Matthew Poole and continuators on Genesis 48:5

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.