Matthew Poole and continuators on Genesis 48

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.