When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.
Joseph watches his father's hands cross over the heads of his two boys. He reaches out to move the right hand back onto Manasseh, the elder. The moment raises a question: who decides who comes first — birth order, or God?
Joseph is not fighting God on purpose. He tries to correct his father because he does not see what Jacob sees.
Joseph lets his natural thoughts rule him. He does not see the sovereignty of God, who blesses according to His own purpose. So he objects to Jacob giving first place to the younger son. Jacob, however, will not give way to Joseph's natural wishes. He knows exactly what he is doing. He can say, "I know it, my son, I know it."
Jacob's eyes were too dim to see the boys. Yet here the roles reverse: the old man reads God's mind, and the gifted son misses it.
Joseph explained God's ways to Pharaoh, yet here he could not see as clearly as Jacob. To see the way of grace clearly, a person needs a soul trained by experience as well as a spiritual gift. Joseph stands far above his father Jacob, both in gift and in moral worth. But Jacob had been well sifted, and had learnt from experience his need of grace. A father's fondness, the right of the firstborn, and things like that can fill the mind even where there is real gift, and gift from God.
The crossed arms are not a slip by a half-blind man. One commentator reads them as a pattern that shows up everywhere.
Joseph brings Manasseh and Ephraim for his blessing, but the old patriarch crosses his hands, and reverses their order in the succession. The sign of the cross cuts across natural order and human expectation and turns them around. We meet it here, as we meet it everywhere. "My thoughts are not your thoughts," God says. He says this not because God's thoughts are meant to stand apart from ours or against ours, but because His thoughts are right and ours are wrong. We look at the little swirls of water; He sees the whole stream.
Joseph's protest is the one wrong note in a chapter that is otherwise all gift. One commentator lists what grace hands out here, piece by piece.
All is grace on God's part, and all is faith in the heart of Jacob. For it is the proper business and duty of faith to accept the decisions of grace, and that is just what grace is doing here. Grace adopts the sons of Joseph, who had no claim of their own by birth, and takes them into the family of Abraham. Grace gives the place and portion of the firstborn, the double portion, as though they were Reuben and Simeon. Grace sets the younger of them above the elder... Nature may resent this; but Jacob is true to the word of grace committed to him.
The boys' names explain why the order had to change. One name stands for the goal; the other stands for the road that leads there.
We find the law of spiritual increase in Joseph, and the name of his son "Ephraim" shows it — "fruitfulness." But the road to fruitfulness runs through "Manasseh" — "forgetfulness." It is the same with the apostle Paul, who wrote, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." Manasseh is the firstborn, in fact. But the end is greater than the means, so in the mind of God Ephraim is greater than Manasseh. Nature in us, as in Joseph here, often resists so simple a conclusion.
Years earlier Jacob had worked to get his own dying father's blessing. Now he blesses over a son's objection, and sees what God would have done without his help.
He now learns that those whom God blesses will be blessed. His grace does not need the help of human strength, and His promise needs no human stamp of approval... Suppose Jacob really had needed his own dying father's blessing to secure the inheritance God had for him. He now sees, as he sets Ephraim above Manasseh despite Joseph, that God could and would have brought that about.
- Nature protests. Joseph's hand moves to correct his father's. That is nature speaking: the claim of the firstborn, felt by a good man who could not see what God was doing.
- Grace decides. Every blessing in this chapter goes to someone with no claim by birth. Faith's whole business is to accept what grace decides.
- The cross reverses. The crossed hands are a sign. God's order cuts across what we expect, not because He is against our thoughts, but because His are right.
- Fruit follows forgetting. Manasseh means forgetting; Ephraim means fruitful. The goal outranks the road to it, so the younger son goes first.
- Faith outsees gift. Jacob's eyes were dim, yet the sifted old man read God's mind. He learned at last that God never needed human help to keep a promise.
And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn put thy right hand on his head.
Near the end of his life Jacob adopts Joseph's two sons and blesses them. But he crosses his hands, laying his right hand on the younger boy. Joseph steps in to correct him. His protest raises the question of the whole chapter: does blessing follow the order of nature, or the choice of God?
Joseph reacts to what his eyes can see. His father is acting by faith.
Genesis 48 gives us another example of the seductive power of what we can see. It is a wonderful thing to see faith, the invisible power, winning in Jacob over everything that marked his earlier up-and-down history. We watch him rise above nature and its claims, as he lays his hands on the head of Ephraim, the younger of Joseph's two sons, guiding his hands knowingly. Yet the snare of the visible is just as clear, seen in Joseph's displeasure and dissatisfaction.
Jacob's eyes were dim with age. That did not make him unsure of what he was doing.
Joseph lets his natural thoughts govern him. He does not discern the sovereignty of God, who blesses according to His purpose. So he protests against Jacob giving first place to the younger son. Jacob, however, will not give way to Joseph's natural wishes. He is perfectly aware of the course he is taking. He can say, "I know it, my son, I know it." He is not only acting according to the mind of God. He is doing it with understanding. His spiritual vision was never brighter than at the moment when his natural vision had become dim with age.
Joseph was the man who had read Pharaoh's dreams.
Joseph, the interpreter of God's ways to Pharaoh, could not in this case see as clearly as Jacob. It needs an exercised soul, as well as a spiritual gift, to see clearly the way of grace. Joseph stands far above his father Jacob, both in gift and in moral worth. But Jacob had been well sifted, and had learned by experience his need of grace. A parent's fondness, the right of the firstborn, and things like these can fill the mind, even where there is a real gift from God.
The crossed hands say where all blessing comes from.
Though Joseph may plead for Manasseh, Jacob puts the blessing on Ephraim. This is God's way: to set the younger above the elder. So all blessing may come through the grace of God, and not through the rights, or the claims, or the efforts of nature. At the end, Jacob's whole boast and confidence is in the sovereign grace of God.
Years earlier Jacob had tricked his own blind father into blessing the younger son. Now he is the blind father.
Jacob was clear where Isaac had been dim. He was clearer even than Joseph, to whom God had given deeper insight into divine things than to any other man of God. What deep self-judgment must have passed through Israel's spirit! He was looking back on the blessing he had once stolen by his own scheming. Could the Lord not have crossed Isaac's hands to make good His promise to Jacob? He could have done it to His own glory, and without His servant's shame. How sad not to have trusted Him!
Each boy's name carries a meaning.
Here we may see a picture that has meaning for us. The name Manasseh means Forgetting, which points in a negative direction. Ephraim means Fruitful, which is positive in character. The first man and his race are negative as regards God, the complete denial of all His thoughts. In Christ, the Second Man, is the Yes and Amen to all God's thoughts, and all fruitfulness is found in Him. He is indeed the Man of God's right hand. It is a great day in the spiritual history of each of us when we gladly agree that the Second Man has displaced the first. Then we turn away from self-seeking to find our all in Christ.
Joseph's protest is the reaction most of us have when God's order cuts across our own.
If we are surprised as Joseph was, the reply is, "I know it, my son, I know it." That answer is absolute. We must submit whether we understand how it works or not. At the same time, later events often show us wise reasons for what seemed strange in that action.
- Sight. Jacob's eyes were dim, yet he saw more clearly than Joseph. Faith sees best when sight fails.
- Gift. Joseph had the greater gift. But reading the way of grace takes an exercised soul, not talent.
- Grace. The right hand went to the younger so that blessing would rest on God's grace, not on the rights or efforts of nature.
- Christ. Forgetting gives way to Fruitful. The Second Man displaces the first, and we find all our fruitfulness in Him.
- Submission. When God's order surprises us, the answer stands — "I know it, my son" — and we submit before we understand.
But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know he also will become a people, and he also will be great; but truly his younger brother will be greater than he; and his seed will become the fulness of nations.
Jacob is dying and his eyes are too weak to see, yet he lays his right hand on Joseph's younger son and will not move it when Joseph objects. He promises Manasseh real greatness, then puts the younger brother above him — and the usual rights of the firstborn fall away.
Joseph assumed his father had made a mistake. The threefold repetition — refusing, then affirming, then explaining — shows a man acting with full awareness, at the very moment his physical sight had failed.
He acts no longer as nature would direct, but as God would direct. He crosses his hands "intelligently," placing the right hand on the younger and the left hand on the elder. … Joseph lets his natural thoughts govern him. He does not see the sovereignty of God, who blesses according to His purpose. So he protests against Jacob giving the first place to the younger son. Jacob, however, will not give way to Joseph's natural wishes. He is perfectly aware of the course he is taking. He can say, "I know, my son, I know." He is acting according to the mind of God, and he is doing so with understanding. His spiritual vision was never brighter than at the moment when his natural sight had grown dim with age.
The choice was not Jacob's preference. Everything given in this chapter — the adoption of two Egyptian-born boys, the double portion, the reversal of the order — comes from outside the claims of birth.
It is all grace on God's part, and all faith in the heart of Jacob. The proper business and duty of faith is to accept the decisions of grace. That is just what grace is doing here. Grace adopts the sons of Joseph, who had no title in the flesh, and takes them into the family of Abraham. Grace gives the place and portion of the firstborn, the double portion, as though they were Reuben and Simeon. Grace sets the younger of them above the elder. To all this Jacob bows and is obedient. Nature may resent this; but Jacob is true to the word of grace committed to him.
Ephraim was not the only younger son lifted above an elder. Reuben, the actual firstborn, lost his place too.
But God's ways are the opposite of ours, and all human greatness and pride must be humbled. Ephraim's precedence shows this. He was the younger, yet he was put over the elder, just as Reuben the firstborn lost his place. This emphasised God's sovereignty, which lifts up the lowly and brings down the high.
The names themselves carry the reason. Joseph named his firstborn for what God had taken away from him, and his second for what God had produced in him.
Manasseh means "forgetting" and Ephraim means "fruitful." Joseph was made to forget the natural blessings of his father's house, and then he became fruitful in Egypt. But forgetting is negative and fruitfulness is positive, and the positive must take the first place. Jacob says that Manasseh would become great, but Ephraim would be greater than he. Both are blessed, but Ephraim is set before Manasseh.
The wording here differs from the promise given earlier in the chapter, and that difference matters for how the promise was worked out among the tribes.
It is worth noting the unusual phrase in verse 19: not "a multitude of peoples" but "a fullness of nations." … It is well known that Judah and Benjamin had a place of their own, while all the rest of the tribes fell under Ephraim as Israel.
Commentators differ over how wide "nations" reaches. One reading keeps it inside Israel rather than extending it to foreign peoples:
The multitude of nations shall be to Ephraim, not to Manasseh. I am inclined to believe it is the mass of Israel's tribes, but the whole body of the peoples of Israel was counted to Ephraim.
The reversal did not stop with two boys. It ran through both families, and it was not open to appeal.
- Dim eyes, clear sight — Jacob's eyes had failed, but he had never seen more clearly. He crossed his hands on purpose, not by mistake.
- Grace, not birth — the two boys had no claim by birth. Adoption, the double portion and the reversal all came from grace, and faith's work was to accept it.
- The lowly lifted — the younger goes above the elder, and Reuben the firstborn loses his place. God humbles human pride and shows His sovereignty.
- Fruitful over forgetting — Manasseh's name means forgetting, Ephraim's means fruitful, and fruitfulness takes first place.
- Fullness of nations — the rest of Israel's tribes came under Ephraim's name, so the promise held. The choice was final, and we submit to it even where we cannot explain it.
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh! And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Jacob's last blessing on Joseph's sons was not a private wish. It became a public formula. From that day on, Israel would bless its own children by naming these two boys. The verse also settles the drama of the crossed hands: Jacob put the younger boy first.
Jacob's eyesight is failing, but his spiritual sight is not. He holds his course even when his beloved son objects.
He acts no longer as nature would dictate, but as God would direct. He crosses his hands "intelligently," placing the right hand on the younger and the left hand on the elder... Joseph lets his natural thoughts rule him. He does not see the sovereignty of God, who blesses according to His own purpose. So he objects when Jacob gives first place to the younger son. Jacob, however, will not give way to Joseph's natural wishes. He knows exactly what he is doing. He can say, "I know, my son, I know." His spiritual vision was never brighter than at the moment when his natural vision had become dim with age.
Everything here is given, not earned. The boys had no claim by birth. Jacob's part is to agree with what God has decided.
All is grace on God's part, and all is faith in the heart of Jacob. The proper work and duty of faith is to accept the decisions of grace. That is just what grace is doing here. Grace adopts the sons of Joseph, who had no title in the flesh, and takes them into the family of Abraham. Grace gives them the firstborn's place and portion — the double portion — as if they were Reuben and Simeon. Grace sets the younger of them above the elder... Nature may resent this; but Jacob is true to the word of grace committed to him.
The order makes sense once you read the names.
The name Manasseh means Forgetting, which is negative. Ephraim means Fruitful, which is clearly positive. The first man and his race are negative toward God. They are the complete denial of all His thoughts. In Christ, the Second Man, is the Yes and Amen to all God's thoughts, and all fruitfulness is found in Him. He is indeed the Man of God's right hand.
Another writer links the same two names to Paul's words about the past.
We find the law of spiritual increase in him, shown by the name of his son "Ephraim" — "fruitfulness." But the way to fruitfulness runs through "Manasseh" — "forgetfulness." It was the same with the apostle: "forgetting what lies behind ... I press on." Manasseh is in fact the first-born. But the end is greater than the means, so Ephraim is greater than Manasseh in the mind of God. Nature often resists such a simple conclusion in us, as it did in Joseph here.
Jacob had once obtained a father's blessing by trickery, taking advantage of a blind old man. Now he is the blind father himself, and this time there is no trick.
Jacob saw clearly, where Isaac had been dim. Jacob saw more clearly than Joseph, who until then had been given sharper insight into divine things than other men of God. What deep self-judgment must have gone through Israel's spirit, as he looked back on the blessing he had once stolen by his own trickery! Could the Lord not have crossed Isaac's hands Himself, to His own glory and without shaming His servant, and so kept His word of promise to Jacob? How sad that Jacob did not trust Him!
The words spoken over these grandsons had a national outcome.
The wealth that went with the birthright went to Joseph, the first son of Rachel, the loved wife. The first-born had a right to a double portion of the inheritance. Or rather, that wealth went to Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons. Jacob had already blessed them and more or less adopted them as his own sons. So Ephraim and Manasseh gained a place of their own among the tribes of Israel.
- Faith sees. Jacob's eyes were dim, but he crossed his hands on purpose. His spiritual sight was sharpest when his eyesight was gone.
- Grace chooses. The boys had no natural claim. Their adoption, their double portion, and the younger set above the elder are all decisions of grace.
- Faith agrees. Joseph pushed back out of natural affection. Jacob's answer, "I know, my son, I know," is faith accepting what grace has decided.
- The names teach. Manasseh means "forgetting," Ephraim means "fruitful." Forgetting is the means, fruitfulness is the end — and God puts the end first.
- Israel repeats it. One old man's words over two grandsons became the nation's own form of blessing. They also gave Ephraim and Manasseh a tribal place of their own.