness of God, and instead of being overwhelmed by a mass of evils, to perceive the same goodness in the thickest darkness.

16. The Angel which redeemed me. He so joins the Angel to God as to make him his equal. Truly he offers him divine worship, and asks the same things from him as from God. If this be understood indifferently of any angel what ever, the sentence is absurd. Nay, rather, as Jacob himself sustains the name and character of God, in blessing his son, In denedicendo filio. It appears that thought the singular number is used, yet reference is made to the two grandsons of Jacob. — Ed. he is superior, in this respect, to the angels. Wherefore it is necessary that Christ should be here meant, who does not bear in vain the title of Angel, because he had become the perpetual Mediator. And Paul testifies that he was the Leader and Guide of the journey of his ancient people. (1 Corinthians 10:4.) He had not yet indeed been sent by the Father, to approach more nearly to us by taking our flesh, but because he was always the bond of connection between God and man, and because God formally manifested himself in no other way than through him, he is properly called the Angel. To which may be added, that the faith of the fathers was always fixed on his future mission. He was therefore the Angel, because even then he poured forth his rays, that the saints might approach God, through him, as Mediator. For there was always so wide a distance between God and men, that, without a mediator; there could be no communication. Nevertheless though Christ appeared in the form of an angel, we must remember what the Apostle says to the Hebrews, (Hebrews 2:16,) that “he took not on him the nature of angels,” so as to become one of them, in the manner in which he truly became man; for even when angels put on human bodies, they did not, on that account, become men. Now since we are taught, in these words, that the peculiar office of Christ is to defend us and to deliver us from all evil, let us take heed not to bury this grace in impious oblivion: yea, seeing that now it is more clearly exhibited to us, than formerly to the saints under the law, since Christ openly declares that the faithful are committed to his care, that not one of them might perish, (John 17:12,) so much the more ought it to flourish in our hearts, both that it may be highly celebrated by us with suitable praise, and that it may stir us up to seek this guardianship of our best Protector. And this is exceedingly necessary for us; for if we reflect how many dangers surround us, that we scarcely pass a day without being delivered from a thousand deaths; whence does this arise, except from that care which is taken of us, by the Son of God, who has received us under his protection, from the hand of his Father.

And let my name be named on them. This is a mark of the adoption before mentioned: for he puts his name upon them, that they may obtain a place among the patriarchs. Indeed the Hebrew phrase signifies nothing else than to be reckoned among the family of Jacob. Thus the name of the husband is said to be called upon the wife, (Isaiah 4:1,) because the wife borrows the name from the head to which she is subject. So much the more ridiculous is the ignorance of the Papists, who would prove hence that the dead are to be invoked in prayers. Jacob, say they, desired after his death to be invoked by his posterity. What! that being prayed to, he might bring them succor; and not — according to the plain intention of the speaker — that Ephraim and Manasseh might be added to the society of the patriarchs, to constitute two tribes of the holy people! Moreover it is wonderful, that the Papists, leaving under this pretext framed for themselves innumerable patrons, should have passed over Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as unworthy of the office. But the Lord, by this brutish stupor, has avenged their impious profanation of his name. What Jacob adds in the next clause, namely, that they should grow into a multitude, ידגו, (yedegu,) Ainsworth translates the passage, “let them increase like fish into a multitude.” The Hebrew word for fish is from the above root, because of their prolific property; and consequently the use of such a term naturally suggests the notion of an extraordinary increase. Thus the Chaldee paraphrase adds, “like the fishes of the sea.” Hence, in the time of Moses there were 85,200 men of war descended from Joseph, a greater number than from any other of Jacob’s sons. See Ainsworth. — Ed refers also to the same promise. The sum amounts to this, that the Lord would complete in them, what he had promised to the patriarchs.

17. And when Joseph saw. Because by crossing his arms, Jacob had so placed his hands as to put his left hand upon the head of the first-born, Joseph wished to correct this proceeding, as if it had been a mistake. He thought that the error arose from dimness of vision; but his father followed the Spirit of God as his secret guide, in order that he might transfer the title of honor, which nature had conferred upon the elder to the younger. For, as he did not rashly assume to himself the office of conveying the blessing; so was it not lawful for him to attempt anything according to his own will. And at length it was evident by the event, that whatever he had done had been dictated to him from heaven. Whereas Joseph took it amiss, that Manasseh, who by the right of nature was first, should be cast down to the second place, this feeling arose from faith and from holy reverence for the prophetic office. For he would easily have borne to see him make a mistake in the order of embracing the youths; if he had not known that his father; as a minister of divine grace, so far from acting a futile part, was but pronouncing on earth what God would ratify in heaven. Yet he errs in binding the grace of God to the accustomed order of nature: as if the Lord did not often purposely change the law of nature, to teach us that what he freely confers upon us, is entirely the result of his own will. If God were rendering to every one his due, a certain rule might properly be applied to the distribution of his favors; but since he owes no one anything, he is free to confer gifts at his own pleasure. More especially, lest any one should glory in the flesh, he designedly illustrates his own free mercy, in choosing those who had no worthiness of their own. What shall we say was the cause, why he raised Ephraim above his own brother, to whom, according to usage, he was inferior? If any one should suppose that Ephraim had some hidden seed of excellence, he not only vainly trifles, but impiously perverts the counsel of God. For since God derives from himself and from his own liberality, the cause, why he prefers one of the two to the other: he confers the honor upon the younger, for the purpose of showing that he is bound by no claims of human merit; but that he distributes his gifts freely, as it seems good unto him. And while this liberty of God is extended to every kind of good, it yet shines the most clearly in the first adoption, whereby he predestinates to himself, those whom he sees fit, out of the ruined mass. Wherefore, be it our part to leave to God his whole power untouched, and if at any time, our carnal sense rebels, let us know that none are more truly wise than they who are willing to account themselves blind, when contemplating the wonderful dealings of God, in order that they may trace the cause of any difference he makes, to himself alone. We have seen above, that the eyes of Jacob were dim: but in crossing his arms, with apparent negligence, in order to comply with God’s purpose of election, he is more clear-sighted than his son Joseph, who, according to the sense of the flesh, inquires with too much acuteness. They who insanely imagine that this judgment was formed from a view of their works, sufficiently declare, by this one thing, that they do not hold the first rudiments of faith. For either the adoption common both to Manasseh and to Ephraim, was a free gift, or a reward of debt. Concerning this second supposition all ambiguity is removed, by many passages of Scripture, in which the Lord makes known his goodness, in having freely loved and chosen his people. Now no one is so ignorant; as not to perceive that the first place is not assigned to one or the other, according to merit; but is given gratuitously, since it so pleases the Lord. With regard to the posture of the hands, the subtlety of certain persons, who conjecture that the mystery of the cross was included in it, is absurd; for the Lord intended nothing more than that the crossing of the right hand and the left should indicate a change in the accustomed order of nature.

19. He also shall become a people. Jacob does not dispute which of the youths shall be the more worthy; but only pronounces what God had decreed with himself, concerning each, and, what would take place after a long succession of time. He seeks, therefore, no causes elsewhere; but contents himself with this one statement, that Ephraim will be more greatly multiplied than Manasseh. And truly our dignity is hidden in the counsel of God alone, until, by his vocation, he makes it manifest what he wills to do with us. Meanwhile, sinful emulation is forbidden, when he commands Manasseh to be contented with his lot. They are therefore altogether insane, who hew out dry and perforated cisterns, in seeking causes of divine adoption; whereas, everywhere, the Scripture defines in one word, that they are called to salvation whom God has chosen, (Romans 8:29,) and that the primary source of election is his free good pleasure. The form of the benediction, which is shortly afterwards related, more fully confirms what I have alluded to, that the grace of God towards both is commended, in order that Manasseh, considering that more was given to him than he deserved, might not envy his brother. Moreover, this blessing pronounced on Ephraim and Manasseh is not to be taken in the same sense as the former, in which it is said, In thy seed shall all nations be blessed: but the simple meaning is, that the grace of God should be so conspicuous towards the two sons of Joseph, as to furnish the people of Israel with a form by which to express their good wishes.

21. And Israel said unto Joseph. Jacob repeats what he had said. And truly all his sons, and especially Joseph and his sons, required something more than one simple confirmation, in order that they might not fix their abode in Egypt, but might dwell, in their minds, in the land of Canaan. He mentions his own death, for the purpose of teaching them that the eternal truth of God by no means depended on the life of men: as if he had said, my life, seeing it is short and fading, passes away; but the promise of God, which has no limit, will flourish when I also am dead. No vision had appeared unto his sons, but God had ordained the holy old man as the intermediate sponsor of his covenant. He therefore sedulously fulfills the office enjoined upon him, taking timely precaution that their faith should not be shaken by his death. So when the Lord delivers his word to the world by mortal men, although they die, having finished their course of life according to the flesh; yet the voice of God is not extinguished with them, but quickens us even at the present day. Therefore Peter writes, that he will endeavor, that after his decease, the Church may be mindful of the doctrine committed unto him. (2 Peter 1:15.)

Unto the land of your fathers. It is not without reason that he claims for himself and his fathers, the dominion over that land in which they had always wandered as strangers; for whereas it might seem that the promise of God had failed, he excites his sons to a good hope, and pronounces, with a courageous spirit, that land to be his own, in which, at length, he scarcely obtained a sepulcher, and that only by favor. Whence then was this great confidence, except that he would accustom his sons, by his example, to have faith in the word of God? Now this doctrine is also common to us; because we never rely with sufficient firmness on the word of God, so long as we are led by our own feelings. Nay, until our faith rises to lay hold on those things which are removed afar off, we know not what it is to set our seal to the word of God.

22. I have given to thee one portion. In order to increase the confidence of his son Joseph, Jacob here assigns him a portion beyondhis proper lot. Some expound the passage otherwise; as if he called him a double heir in his two sons, thus honoring him with one portion more than the rest. But there is no doubt that he means a certain territory. And John, (John 4:5,) removes all controversy; for, speaking of the field adjoining Sychar, which before was called Shechem, says, it was that which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. And, in the last chapter of Joshua, (Joshua 24:32,) it is said to have come into the possession of the sons of Joseph. But in the word שכם(shechem,) which among the Hebrews signifies a part, allusion is made to the proper name of the place. But here a question arises; how can he say that he had obtained the field by his sword and by his bow, which he had purchased with money, as is stated before, (Genesis 33:19,) and is again recorded in the above mentioned chapter of Joshua? Seeing, however, that only a small portion of the field, where he might pitch his tents, was bought, I do not doubt that here he comprised a much greater space. For we may easily calculate, from the price, how small a portion of land he possessed, before the destruction of the city. He gives, therefore, now to his son Joseph, not only the place of his tent, which had cost a hundred pieces of silver, but the field which had been the common of the city of Sychar. But it remains to inquire how he may be said to have obtained it by his sword, whereas the inhabitants had been wickedly and cruelly slain by Simon and Levi. How then could it be acquired by the right of conquest, from those against whom war had been unjustly brought; or rather, against whom, without any war, the most cruel perfidy had been practiced? Jerome resorts to allegory, saying that the field was obtained by money, which is called strength, or justice. Others suppose a prolepsis, as if Jacob was speaking of a future acquisition of the land: a meaning which, though I do not reject, seems yet somewhat forced. I rather incline to this interpretation: first, that he wished to testify that he had taken nothing by means of his two sons Simon and Levi; who, having raged like robbers, were not lawful conquerors, and had never obtained a single foot of land, after the perpetration of the slaughter. For, so far were they from gaining anything, that they compelled their father to fly; nor would escape have been possible, unless they had been delivered by miracle. When, however, Jacob strips them of their empty title, he transfers this right of victory to himself, as being divinely granted to him. For though he always held their wickedness in abhorrence, and will show his detestation of it in the next chapter Genesis 49:1; yet, because they had armed his whole household, they fought as under his auspices. Gladly would he have preserved the citizens of Shechem, a design which he was not able to accomplish; yet he appropriates to himself the land left empty and deserted by their destruction, because, for his sake, God had spared the murderers. Perhaps this interpretation of a confessedly obscure passage, will be deemed rather ingenious than solid. It is supposed by many, that Jacob refers to some transaction of which no record is preserved. He may, like Abraham, on some occasion, have armed his household to recover from the hands of the Amorites the field of Sheehem, which he had previously purchased. But the whole must be left in hopeless obscurity. Ainsworth thinks that Jacob is speaking proleptically, and representing the future conduct of his children under Joshua, whose sword and bow he here calls his own. But this seems far-fetched. The Chaldee interpretation, that the sword and bow are figuratively used for prayer and supplication, is still more improbable. — Ed.

CHAPTER 49.

Genesis 49:1-33

1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

1. Postea vocavit Jahacob filios suos, et dixit, Congregate vos, et annuntiabo bovis quod eventurum est vobis in novissino dierum.

2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

2. Congregate vos, et audite filii Jahacob, audite inquam Israel patrem vestrum.

3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

3. Ruben primogenitus meus, tu fortitudo mea, et principium roboris mei: excellentia dignitatis et excellentia roboris.

4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

4. Velocitas fuit tibi instar aquae, non excelles: quia ascendisti cubile patris tui, tune polluisti stratum meum, evanuit.

5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

5. Simhon et Levi fratres, arma iniquitatis in habitationibus eorum.

6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

6. In secretum eorum non veniat anima mea, in coetu eorum non uniaris lingua mea: quia in furore suo occiderunt virum, et voluntate sua eradicaverunt murum.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

7. Maledictus furor eorum, quia robustus, et ira eorum, quia dura est: dividam eos in Jahacob et dispergam eos in Israel.

8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.

8. Jehudah es to, laudabunt to fratres tui: manus tua erit in cervice inimicorum tuorum, incurvabunt se tibi filii patris tui.

9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

9. Ut catulus leonis Jehudah: e praeda, fili mi, ascendisti: incurvavit se, cubuit sicut leo, sicut leo major, quis suscitabit eum?

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be

10. Non recedet secptrum ex Jehudah, et Legislator e medio pedum ejus, donec veniat Messias: et ei erit aggregatio populorum.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

11. Ligans ad vitem pullum suum, et ad ramum filium asinae suae: lavit in vino vestimentum suum, et in sanguine uvarum operimentum suum.

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

12. Rubicundus oculis a vino, et dcandidus dentibus a lacte.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

13. Zebulon in portu marium habitabit, et erit in portum navium, et terminus ejus usque ad Sidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

14. Issachar ut asinus osseus, cubans inter duas sarcinas.

15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

15. Ed vidit requiem, quod esset bonum: et terram quod esset pulchra, et inclinavit humerum suum ad portandum, et fuit tributo serviens.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

16. Dan judicabit populum suum sicut unus e tribubus Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

17. Erit Dan ut serpens juxta viam, ut cerastes juxta semitam, mordens calcaneos equi, et cecidit equitans retrosum.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

18. Salutem tuam exspectavi Jehova.

19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

19. Gad, exercitus succidet eum, et ipse succidet ad extremum.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

20. Aser, erit pinguis panis ejus, et ipse dabit delicias regis.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

21. Naphthali ut cerva dimissa, dans eloquia pulchritudinis.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

22. Ut arbor fructificans Joseph, ut ramus crescens juxta fontem, rami incedent super murum.

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

23. Et amaritudine affecerunt eum, et jaculati sunt, et odio habuerunt eum sagittarii.

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

24. Et mansit in fortitudine arcus ejus, et roboraverunt se brachia manuum ejus a manibus potentis Jahacob, inde pastor lapidis Israel.

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

25. A Deo patris tui, et adjuvabit to: et ab Omnipotente, et benedicet tibi benedictionibus coeli sursum, benedictionibus abyssi cubantis deorsum, benedictionibus uberum et vulvae.

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

26. Benedictiones patris tui fortiores fuerunt benedictionibus genitorum meorum, usque ad terminum collium perpetuorum erunt super caput Joseph, et super verticem Nazaraei inter fratres suos.

27. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

27. Benjamin ut lupus rapiet, mane comedet praedam, et vesperi dividet spolia.

28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

28. Omnes istae tribus Israel duodecim. Et hoc est quod loquutus est eis pater eorum, et benedixit eis, unicuique secundum benedictionem suam, benedixit eis.

29. And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

29. Et praecepti eis, et dixit ad eos, Ego congregor ad populum meum: sepelite me cum patribus meis in spelunca, quae est in agro Hephron Hittaei.

30. In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

30. In spelunca, quae est in agro duplici, quae est ante Mamre: in terra Chenaan, quam emit Abraham cum agro ab Hephron Hittaeo in possessionem sepulcri.

31. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they bried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

31. Ibi sepelierunt Abraham et Sarah uxorem ejus: ibi sepelicrunt Ishac et Ribcah uxorem ejus, et ibi sepelivi Leah.

32. The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is therein, was from the children of Heth.

32. Emptio agri et speluncae, quae est in eo, fuit a filiis Heth.

33. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathererrd unto his people.

33. Et finem fecit Iahacob praecipiendi filiis suis: et collegit pedes suos in lecto et obiit, et aggregatus est ad populos suos.

CHAPTER 48

Ge 48:1-22. Joseph's Visit to His Sick Father.

1. one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick--Joseph was hastily sent for, and on this occasion he took with him his two sons.

2. Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed--In the chamber where a good man lies, edifying and spiritual discourse may be expected.

3-4. God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz--The object of Jacob, in thus reverting to the memorable vision at Beth-el [Ge 28:10-15]--one of the great landmarks in his history--was to point out the splendid promises in reserve for his posterity--to engage Joseph's interest and preserve his continued connection with the people of God, rather than with the Egyptians.

5. thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh--It was the intention of the aged patriarch to adopt Joseph's sons as his own, thus giving him a double portion. The reasons for this procedure are stated (1Ch 5:1, 2).

are mine--Though their connections might have attached them to Egypt and opened to them brilliant prospects in the land of their nativity, they willingly accepted the adoption (He 11:25).

9. Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them--The apostle (He 11:21) selected the blessing of Joseph's son as the chief, because the most comprehensive, instance of the patriarch's faith which his whole history furnishes.

13. Joseph took them both--The very act of pronouncing the blessing was remarkable, showing that Jacob's bosom was animated by the spirit of prophecy.

21. Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die--The patriarch could speak of death with composure, but he wished to prepare Joseph and the rest of the family for the shock.

but God shall be with you--Jacob, in all probability, was not authorized to speak of their bondage--he dwelt only on the certainty of their restoration to Canaan.

22. moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren--This was near Shechem (Ge 33:18; Joh 4:5; also Jos 16:1; 20:7). And it is probable that the Amorites, having seized upon it during one of his frequent absences, the patriarch, with the united forces of his tribe, recovered it from them by his sword and his bow.

One told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick - He was ill before, and Joseph knew it; but it appears that a messenger had been now dispatched to inform Joseph that his father was apparently at the point of death.

Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed - He had been confined to his bed before, (see Gen 47:31), and now, hearing that Joseph was come to see him, he made what efforts his little remaining strength would admit, to sit up in bed to receive his son. This verse proves that a bed, not a staff, is intended in the preceding chapter, Gen 47:31.

God Almighty - אל שדי El Shaddai, the all-sufficient God, the Outpourer and Dispenser of mercies, (see Gen 17:1), appeared to me at Luz, afterwards called Beth-El; see Gen 28:13; Gen 35:6, Gen 35:9.

And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh - are mine - I now adopt them into my own family, and they shall have their place among my twelve sons, and be treated in every respect as those, and have an equal interest in all the spiritual and temporal blessings of the covenant.

Rachel died by me, etc. - Rachel was the wife of Jacob's choice, and the object of his unvarying affection; he loved her in life - he loves her in death: many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. A match of a man's own making when guided by reason and religion, will necessarily be a happy one. When fathers and mothers make matches for their children, which are dictated by motives, not of affection, but merely of convenience, worldly gain, etc., etc., such matches are generally wretched; it is Leah in the place of Rachel to the end of life's pilgrimage.

Who are these? - At Gen 48:10 it is said, that Jacob's eyes were dim for age, that he could not see - could not discern any object unless it were near him; therefore, though he saw Ephraim and Manasseh, yet he could not distinguish them till they were brought nigh unto him.

I had not thought to see thy face - There is much delicacy and much tenderness in these expressions. He feels himself now amply recompensed for his long grief and trouble on account of the supposed death of Joseph, in seeing not only himself but his two sons, whom God, by an especial act of favor, is about to add to the number of his own. Thus we find that as Reuben and Simeon were heads of two distinct tribes in Israel, so were Ephraim and Manasseh; because Jacob, in a sort of sacramental way, had adopted them with equal privileges to those of his own sons.

Joseph - bowed himself with his face to the earth - This act of Joseph has been extravagantly extolled by Dr. Delaney and others. "When I consider him on his knees to God," says Dr. Delaney, "I regard him as a poor mortal in the discharge of his duty to his Creator. When I behold him bowing before Pharaoh, I consider him in the dutiful posture of a subject to his prince. But when I see him bending to the earth before a poor, old, blind, decrepit father, I behold him with admiration and delight. How doth that humiliation exalt him!" This is insufferable! For it in effect says that it is a wondrous condescension in a young man, who, in the course of God's providence, with scarcely any efforts of his own, was raised to affluence and worldly grandeur, to show respect to his father! And that respect was the more gratuitous and condescending, because that father was poor, old, blind, and decrepit! The maxim of this most exceptionable flight of admiration is, that "children who have risen to affluence are not obliged to reverence their parents when reduced in their circumstances, and brought down by the weight of years and infirmities to the sides of the grave; and should they acknowledge and reverence them, it would be a mark of singular goodness, and be highly meritorious." Should positions of this kind pass without reprehension? I trow not. By the law of God and nature Joseph was as much bound to pay his dying father this filial respect, as he was to reverence his king, or to worship his God. As to myself, I must freely confess that I see nothing peculiarly amiable in this part of Joseph's conduct; he simply acquitted himself of a duty which God, nature, decency, and common sense, imperiously demanded of him, and all such in his circumstances, to discharge. To the present day children in the east, next to God, pay the deepest reverence to their parents.

Besides, before whom was Joseph bowing? Not merely his father, but a most eminent Patriarch; one highly distinguished by the Lord, and one of the three of whom the Supreme Being speaks in the most favorable and affectionate manner; the three who received and transmitted the true faith, and kept unbroken the Divine covenant; I Am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He has never said, I am the God of Joseph. And if we compare the father and the son as men, we shall find that the latter was exceeded by the former in almost endless degrees. Joseph owed his advancement and his eminence to what some would call good fortune, and what we know to have been the especial providence of God working in his behalf, wholly independent of his own industry, etc., every event of that providence issuing in his favor. Jacob owed his own support and preservation, and the support and preservation of his numerous family, under God, to the continual exercise of the vast powers of a strong and vigorous mind, to which the providence of God seemed ever in opposition; because God chose to try to the uttermost the great gifts which he had bestowed. If therefore the most humble and abject inferior should reverence dignity and eminence raised to no common height, so should Joseph bow down his face to the earth before Jacob.

Besides, Joseph, in thus reverencing his father, only followed the customs of the Egyptians among whom he lived, who, according to Herodotus, (Euterpe, c. 80), were particularly remarkable for the reverence they paid to old age. "For if a young person meet his senior, he instantly turns aside to make way for him; if an aged person enter an apartment, the youth always rise from their seats;" and Mr. Savary observes that the reverence mentioned by Herodotus is yet paid to old age on every occasion in Egypt. In Mohammedan countries the children sit as if dumb in the presence of their parents, never attempting to speak unless spoken to. Among the ancient Romans it was considered a crime worthy of death not to rise up in the presence of an aged person, and acting a contrary part was deemed an awful mark of the deep degeneracy of the times. Thus the satirist: -

Credebant hoc grande nefas, et morte piandum,

Si Juvenis Vetulo non assurrexerat; et si

Barbato cuicumque puer.

Juv. Sat. xiii., v. 54.

And had not men the hoary heads revered,

Or boys paid reverence when a man appear'd.

Both must have died.

Dryden.

Indeed, though Dr. Delaney is much struck with what he thinks to be great and meritorious condescension and humility on the part of Joseph; yet we find the thing itself, the deepest reverence to parents and old age, practiced by all the civilized nations in the world, not as a matter of meritorious courtesy, but as a point of rational and absolute duty.

Israel stretched out his right hand, etc. - Laying hands on the head was always used among the Jews in giving blessings, designating men to any office, and in the consecration of solemn sacrifices. This is the first time we find it mentioned; but we often read of it afterwards. See Num 27:18, Num 27:23; Deu 34:9; Mat 19:13, Mat 19:15; Act 6:6; 1Tim 4:14. Jacob laid his right hand on the head of the younger, which we are told he did wittingly - well knowing what he was about, for (or although) Manasseh was the first-born, knowing by the Spirit of prophecy that Ephraim's posterity would be more powerful than that of Manasseh. It is observable how God from the beginning has preferred the younger to the elder, as Abel before Cain; Shem before Japheth; Isaac before Ishmael; Jacob before Esau; Judah and Joseph before Reuben; Ephraim before Manasseh; Moses before Aaron; and David before his brethren. "This is to be resolved entirely into the wise and secret counsel of God, so far as it regards temporal blessings and national privileges, as the apostle tells us, Rom 9:11; See Clarke on Gen 25:23 (note). But this preference has no concern with God's conferring a greater measure of his love and approbation on one person more than another; compare Gen 4:7, with Heb 11:4, and you will see that a difference in moral character was the sole cause why God preferred Abel to Cain." - Dodd. The grace that converts the soul certainly comes from the mere mercy of God, without any merit on man's part; and a sufficiency of this is offered to every man, Tit 2:11, Tit 2:12. But it is not less certain that God loves those best who are most faithful to this grace.

He blessed Joseph - The father first, and then the sons afterwards. And this is an additional proof to what has been adduced under Gen 48:12, of Jacob's superiority; for the less is always blessed of the greater.

The God which fed me all my life long - Jacob is now standing on the verge of eternity, with his faith strong in God. He sees his life to be a series of mercies; and as he had been affectionately attentive, provident, and kind to his most helpless child, so has God been unto him; he has fed him all his life long; he plainly perceives that he owes every morsel of food which he has received to the mere mercy and kindness of God.

The Angel which redeemed me from all evil - המלאך הגאל hammalac haggoel. The Messenger, the Redeemer or Kinsman; for so גאל goel signifies; for this term, in the law of Moses, is applied to that person whose right it is, from his being nearest akin, to redeem or purchase back a forfeited inheritance. But of whom does Jacob speak? We have often seen, in the preceding chapters, an angel of God appearing to the patriarchs; (see particularly Gen 16:7 (note)) and we have full proof that this was no created angel, but the Messenger of the Divine Council, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who then was the angel that redeemed Jacob, and whom he invoked to bless Ephraim and Manasseh? Is it not Jesus? He alone can be called Goel, the redeeming Kinsman; for he alone took part of our flesh and blood that the right of redemption might be his; and that the forfeited possession of the favor and image of God might be redeemed, brought back, and restored to all those who believe in his name. To have invoked any other angel or messenger in such a business would have been impiety. Angels bless not; to God alone this prerogative belongs. With what confidence may a truly religious father use these words in behalf of his children: "Jesus, the Christ, who hath redeemed me, bless the lads, redeem them also, and save them unto eternal life!"

Let my name be named on them - "Let them be ever accounted as a part of my own family; let them be true Israelites - persons who shall prevail with God as I have done; and the name of Abraham - being partakers of his faith; and the name of Isaac - let them be as remarkable for submissive obedience as he was. Let the virtues of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be accumulated in them, and invariably displayed by them!" These are the very words of adoption; and by the imposition of hands, the invocation of the Redeemer, and the solemn blessing pronounced, the adoption was completed. From this moment Ephraim and Manasseh had the same rights and privileges as Jacob's sons, which as the sons of Joseph they could never have possessed.

And let them grow into a multitude - וידגו לרב veyidgu larob; Let them increase like fishes into a multitude. Fish are the most prolific of all animals; see the instances produced on Gen 1:20 (note). This prophetic blessing was verified in a most remarkable manner; see Num 26:34, Num 26:37; Deu 33:17; Jos 17:17. At one time the tribe of Ephraim amounted to 40,500 effective men, and that of Manasseh to 52,700, amounting in the whole to 93,200.

Joseph said - Not so, my father - Joseph supposed that his father had made a mistake in laying his right hand on the head of the youngest, because the right hand was considered as the most noble, and the instrument of conveying the highest dignities, and thus it has ever been considered among all nations, though the reason of it is not particularly obvious. Even in the heavens the right hand of God is the place of the most exalted dignity. It has been observed that Joseph spoke here as he was moved by natural affection, and that Jacob acted as he was influenced by the Holy Spirit.

In thee shall Israel bless - That is, in future generations the Israelites shall take their form of wishing prosperity to any nation or family from the circumstance of the good which it shall be known that God has done to Ephraim and Manasseh: May God make thee as fruitful as Ephraim, and multiply thee as Manasseh! So, to their daughters when married, the Jewish women are accustomed to say, God make thee as Sarah and Rebekah! The forms are still in use.

Behold, I die - With what composure is this most awful word expressed! Surely of Jacob it might be now said, "He turns his sight undaunted on the tomb;" for though it is not said that he was full of days, as were Abraham and Isaac, yet he is perfectly willing to bid adieu to earthly things, and lay his body in the grave. Could any person act as the patriarchs did in their last moments, who had no hopes of eternal life, no belief in the immortality of the soul? Impossible! With such a conviction of the being of God, with such proofs of his tenderness and regard, with such experience of his providential and miraculous interference in their behalf, could they suppose that they were only creatures of a day, and that God had wasted so much care, attention, providence, grace, and goodness, on creatures who were to be ultimately like the beasts that perish? The supposition that they could have no correct notion of the immortality of the soul is as dishonorable to God as to themselves. But what shall we think of Christians who have formed this hypothesis into a system to prove what? Why, that the patriarchs lived and died in the dark! That either the soul has no immortality, or that God has not thought proper to reveal it. Away with such an opinion! It cannot be said to merit serious refutation.

Moreover I have given to thee one portion - שכם אחד shechem achad, one shechem or one shoulder. We have already seen the transactions between Jacob and his family on one part, and Shechem and the sons of Hamor on the other. See Gen 33:18, Gen 33:19, and Genesis 24. As he uses the word shechem here, I think it likely that he alludes to the purchase of the field or parcel of ground mentioned Gen 33:18, Gen 33:19. It has been supposed that this parcel of ground, which Jacob bought from Shechem, had been taken from him by the Amorites, and that he afterwards had recovered it by his sword and by his bow, i. e., by force of arms. Shechem appears to have fallen to the lot of Joseph's sons; (see Jos 17:1, and Jos 20:7); and in our Lord's time there was a parcel of ground near to Sychar or Shechem which was still considered as that portion which Jacob gave to his son Joseph, Joh 4:5; and on the whole it was probably the same that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of money, Gen 33:18, Gen 33:19. But how it could be said that he took this out of the hand of the Amorite with his sword and his bow, we cannot tell. Many attempts have been made to explain this abstruse verse, but they have all hitherto been fruitless. Jacob's words were no doubt perfectly well understood by Joseph, and probably alluded to some transaction that is not now on record; and it is much safer for us to confess our ignorance, than to hazard conjecture after conjecture on a subject of which we can know nothing certainly.

1. On filial respect to aged and destitute parents we have already had occasion to speak; see Gen 48:11. The duty of children to their parents only ceases when the parents are laid in their graves, and this duty is the next in order and importance to the duty we owe to God. No circumstances can alter its nature or lessen its importance; Honor thy father and thy mother is the sovereign, everlasting command of God. While the relations of parent and child exist, this commandment will be in full force.

2. The Redeeming Angel, the Messenger of the covenant, in his preserving and saving influence, is invoked by dying Jacob to be the protector and Savior of Ephraim and Manasseh, Gen 48:16. With what advantage and effect can a dying parent recommend the Lord Jesus to his children, who can testify with his last breath that this Jesus has redeemed him from all evil! Reader, canst thou call Christ thy Redeemer? Hast thou, through him, recovered the forfeited inheritance? Or dost thou expect redemption from all evil by any other means? Through him, and him alone, God will redeem thee from all thy sins; and as thou knowest not what a moment may bring forth, thou hast not a moment to lose. Thou hast sinned, and there is no name given under heaven among men whereby thou canst be saved but Jesus Christ. Acquaint thyself now with him, and be at peace, and thereby good shall come unto thee.

3. We find that the patriarchs ever held the promised land in the most sacred point of view. It was God's gift to them; it was confirmed by a covenant that spoke of and referred to better things. We believe that this land typified the rest which remains for the people of God, and can we be indifferent to the excellence of this rest! A patriarch could not die in peace, however distant from this land, without an assurance that his bones should be laid in it. How can we live, how can we die comfortably, without the assurance that our lives are hid with Christ in God, and that we shall dwell in his presence for ever? There remains a rest for the people of God, and only for the people of God; for those alone who love, serve, reverence, and obey him, in his Son Jesus Christ, shall ever enjoy it.

God blessed me - And let that blessing be entailed upon them. God had promised him two things, a numerous issue, and Canaan for an inheritance. And Joseph's sons, pursuant hereunto, should each of them multiply into a tribe, and each of them have a distinct lot in Canaan, equal with Jacob's own sons. See how he blessed them by faith in that which God had said to him Heb 11:21.

Mention is made of the death and burial of Rachel, Joseph's mother, and Jacob's best beloved wife. The removal of dear relations from us is an affliction, the remembrance of which cannot but abide with us a great while. Strong affections in the enjoyment cause long afflictions in the loss.

I had not thought to see thy face, (having many years given him up for lost) and lo God hath shewed me also thy seed? - See here, How these two good men own God in their comforts. Joseph saith, They are my sons whom God has given me - And to magnify the favour he adds, in this place of my banishment, slavery and imprisonment. Jacob saith here, God hath shewed me thy seed - Our comforts are then doubly sweet to us, when we see them coming from God's hand.

The God who fed me all my life long unto this day - As long as we have lived in this world we have had continual experience of God's goodness to us in providing for the support of our natural life. Our bodies have called for daily food, and we have never wanted food convenient. He that has fed us all our life long will not fail us at last.

The angel who redeemed me from all evil - A great deal of hardship he had known in his time, but God had graciously kept him from the evil of his troubles. Christ, the angel of the covenant is he that redeems us from all evil. It becomes the servants of God, when they are old and dying, to witness for our God that they have found him gracious. Joseph had placed his children so, as that Jacob's right - hand should be put on the head of Manasseh the eldest, Ge 48:12,13, but Jacob would put it on the head of Ephraim the youngest, Ge 48:14. This displeased Joseph, who was willing to support the reputation of his first - born and would therefore have removed his father's hands, Ge 48:17,18, but Jacob gave him to understand that he knew what he did, and that he did it neither by mistake nor in a humour, nor from a partial affection to one more than the other, but from a spirit of prophecy.

Ephraim shall he greater - When the tribes were mustered in the wilderness Ephraim was more numerous than Manasseh, and had the standard of that squadron, Num 1:32,33,35 - 2:18,20, and is named first, Psa 80:2. Joshua was of that tribe. The tribe of Manasseh was divided, one half on one side Jordan, the other half on the other side, which made it the less powerful and considerable. God, in bestowing his blessings upon his people, gives more to some than to others, more gifts, graces and comforts, and more of the good things of this life. And he often gives most to those that are least likely: he chuseth the weak things of the world, raiseth the poor out of the dust. Grace observes not the order of nature, nor doth God prefer those whom we think fittest to be preferred but as it pleaseth him.

I die, but God shall be with you, and bring you again - This assurance was given them, and carefully preserved among them, that they might neither love Egypt too much when it favoured them, nor fear it too much when it frowned upon them. These words of Jacob furnish us with comfort in reference to the death of our friends: But God shall be with us, and his gracious presence is sufficient to make up the loss. They leave us, but he will never fail us. He will bring us to the land of our fathers, the heavenly Canaan, whither our godly fathers are gone before us. If God be with us while we stay behind in this world, and will receive us shortly to be with them that are gone before to a better world, we ought not to sorrow as those that have no hope.

He bestowed one portion upon him above his brethren. The lands bequeathed are described to be those which he took out of the hand of the Amorite with his sword and with his bow. He purchased them first, Jos 24:32, and it seems was afterwards disseized of them by the Amorites, but retook them by the sword, repelling force by force, and recovering his right by violence when he could not otherwise recover it. These lands he settled upon Joseph. Mention is made of this grant, John 4:5. Pursuant to it, this parcel of ground was given to the tribe of Ephraim as their right, and the lot was never cast upon it: and in it Joseph's bones were buried, which perhaps Jacob had an eye to as much as to any thing in this settlement. It may sometimes be both just and prudent to give some children portions above the rest: but a grave is that which we can most count upon as our own in this earth.

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.

To obtain his venerable and religious fathers blessing for them.

2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthned himself , and sate upon the bed.

He got new strength, his spirits being quickned and refreshed by the tidings of Iosephs approach, and he put forth all the strength which he had.

5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine : as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine.

By Adoption, I shall own them as if they were my immediate children, and each of them shall have equal share both in my present estate and future inheritance of Canaan with the rest of my children. Thus Iacob transfers the double portion, which was the right of the first-born, from which Reuben by his transgression fell, Gen. 49. 4. upon Ioseph, 1 Chron. 5. 1.

Which two he names as the eldest, who, if any, might seem to claim a greater priviledge than the rest.

Marginal references: chap. 41. 50. and 46. 20. Iosh. 13. 7.

6 And thy issue which thou begettest after them shall be thine , and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance .

Shall be reputed as thy children, and my grandchildren, and shall not have any distinct share, in my present or future inheritance, but shall have a part of their brethrens lot in such manner and proportion as thou shalt think fit, or as their succeeding Parents or Governours shall determine. But it doth not appear; nor doth Scripture any where mention, that Ioseph had any other sons but these, and therefore it is probable he had no more: onely Iacob speaks this upon supposition, in case he should have any other.

Either Ephraimites or Manassites.

7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan, 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.

Or, beside me, near me, before mine eyes, I seeing, but not being able to help her in her extremity: which makes the remembrance of it more grievous to me. This story he here mentions partly because the sight of Ioseph and his children brought his beloved Rachel to his remembrance: partly to give the reason of this action of his to the rest of his children, which was not onely because Rachel was his first rightful wife by designation and contract, and therefore the right of the first-born was truly Josephs; but because by her early death he was cut off from all hopes of having more children by her, and therefore it was but fit he should supply that defect by adopting Iosephs children.

Not out of disrespect to her, whose person was, and memory yet is, precious and honourable to me, but either because dying in child-bed they could not keep her till they came to the burying-place of the Patriarchs, at Hebron, Gen. 23. 19. especially when they were tyed to the slow motion of the flocks and herds: or because I would not bury her in the common burying-place with heathens and Idolaters, in the city of Ephrath. By which he tacitly implies, that he would not have Ioseph joyned with the Egyptians in burial.

Marginal references: Gen. 35. 19.

8 And Israel beheld Josephs sons, and said, who are these ?

For Iacobs eyes were dim through age and i[illegible: 1+ letters]rmity, as is observed, ver. 10. and therefore he could not distinctly discern them.

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 I will bless them .

Or, that I may bless them, not with a common, but with a Paternal and Patriarchal and Prophetical blessing in the name and by the spirit of God, praying for and foretelling those blessings which God will confer upon them.

12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees , and he bowed himself with his face to the earth .

Not his own knees, from which they had been taken before, but Iacobs knees, between which they stood, whilest Iacob kissed and embraced them; from which Joseph removed them, partly that they might not be burdensome to their aged and weak grandfather; and principally that he might place them in fit order and reverend posture to receive the blessing for which he longed.

Testifying thereby his reverence to his father, his thankfulness for the favour which he had now shewed to him and his, and his humble and earnest request for his blessing upon them.

14 And Israel stretched out his right hand , and laid it upon Ephraims head , who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manassehs head, guiding his hands wittingly : for Manasseh was the first-born.

Which was more honourable both in Scripture account, and amongst the Gentiles.

Which was a rite used often and in divers cases, as in the conferring of offices either sacred or civil, as Numb. 8. 10. Deut. 34. 9. Act. 6. 6. and 13. 3. and among other things, in giving benedictions, as Mat, 19. 13.

This proceeded not from chance or the mistake and weakness of his eyes, but from design and the wisdom of his hands: Heb. he disposed his hands prudently, or, he dealt wisely with his hands. Here was a double wisdom shewed, 1. Humane, by which he gathered that Manasseh was the eldest, because Ioseph placed him towards his right hand. 2. Divine and prophetical, by which he foresaw Ephraims advantages above Manasseh, and wisely suited the ceremony to the substance, giving the greater sign of honour to him to whom God designed the thing.

15 And 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.

Not now in his person, but in his children, which yet is called here a blessing of Ioseph, because they were a part of himself. In which sence and upon the same ground the land of Canaan is oft-times said to be not onely promised but given to Abraham, and Isaac, &c. not as if they were in person to possess it, but because it should be given to their children. Thus Cham is said to be cursed when his son is cursed, Gen. 9. 25.

(i. e.) Protected, sustained and directed me.

Marginal references: Heb. 11. 21.; chap. 17. 1. and 24. 40.

16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them , and the name of my fathers, Abraham, and Isaac , and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the Earth.

Not surely a created Angel, but Christ Jesus, who is called an Angel, Exod. 23. 20. and the Angel of the covenant, Mal. 3. 1. who was the conductor of the Israelites in the wilderness, as plainly appears by comparing Exod. 23. 20, 21. with 1 Cor. 10. 4, 9. Add hereunto, that this Angel is called Iacobs redeemer, which is the title appropriated by God to himself, Isa. 43. 14. and 47. 4. and that from all evil, and therefore from sin, from which no created Angel can deliver us, but Christ onely, Mat. 1. 21. and that Iacob worshippeth and prayeth to this Angel no less than to God for the blessing, and that without any note of distinction, the word, bless, being in the singular number, and equally relating to God and to the Angel; and that the Angel to whom he here ascribes his deliverances from all evil must in all reason be the same to whom he prayed for these very deliverances which he here commemorates, and that was no other than the very God of Abraham, as is evident from Gen. 28. 15, 20, 21. and 32. 9, 10, 11. and 35. 3.

(i. e) Let them be called my name, owned for my immediate children, and invested with the same priviledges with my other children, be the heads of distinct tribes, and as such receive distinct inheritances. And hence they are called the children of Iacob or Israel, no less than the children of Ioseph. For the phrase, see Deut. 28. 10. 2 Chron. 7. 14. Isa. 4. 1. Ier. 14. 9.

Let them be called their children, let them not only have my blessing, but the blessings of Abraham and Isaac, let all meet together upon their heads, and let that gracious covenant of God made with Abraham, and confirmed with Isaac and me, be ratified and made good unto them.

Marginal references: chap. 31. 11, 13.; Heb. as fishes [illegible: 1 word]. See Numb. 26. 34, 37.

17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him : and he held up his fathers hand, to remove it from Ephraims head, unto Manassehs head.

Because of that affection which Parents generally have for their first-born. See Gen. 21. 11.

19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he , and his seed shall become a multitude of nations .

So the tribe of Ephraim was both in number, Numb. 1. 32, 33, 35. and 2. 19, 21. and Deut. 33. 17. and in power and priviledges, for that Tribe was the seat first of the Tabernacle, and afterwards of the Kingdom. Whence the name of Ephraim is sometimes put for all the ten Tribes, as Isa. 7. 2. and sometimes for Joseph himself, as Numb. 1. 32. Rev. 7. 8. which Manasseh never is.

(i. e.) Equal to many nations, in number and strength: Or, from them shall proceed many nations, i. e. Many numerous, potent and flourishing families, whereof each is equivalent to an ordinary nation. For as Nations are sometimes called Families, as Zach. 14. 18. so the Tribes and Families of Israel are called Nations or People, as Ezek. 2. 2. Act. 4. 27.

Marginal references: Heb. fulness.

20 And he blessed them in that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim, and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

(i. e.) In thy seed, as appears both from the relative, them, here, and from ver. 15. where his blessing of them is called the blessing of Ioseph, and from the following words, where this is interpreted of Ephraim and Manasseh. And in thee, or in thy seed, i. e. using their names in the form or words of blessing, as eminent examples of blessedness.

21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold I die : but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers .

(i. e.) I am about to die. The present time for that which will shortly and certainly be, as Gen. 19. 13. and 20. 3. I[illegible: 1+ letters]. 14. 2.

(i. e.) Canaan, their Land, 1. By habitation, as Nazareth is called Christs Countrey, because he dwelt in it. 2. By the donation of God, who had promised and would in his time give the actual possession of it to them, i. e. to their seed.

22 Moreover, I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow .

(i. e.) I do now give to thee the right, and I do prophetically give, and God will really and actually give unto thy son Ephraim or his posterity who shall possess this part over and above that portion which shall fall to him by lot. This was all the land which Iacob had in Canaan, which he here gives to Ioseph, partly in Testimony of his great affection and obligation to him: Partly as a sign that he did conferre the right of the first-born upon him: And partly for the confirmation of the Faith of Ioseph and his brethren, and to oblige them to set up their rest no where but in Canaan.

The Hebrew word is Shechem, which word indeed signifies a shoulder, as Gen. 9. 23. and is here put for a part of Land which is choice and good, as the shoulder is among the parts of the body: See 1 Sam 9. 24. And he useth this word that by allusion he might signifie what place he speaks of, even Shechem, as may farther appear by comparing, Ios. 24. 32. Ioh. 4. 5. Yea some would have Shechem here to be the proper name of the place, which might be if the word one were not added to it.

This place is understood, either, 1. Of the future conquest of the Land of the Amorites or Canaanites by his posterity, which he here ascribes to himself, and speaks of it in the past time, as of a thing already done, as the manner of the Prophets is. But Iacob would not attribute that to his Sword, which his posterity deny to be done by their Sword, Psal. 43. 4. And it is manifest, that Iacob here speaks of that which was his by a special title and which in a peculiar manner, he gave to Ioseph, Or, 2. Of the City and Territory of Shechem, whose inhabitants were rooted out by Simeon and Levi, and whose Land being void was possessed by Iacob. And this is said to be got by Iacobs Sword and Bow, because it was got with the Sword and Bow of his Sons Simeon and Levi, and a great number of his Family who doubtless were associated with them in this expedition. But it is not likely that he would take to himself that which he declares his utter abhorrency of, Gen. 34. 30. and 42. 5, 6. or that he should call that his Sword and his Bow here which he calls instruments of cruelty in Simeons and Levi's hands, Gen. 49. 5. Or. 3. Which seems the truest, of that Land in the Territory of Shechem which Iacob bought of Hamor, Gen. 33. 19. which is said to be got by his Sword and Bow, either 1. Properly, because he did by force of Arms expel those Amorites, who upon his retirement from those parts after the slaughter of the Sichemites, had invaded his lands, though this story be not elsewhere recorded; as many things are mentioned by the by in some one place of Scripture, without any particular account of the circumstances of them, either there or elsewhere, as Gen. 36. 24. Deut. 2. 9, 10, 11. Ios. 24. 11. And though Iacob was a man of peace, yet his Sons were Warriors, and they by his permission might drive out by their Arms those stragling Canaanites which had taken possession of his purchase, Iacob being the more willing to recover his right herein, because it was an earnest of his future possession of the whole Land. And the neighbouring Canaanites would not concern themselves in the defence of the invaders, both because they were convinced of the right of Iacobs cause, and because they were over-ruled by divine Providence, in which Iacob trusted, and of which he had ample experience. Or, 2. metaphorically, i. e. by his money, which he calls his Sword and his Bow, not onely because money is answerable to the Sword and Bow and all other things, Eccles. 10. 19. and is a defence, Eccles. 7. 12. and therefore may well be so called, even as prayers and tears are called the arms of the Church, because they serve for the same purpose that Arms do against their Enemies. But also and principally by way of opposition to the Sword and Bow of his cruel Sons, So the sense may be this, I have given to thee one portion, or one Shechem, not the City of Shechem, which Simeon and Levi took from the hand of the Amorite with their Sword and their Bow, but a part of the Territory of Shechem which I took or received from the hand of the Amorite by my Sword and my Bow, i. e. by my money, whereby I purchased it.

Gen 48:1-2

Adoption of Joseph’s Sons. - Gen 48:1, Gen 48:2. After these events, i.e., not long after Jacob’s arrangements for his burial, it was told to Joseph (ויּאמר “one said,” cf. Gen 48:2) that his father was taken ill; whereupon Joseph went to him with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who were then 18 or 20 years old. On his arrival being announced to Jacob, Israel made himself strong (collected his strength), and sat up on his bed. The change of names is as significant here as in Gen 45:27-28. Jacob, enfeebled with age, gathered up his strength for a work, which he was about to perform as Israel, the bearer of the grace of the promise.

Gen 48:3-7

Referring to the promise which the Almighty God had given him at Bethel (Gen 35:10. cf. Gen 38:13.), Israel said to Joseph (Gen 48:5): “And now thy two sons, which were born to thee in the land of Egypt, until (before) I came to thee into Egypt...let them be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, like Reuben and Simeon (my first and second born), let them be mine.” The promise which Jacob had received empowered the patriarch to adopt the sons of Joseph in the place of children. Since the Almighty God had promised him the increase of his seed into a multitude of peoples, and Canaan as an eternal possession to that seed, he could so incorporate into the number of his descendants the two sons of Joseph who were born in Egypt before his arrival, and therefore outside the range of his house, that they should receive an equal share in the promised inheritance with his own eldest sons. But this privilege was to be restricted to the two first-born sons of Joseph. “Thy descendants,” he proceeds in Gen 48:6, “which thou hast begotten since them, shall be thine; by the name of their brethren shall they be called in their inheritance;” i.e., they shall not form tribes of their own with a separate inheritance, but shall be reckoned as belonging to Ephraim and Manasseh, and receive their possessions among these tribes, and in their inheritance. These other sons of Joseph are not mentioned anywhere; but their descendants are at any rate included in the families of Ephraim and Manasseh mentioned in Num 26:28-37; 1 Chron 7:14-29. By this adoption of his two eldest sons, Joseph was placed in the position of the first-born, so far as the inheritance was concerned (1Ch 5:2). Joseph’s mother, who had died so early, was also honoured thereby. And this explains the allusion made by Jacob in Gen 48:7 to his beloved Rachel, the wife of his affections, and to her death-how she died by his side (עלי), on his return from Padan (for Padan-Aram, the only place in which it is so called, cf. Gen 25:20), without living to see her first-born exalted to the position of a saviour to the whole house of Israel.

Gen 48:8-11

The Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh. - Gen 48:8. Jacob now for the first time caught sight of Joseph’s sons, who had come with him, and inquired who they were; for “the eyes of Israel were heavy (dim) with age, so that he could not see well” (Gen 48:10). The feeble old man, too, may not have seen the youths for some years, so that he did not recognise them again. On Joseph’s answering, “My sons whom God hath given he mere,” he replied, “Bring them to me then (קחם־נא), that I may bless them;” and he kissed and embraced them, when Joseph had brought them near, expressing his joy, that whereas he never expected to see Joseph’s face again, God had permitted him to see his seed. ראה for ראות, like עשׂו (Gen 31:28). עלּל: to decide; here, to judge, to think.

Gen 48:12-13

Joseph then, in order to prepare his sons for the reception of the blessing, brought them from between the knees of Israel, who was sitting with the youths between his knees and embracing them, and having prostrated himself with his face to the earth, he came up to his father again, with Ephraim the younger on his right hand, and Manasseh the elder on the left, so that Ephraim stood at Jacob’s right hand, and Manasseh at his left.

Gen 48:14-16

The patriarch then stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, and placed his left upon the head of Manasseh (crossing his arms therefore), to bless Joseph in his sons. “Guiding his hands wittingly;” i.e., he placed his hands in this manner intentionally. Laying on the hand, which is mentioned here for the first time in the Scriptures, was a symbolical sign, by which the person acting transferred to another a spiritual good, a supersensual power or gift; it occurs elsewhere in connection with dedication to an office (Num 27:18, Num 27:23; Deu 34:9; Mat 19:13; Act 6:6; Act 8:17, etc.), with the sacrifices, and with the cures performed by Christ and the apostles. By the imposition of hands, Jacob transferred to Joseph in his sons the blessing which he implored for them from his own and his father’s God: “The God (Ha-Elohim) before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God (Ha-Elohim) who hath fed me (led and provided for me with a shepherd’s faithfulness, Psa 23:1; Psa 28:9) from my existence up to this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads.” This triple reference to God, in which the Angel who is placed on an equality with Ha-Elohim cannot possibly be a created angel, but must be the “Angel of God,” i.e., God manifested in the form of the Angel of Jehovah, or the “Angel of His face” (Isa 43:9), contains a foreshadowing of the Trinity, though only God and the Angel are distinguished, not three persons of the divine nature. The God before whom Abraham and Isaac walked, had proved Himself to Jacob to be “the God which fed” and “the Angel which redeemed,” i.e., according to the more fully developed revelation of the New Testament, ὁ Θεός and ὁ λόγος, Shepherd and Redeemer. By the singular יברך (bless, benedicat) the triple mention of God is resolved into the unity of the divine nature. Non dicit (Jakob) benedicant, pluraliter, nec repetit sed conjungit in uno opere benedicendi tres personas, Deum Patrem, Deum pastorem et Angelum. Sunt igitur hi tres unus Deus et unus benedictor. Idem opus facit Angelus quod pastor et Deus Patrum (Luther). “Let my name be named on them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,” i.e., not, “they shall bear my name and my fathers',” “dicantur filii mei et patrum meorum, licet ex te nati sint” (Rosenm.), which would only be another way of acknowledging his adoption of them, “nota adoptionis” (Calvin); for as the simple mention of adoption is unsuitable to such a blessing, so the words appended, “and according to the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,” are still less suitable as a periphrasis for adoption. The thought is rather: the true nature of the patriarchs shall be discerned and acknowledged in Ephraim and Manasseh; in them shall those blessings of grace and salvation be renewed, which Jacob and his fathers Isaac and Abraham received from God. The name expressed the nature, and “being called” is equivalent to “being, and being recognised by what one is.” The salvation promised to the patriarchs related primarily to the multiplication into a great nation, and the possession of Canaan. Hence Jacob proceeds: “and let them increase into a multitude in the midst of the land.” דּגה: ἁπ λεγ, “to increase,” from which the name דּג, a fish, is derived, on account of the remarkable rapidity with which they multiply.

Gen 48:17-22

When Joseph observed his father placing his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, the younger son, he laid hold of it to put it upon Manasseh’s head, telling his father at the same time that he was the first-born; but Jacob replied, “I know, my son, I know: he also (Manasseh) will become a nation, and will become great, yet (ואוּלם as in Gen 28:19) his younger brother will become greater than he, and his seed will become the fulness of nations.” This blessing began to be fulfilled from the time of the Judges, when the tribe of Ephraim so increased in extent and power, that it took the lead of the northern tribes and became the head of the ten tribes, and its name acquired equal importance with the name Israel, whereas under Moses, Manasseh had numbered 20,000 more than Ephraim (Num 26:34 and Num 26:37). As a result of the promises received from God, the blessing was not merely a pious wish, but the actual bestowal of a blessing of prophetic significance and force. - In Gen 48:20 the writer sums up the entire act of blessing in the words of the patriarch: “In thee (i.e., Joseph) will Israel (as a nation) bless, saying: God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh” (i.e., Joseph shall be so blessed in his two sons, that their blessing will become a standing form of benediction in Israel); “and thus he placed Ephraim before Manasseh,” viz., in the position of his hands and the terms of the blessing. Lastly, (Gen 48:21) Israel expressed to Joseph his firm faith in the promise, that God would bring back his descendants after his death into the land of their fathers (Canaan), and assigned to him a double portion in the promised land, the conquest of which passed before his prophetic glance as already accomplished, in order to insure for the future the inheritance of the adopted sons of Joseph. “I give thee one ridge of land above thy brethren” (i.e., above what thy brethren receive, each as a single tribe), “which I take from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and bow” (i.e., by force of arms). As the perfect is used prophetically, transposing the future to the present as being already accomplished, so the words לקחתּי אשׁר must also be understood prophetically, as denoting that Jacob would wrest the land from the Amorites, not in his own person, but in that of his posterity.There is no force in Kurtz's objection, that this gift did not apply to Joseph as the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, but to Joseph personally; for it rests upon the erroneous assumption, that Jacob separated Joseph from his sons by their adoption. But there is not a word to that effect in Gen 48:6, and the very opposite in Gen 48:15, viz., that Jacob blessed Joseph in Ephraim and Manasseh. Heim's conjecture, which Kurtz approves, that by the land given to Joseph we are to understand the high land of Gilead, which Jacob had conquered from the Amorites, needs no refutation, for it is purely imaginary.

The words cannot refer to the purchase of the piece of ground at Shechem (Gen 33:19), for a purchase could not possibly be called a conquest by sword and bow; and still less to the crime committed by the sons of Jacob against the inhabitants of Shechem, when they plundered the town (Gen 34:25.), for Jacob could not possibly have attributed to himself a deed for which he had pronounced a curse upon Simeon and Levi (Gen 49:6-7), not to mention the fact, that the plundering of Shechem was not followed in this instance by the possession of the city, but by the removal of Jacob from the neighbourhood. “Moreover, any conquest of territory would have been entirely at variance with the character of the patriarchal history, which consisted in the renunciation of all reliance upon human power, and a believing, devoted trust in the God of the promises” (Delitzsch). The land, which the patriarchs desired to obtain in Canaan, they procured not by force of arms, but by legal purchase (cf. Gen 24 and Gen 33:19). It was to be very different in the future, when the iniquity of the Amorites was full (Gen 15:16). But Jacob called the inheritance, which Joseph was to have in excess of his brethren, שׁכם (lit., shoulder, or more properly nape, neck; here figuratively a ridge, or tract of land), as a play upon the word Shechem, because he regarded the piece of land purchased at Shechem as a pledge of the future possession of the whole land. In the piece purchased there, the bones of Joseph were buried, after the conquest of Canaan (Jos 24:32); and this was understood in future times, as though Jacob had presented the piece of ground to Joseph (vid., Joh 4:5).

Jacob's Last Illness. (b. c. 1689.)

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, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 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. 5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after 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 Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan 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 Beth-lehem.

Here, I. Joseph, upon notice of his father's illness, goes to see him; though a man of honour and business, yet he will not fail to show this due respect to his aged father, v. 1. Visiting the sick, to whom we lie under obligations, or may have opportunity of doing good, either for body or soul, is our duty. The sick bed is a proper place both for giving comfort and counsel to others and receiving instruction ourselves. Joseph took his two sons with him, that they might receive their dying grandfather's blessing, and that what they might see in him, and hear from him, might make an abiding impression upon them. Note, 1. It is good to acquaint young people that are coming into the world with the aged servants of God that are going out of it, whose dying testimony to the goodness of God, and the pleasantness of wisdom's ways, may be a great encouragement to the rising generation. Manasseh and Ephraim (I dare say) would never forget what passed at this time. 2. Pious parents are desirous of a blessing, not only for themselves, but for their children. "O that they may live before God!" Joseph had been, above all his brethren, kind to his father, and therefore had reason to expect particular favour from him.

II. Jacob, upon notice of his son's visit, prepared himself as well as he could to entertain him, v. 2. He did what he could to rouse his spirits, and to stir up the gift that was in him; what little was left of bodily strength he put forth to the utmost, and sat upon the bed. Note, It is very good for sick and aged people to be as lively and cheerful as they can, that they may not faint in the day of adversity. Strengthen thyself, as Jacob here, and God will strengthen thee; hearten thyself and help thyself, and God will help and hearten thee. Let the spirit sustain the infirmity.

III. In recompence to Joseph for all his attentions to him, he adopted his two sons. In this charter of adoption there is, 1. A particular recital of God's promise to him, to which this had reference: "God blessed me (v. 3), and let that blessing be entailed upon them." God had promised him two things, a numerous issue, and Canaan for an inheritance (v. 4); and Joseph's sons, pursuant hereunto, should each of them multiply into a tribe, and each of them have a distinct lot in Canaan, equal with Jacob's own sons. See how he blessed them by faith in that which God had said to him, Heb. xi. 21. Note, In all our prayers, both for ourselves and for our children, we ought to have a particular eye to, and remembrance of, God's promises to us. 2. An express reception of Joseph's sons into his family: "Thy sons are mine (v. 5), not only my grand-children, but as my own children." Though they were born in Egypt, and their father was then separated from his brethren, which might seem to have cut them off from the heritage of the Lord, yet Jacob takes them in, and owns them for visible church members. He explains this at v. 16, Let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers; as if he had said, "Let them not succeed their father in his power and grandeur here in Egypt, but let them succeed me in the inheritance of the promise made to Abraham," which Jacob looked upon as much more valuable and honourable, and would have them to prize and covet accordingly. Thus the aged dying patriarch teaches these young persons, now that they were of age (being about twenty-one years old), not to look upon Egypt as their home, nor to incorporate themselves with the Egyptians, but to take their lot with the people of God, as Moses afterwards in the like temptation, Heb. xi. 24-26. And because it would be a piece of self-denial in them, who stood so fair for preferment in Egypt, to adhere to the despised Hebrews, to encourage them he constitutes each of them the head of a tribe. Note, Those are worthy of double honour who, through God's grace, break through the temptations of worldly wealth and preferment, to embrace religion in disgrace and poverty. Jacob will have Ephraim and Manasseh to believe that it is better to be low and in the church than high and out of it, to be called by the name of poor Jacob than to be called by the name of rich Joseph. 3. A proviso inserted concerning the children he might afterwards have; they should not be accounted heads of tribes, as Ephraim and Manasseh were, but should fall in with either the one or the other of their brethren, v. 6. It does not appear that Joseph had any more children; however, it was Jacob's prudence to give this direction, for the preventing of contest and mismanagement. Note, In making settlements, it is good to take advice, and to provide for what may happen, while we cannot foresee what will happen. Our prudence must attend God's providence. 4. Mention is made of the death and burial of Rachel, Joseph's mother, and Jacob's best beloved wife (v. 7), referring to that story, ch. xxxv. 19. Note, (1.) When we come to die ourselves, it is good to call to mind the death of our dear relations and friends, that have gone before us, to make death and the grave the more familiar to us. See Num. xxvii. 13. Those that were to us as our own souls are dead and buried; and shall we think it much to follow them in the same path? (2.) The removal of dear relations from us is an affliction the remembrance of which cannot but abide with us a great while. Strong affections in the enjoyment cause long afflictions in the loss.

Jacob Blesses the Sons of Joseph; Jacob's Dying Prophecy. (b. c. 1689.)

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 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 showed 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 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 Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 17 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. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Here is, I. The blessing with which Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, which is the more remarkable because the apostle makes such particular mention of it (Heb. xi. 21), while he says nothing of the blessing which Jacob pronounced on the rest of his sons, though that also was done in faith. Observe here,

1. Jacob was blind for age, v. 10. It is one of the common infirmities of old age. Those that look out at the windows are darkened, Eccl. xii. 3. It is folly to walk in the sight of our eyes, and to suffer our hearts to go after them, while we know death will shortly close them, and we do not know but some accident between us and death may darken them. Jacob, like his father before him, when he was old, was dim-sighted. Note, (1.) Those that have the honour of age must therewith be content to take the burden of it. (2.) The eye of faith may be very clear even when the eye of the body is very much clouded.

2. Jacob was very fond of Joseph's sons: He kissed them and embraced them, v. 10. It is common for old people to have a very particular affection for their grand-children, perhaps more than they had for their own children when they were little, which Solomon gives a reason for (Prov. xvii. 6), Children's children are the crown of old men. With what satisfaction does Jacob say here (v. 11), I had not thought to see thy face (having many years given him up for lost), and, lo, God has shown me also thy seed! See here, (1.) How these two good men own God in their comforts. Joseph says (v. 9), They are my sons whom God has given me, and, to magnify the favour, he adds, "In this place of my banishment, slavery, and imprisonment." Jacob says here, God has shown me thy seed. Our comforts are then doubly sweet to us when we see them coming from God's hand. (2.) How often God, in his merciful providences, outdoes our expectations, and thus greatly magnifies his favours. He not only prevents our fears, but exceeds our hopes. We may apply this to the promise which is made to us and to our children. We could not have thought that we should have been taken into covenant with God ourselves, considering how guilty and corrupt we are; and yet, lo, he has shown us our seed also in covenant with him.

3. Before he entails his blessing, he recounts his experiences of God's goodness to him. He had spoken (v. 3) of God's appearing to him. The particular visits of his grace, and the special communion we have sometimes had with him, ought never to be forgotten. But (v. 15, 16) he mentions the constant care which the divine Providence had taken of him all his days. (1.) He had fed him all his life long unto this day, v. 15. Note, As long as we have lived in this world we have had continual experience of God's goodness to us, in providing for the support of our natural life. Our bodies have called for daily food, and no little has gone to feed us, yet we have never wanted food convenient. He that has fed us all our life long surely will not fail us at last. (2.) He had by his angel redeemed him from all evil, v. 16. A great deal of hardship he had known in his time, but God had graciously kept him from the evil of his troubles. Now that he was dying he looked upon himself as redeemed from all evil, and bidding an everlasting farewell to sin and sorrow. Christ, the Angel of the covenant, is he that redeems us from all evil, 2 Tim. iv. 18. Note, [1.] It becomes the servants of God, when they are old and dying, to witness for our God that they have found him gracious. [2.] Our experiences of God's goodness to us are improvable, both for the encouragement of others to serve God, and for encouragement to us in blessing them and praying for them.

4. When he confers the blessing and name of Abraham and Isaac upon them he recommends the pattern and example of Abraham and Isaac to them, v. 15. He calls God the God before whom his fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, that is, in whom they believed, whom they observed and obeyed, and with whom they kept up communion in instituted ordinances, according to the condition of the covenant. Walk before me, ch. xvii. 1. Note, (1.) Those that would inherit the blessing of their godly ancestors, and have the benefit of God's covenant with them, must tread in the steps of their piety. (2.) It should recommend religion and the service of God to us that God was the God of our fathers, and that they had satisfaction in walking before him.

5. In blessing them, he crossed hands. Joseph placed them so as that Jacob's right hand should be put on the head of Manasseh the elder, v. 12, 13. But Jacob would put it on the head of Ephraim the younger, v. 14. This displeased Joseph, who was willing to support the reputation of his first-born, and would therefore have removed his father's hands, v. 17, 18. But Jacob gave him to understand that he know what he did, and that he did it not by mistake, nor in a humour, nor from a partial affection to one more than the other, but from a spirit of prophecy, and in compliance with the divine counsels. Manasseh should be great, but truly Ephraim should be greater. When the tribes were mustered in the wilderness, Ephraim was more numerous than Manasseh, and had the standard of that squadron (Num. i. 32, 33, 35; ii. 18, 20), and is named first, Ps. lxxx. 2. Joshua was of that tribe, so was Jeroboam. The tribe of Manasseh was divided, one half on one side Jordan, the other half on the other side, which made it the less powerful and considerable. In the foresight of this, Jacob crossed hands. Note. (1.) God, in bestowing his blessings upon his people, gives more to some than to others, more gifts, graces, and comforts, and more of the good things of this life. (2.) He often gives most to those that are least likely. He chooses the weak things of the world; raises the poor out of the dust. Grace observes not the order of nature, nor does God prefer those whom we think fittest to be preferred, but as it pleases him. It is observable how often God, by the distinguishing favours of his covenant, advanced the younger above the elder, Abel above Cain, Shem above Japheth, Abraham above Nahor and Haran, Isaac above Ishmael, Jacob above Esau; Judah and Joseph were preferred before Reuben, Moses before Aaron, David and Solomon before their elder brethren. See 1 Sam. xvi. 7. He tied the Jews to observe the birthright (Deut. xxi. 17), but he never tied himself to observe it. Some make this typical of the preference given to the Gentiles above the Jews; the Gentile converts were much more numerous than those of the Jews. See Gal. iv. 27. Thus free grace becomes more illustrious.

II. The particular tokens of his favour to Joseph. 1. He left with him the promise of their return out of Egypt, as a sacred trust: I die, but God shall be with you, and bring you again, v. 21. Accordingly, Joseph, when he died, left it with his brethren, ch. l. 24. This assurance was given them, and carefully preserved among them, that they might neither love Egypt too much when it favoured them, nor fear it too much when it frowned upon them. These words of Jacob furnish us with comfort in reference to the death of our friends: They die; but God shall be with us, and his gracious presence is sufficient to make up the loss: they leave us, but he will never fail us. Further, He will bring us to the land of our fathers, the heavenly Canaan, whither our godly fathers have gone before us. If God be with us while we stay behind in this world, and will receive us shortly to be with those that have gone before to a better world, we ought not to sorrow as those that have no hope. 2. He bestowed one portion upon him above his brethren, v. 22. The lands bequeathed are described to be those which he took out of the hand of the Amorite with his sword, and with his bow. He purchased them first (Josh. xxiv. 32), and, it seems, was afterwards disseized of them by the Amorites, but retook them by the sword, repelling force by force, and recovering his right by violence when he could not otherwise recover it. These lands he settled upon Joseph; mention is made of this grant, John iv. 5. Pursuant to it, this parcel of ground was given to the tribe of Ephraim as their right, and the lot was never cast upon it; and in it Joseph's bones were buried, which perhaps Jacob had an eye to as much as to any thing in this settlement. Note, It may sometimes be both just and prudent to give some children portions above the rest; but a grave is that which we can most count upon as our own in this earth.

CHAP. XLVIII.

ANd it was, after these things; that one said unto Ioseph; Behold thy father is sicke: and he took his two sonnes, with him; Manasses and Ephraim. And one told Iakob; and said, behold thy sonne Ioseph, commeth unto thee: and Israel strengthned himselfe; and sate upon the bed. And Iakob said unto Ioseph; God almighty, appeared unto me in Luz, in the land of Canaan: and blessed mee. And said unto me; behold I will make thee fruitfull, and multiply thee; and give thee to be an assembly of peoples; and will give this land, to thy seed after thee, for an eternall possession. And now, thy two sonnes, which were borne unto thee in the land of Egypt; before I came unto thee, into Egypt, they are mine: Ephraim and Manasses, as Ruben and Simeon, shall bee mine. And thy begotten issue, which thou shalt beget after them, shall be thine: by the name of their brethren, shall they be called, in their inheritance. And I, when I came from Padan; Rachel dyed by me, in the land of Canaan, in the way; when yet there was a little-peece of ground, to come to Ephrath: and I buried her there, in the way of Ephrath; that is Bethlehem. And Israel saw, the sons of Ioseph: and said, who are these? And Ioseph said unto his father; they are my sonnes; whom God hath given to me, in this place: and he said, take them I pray thee unto mee, and I will blesse them. And the eyes of Israel were heavy for old-age; he could not see: and hee brought them neere unto him; and he kissed them, and imbraced them. And Israel said unto Ioseph; I had not thought to see thy face; and loe, God hath made me to see thy seed also. And Ioseph brought them out, from betweene his knees: and hee bowed himselfe on his face, to the earth. And Ioseph tooke them both; Ephraim in his right-hand, toward Israels left-hand; and Manasses in his left-hand, toward Israels right-hand: & brought them neere, unto him. And Israel stretched out his right-hand, and put it upon Ephraims head, and he was the yonger; and his left-hand, upon Manasses head: hee prudentlyguided his hands; for Manasses, was the first borne. And he blessed Ioseph, and said: the God, before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaak, did walke; the God which fed me, since I was, unto this day. The Angell which redeemed mee, from all evill; blesse the lads: and let my name, bee called on them; and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaak: and let them increase like fish into a multitude, in the midst of the land. And Ioseph saw, that his father put his right-hand, upon Ephraims head, and it was evill in his eyes: and hee held-up his fathers hand, to remove it from on Ephraims head, unto Manasses head. And Ioseph said, unto his father, not so my father: for this is the first borne; put thy right-hand, upon his head. And his father refused; and said, I know it my sonne, I know it; hee also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly, his yonger brother shall bee greater then hee; and his seed, shall be a plentie of nations. And he blessed them in that day, saying; In thee, shall Israel blesse, saying; God put thee, as Ephraim, and as Manasses: and he put Ephraim, before Manasses. And Israel said, unto Ioseph; Behold I dye: and God will bee with you; and will returne you, unto the land of your fathers. And I, doe give unto thee one portion, above thy brethren; which I have taken, out of the hand of the Amorite; with my sword, and with my bow.

Annotations. THings▪ Hebr. words. one said] or it was said: so vers. 2. Vers. 3. [illegible: 1 word] Luz] called also Bethel: see Gen. 28. 13. 19. and 35. 6. Vers. 4. give thee to] that is, make of thee an assembly, that is, a multitude: see Gen. 35. 11. The Greek expounds it a synagogue (or assemblie) of nations; the Chaldee, of tribes. Vers. 5. And now] or, as the Greeke translateth, Now therefore. From the former promises, hee groundeth his blessings to Iosephs children, as authorized of God hereunto; and putteth them in minde of returning to the promised land. before,] or, untill I came: which the Greeke translateth before: so in Exod. 22. 26. mine] as my next children, and not, my childs children: so these two, are made heyres by adoption with Iakobs sonnes, and Ioseph hath a double portion, the first birthright being taken from Ruben, and given unto him, Gen. 49. 3. 4. 1 Chron. 5. 1. 2. and of Ioseph are reckoned two-tribes, both in the Prophets & Evangelist, Num. 1. 32. 34. Rev. 7. 6. 8. Vers. 6. name of their brethren] of Ephraim and Manasses; counted of their stocke and tribe, as if they were their sonnes, not their brethren. For children are usually called by their fathers name, not by their brethrens. See after, vers. 16. So Ephraim and Manasses are adopted into Iosephs place, as fathers of tribes: that if Ioseph had ever begotten [illegible: 1 letter]oe children, they should have beene reckoned as born to Ephraim & Manasses, his sons. Vers. 7. Padan] or, as the Greeke hath it, Mesopotamia of Syria: see Gen. 25. 20. This mention of Rachels death, is to shew how by right the first birthright came to Ioseph her first borne, shee being indeed Iakobs first and most lawfull wife, Gen. 29. 18. &c. a little piece of ground] a little way: see Gen. 35. 16. Vers. 9. take] and bring them, as the Greeke translateth, See Gen. 15. 9. and I will] or, (as the Greeke) that I may blesse: viz. in the name and authority of God: see Gen. 27. 4. Vers. 10. heavy] that is, dimme; in Greeke, heauy sighted; the same word is used for eares, that are heavy or [illegible: 1 letter]eaf, Esa. 6. 10. & 59. 1. Compare Gen. 27. 1. Vers. 11. thought] or judged. The Greeke expounds it, Loe I am not deprived of thy face; and loe, God hath shewed me thy seed also. Vers. 12. betweene] Hebr. from with his knees; the Greeke translateth, from his knees: the Chaldee, fr[illegible: 2 letters] before him, he bowed] in reverence and thankefulnesse, for the former adoption, and further blessing to be received. The Greeke faith, they bowed, implying his children also. Vers. 14. prudently guided] so also the Chaldee saith, he wisely guided: the Greeke translateth, changing hands. This signe of imposing hands on the head, is after used in blessings and designations to holy functions, Num. 8. 10. and 27. 18. 20. Deut. 34. 9. Act. 6. 6. 1 Tim. 4. 14. And as the right hand is naturally more strong and honourable then the left, (to which the scripture hath reference in speech also of God, Exod. 15. 6. Psal. 118. 16. and 110. 1.) so Iakob, (whose blessing was stronger then his parents, Gen. 49. 26) giveth the strongest and most honourable blessing to Ephraim, by this signe of the right hand put upon him. Vers. 15. Ioseph] to weet, in his children, as the words following manifest: therefore the Greeke translateth, he blessed them. So on the contrary, Cham, was cursed in his yongest sonne Canaan: Gen. 9. 25. And in 1 Chron. 4. 31. whiles David raigned: that is, Davids sonnes. did walke] did please by faith, in their conversation and administration: so the Greeke translateth, pleased: the Chaldee, served. See the notes on Gen. 5. 22. and 17. 1. fed me] or, hath beene my pastor: so David celebrateth God by this grace, Psal. 23. 1. and 80. 2. since I was] that is, as the Greeke explaineth it, from my youth. Vers. 16. Angell] Christ, the Angel of the covenant, Mal. 3. 1. the Angel in whom Gods name is, Exod. 23. 20. 21. called here Iakobs Redeemer, or Deliverer, which is the title of God, Psal. 19. 15. Esa. 43. 14. and 47. 4. The Rabbines acknowledge this Angel to be God, saying; hee mentioneth also Gods-majestie (Shechinah) when hee saith. the Angell that redeemed me. R. Menachem on Gen. 48. See also Gen. 31. 11. called] that is, named on them, let them bee called by my name; as my adopted children, vers. 5. So Gods name is said to be called on us, Deut. 28. 10. 2. Chron. 7. 14. Ier. 14. 9. that is, we are called the sonnes of God, 1 Iohn 3. 1. and the husbands name is called upon the wife, Esa. 4. 1. and the Lords name, upon the citie Ierusalem, Dan. 9. 19. and upon the Temple. 1 King. 8. 43. Ier. 7. 10. 11. on them] or in them. But the Hebrew in, is often used for upon; as Neh. 2. 12. Num. 13. 23. and bammeh, in 2 Chron. 7. 21. is the same that gnal meh, in 1 King. 9, 8. increase like fish] which multiply abundantly: therefore the Greeke translateth it, multiply: but the Chaldee addeth expresly, like the fishes of the sea; implied in one Hebrew word. According to this blessing, there were of Ioseph by these his two sonnes, 85. thousand and 200. men of warre in Moses time; a greater number then was of any other sonne of Iakob, Numb. 26. 28. 34. 37. And the like blessing was confirmed upon them by Moses, Deut. 33. 17. and Iosua acknowledged them to be a great people. Ios. 17. 17. Vers. 17. evill in his eyes] that is, it displeased him, (as Gen. 28. 8.) that the yonger should be preferred above the firstborne: which notwithstanding was often done by the counsell of God; as Se[illegible: 2 letters] had the honour above Iaphet, Gen. 5. 32. and 9. 26. Abraham above Haran, Gen. 11. 27. Isaak above Ismael, Gen. 17. 18.—21. and Iakob himselfe above Esau his elder, Gen. 25. 23. Also in Iakobs house, Iudah and Ioseph, had preeminence above Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Gen. 49. 1 Chron. 5. 1. 2. And even from the beginning, Kain the firstborne of Adam, was reprobate, Gen. 4. to teach that mans dignitie is not by workes, or nature; but by Gods grace and election, Rom. 9. 7. 8. 11. 15. And this action of blessing Iosephs sonnes, Iakob performed by faith, Heb. 11. 21. Vers. 19. shall become] Hebr. shall be to a people: meaning, a father to a multitude. shall be great] in Greeke, shall be exalted. greater] Therefore when the Israelites were first numbred in the wildernesse, Ephraim was reckoned before, and had 8300. men, more then Manasses, Numb. 1. 32. 33. 35. Also in camping about the Tabernacle of the Lord, Ephraim had the standerd, and was set before Manasses, Numb. 2. 18. 20. Howbeit in the second mustering, (38. yeeres after) it was otherwise for the number; Num. 26. 28. &c. Yet after that againe, Ephraim had his preeminence, Deut. 33. 17. Of him came Iosua the conquerour of Canaan, Num. 13. 9. 17. and Ieroboam King of Israel: whereupon Ephraim is used for the name of that kingdome, Esa. 7. 2. 9. 17. and 11. 13. and 28. 1. Ier. 7. 15. Ezek. 37. 16 Hos. 5. 12. 13. and 9. 3. 11. a plentie] or fulnesse: that is, as the Greeke translateth, a multitude: so called for filling up a number or place. So, a plenty of sheepherds, Esa. 31. 4. that is, a multitude: and this phrase Paul useth in Rom. 11. 25. the plenty of the Gentiles, that is, the full multitude, and number of them. The Chaldee here translateth, his sonnes shall bee rulers among the peoples. Though Ephraim had thus the preeminence, and a chiefe blessing above the sons of Israel: yet it pleased God to afflict him, before all his brethren; in that evill befell his house, and some of his sons were slaine by the men of Gath (the Philistines) for whom Ephraim mourned many daies, 1 Chron. 7. 20.—23. Vers. 20. In thee] or, By thee, that is, taking thee for an example; as the words following shew. So Rachel and Leah are propounded for examples in blessing, Ruth 4. 11. Zedekias and Ahab, in cursing, Ier. 29. 22. Israel] that is, my posterity the Israelites: see Gen. 19. 37. and 34. 7. V. 21. God willbe] the Chaldee expounds it, the Word of the Lord will be your help the land] of Canaan, where Abraham, Isaak, & Iakob dwelt, the figure of their heavenly inheritance, Gen. 12. 5. and 26. 3. and 37. 1. whereof Iakob putteth them in minde, and prophesieth their returne thither. Vers. 22. doe give] bequeathing as by will and testament, that portion of the land to thee, that is, to thy posterity: above thy brethren: for the first born was to have a double portion, Deut. 21. 17. & now the first birth-right became Iosephs, 1 Chron. 5. 2. & in the figurative description of Christs Church, Ioseph hath two portions, Ezek. 47. 13. portion] the Hebrew Sechem signifieth properly a shoulder, Gen. 9. 23. it was also the name of a citie (and the prince thereof,) where Iakob bought a piece of ground, Gen. 33. 18. 19. Here it is used (but with reference to the name of the place,) for a portion of ground, and so the Chaldee plainly expounds it, one chiefe portion. And that place of Sechem, was the inheritance of Iosephs sons the Ephraimites, Ios. 16. 1. &c. and 20. 7. Ioh. 4. 5. and thither were Iosephs bones caried out of Egypt, and buried, Ios. 24. 1. 25. 32. have taken] that is, shall take; but spoken prophetically, and in faith; (as unto us a childe is borne, Esa. 9. 6. which was a prophesie of Christ.) Thus Iakob disposeth of things to come, as already possessed: wherupon his faith in this action is commended, Heb. 11. 21. the Amorite] that is, as the Greeke translateth, Amorites; which one name is used generally for all the heathens that possessed the land, Ios. 24. 8. Amos 2. 9. my sword] that is, the sword of my children; the Ephraimites; which helped to conquer the land, and were a mighty people in Iosuahs time: see Ios. 17. 14.—18. So my armeholes, Ezek. 13. 18. that is, the armeholes of my people: also my wombe, Iob 3. 10. that is, my mothers wombe. The Chaldee understood this sword and bow figuratively; translating, by my prayer, and by my supplication.