Genesis 48

Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, “To see you, your son Joseph now comes.”
Israel gathered his strength, and said to Joseph as he (Israel) sat up in bed,
“El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me, and said,
‘I will make you bear fruit and be many, and make you into a host of peoples too;
And I will grant this land as a holding for the ages to your offspring after you.’
Now your two sons born to you in Egypt, ‘ere I came to you in Egypt at that time,
Shall be mine. Ephraim and Manasseh, no less than Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine.
But your progeny born to you after them shall be yours, called by the name of their brothers
In their inheritance. For when I was returning from that country, Rachel your mother
Died on me, in the land of Canaan, on the way, still some distance away from Ephrath.
And I buried her there on the road to Ephrath (which is now Bethlehem), on that path.”

Now when Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” Joseph said to his father,
“They are my sons, whom God has given to me here.” And Israel said, “Bring them closer.
Bring them up to me so I can bless them.” For Israel’s eyes with old age had turned dim,
And he could not see. Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and then embraced them.
Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected that your face again I would see,
And yet here, God has let me see your children too.” Joseph then removed them from his knees.
And they all bowed low to the ground. Joseph took both of them, Ephraim with his right hand,
To Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand, to the right of Israel’s stand,
And brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand, laying it on the head
Of Ephraim (though he was the younger, and normally firstborn receive that instead),
And his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He crossed his arms (Manasseh’s firstborn right thus docked).
He blessed Joseph and said, “The God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has been my shepherd ever since the day that I was born, until this day,
The messenger who has redeemed me from ill fortune, may he bless the lads. And then pray,
May my name and my line be continued through them, and too my fathers’ names, Abraham,
And Isaac. May they teem like fish and become multitudes all through the midst of the land.”

When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it wrong;
So he took hold of his father’s hand to move it to Manasseh’s head, where it belonged.
Joseph said to his father, “Not so, father, this one is firstborn, place hand on his head.”
But his father refused, saying, “I know, my son, I know. From him too, tribes shall be bred.
He too shall be great, and yet his younger brother will be greater than he, his offspring
Shall become a great multitude of nations.” So then he blessed them on that day, saying,
“By you shall Israel give blessings, saying: God made you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”
And by speaking their names in that order, Israel put Ephraim before Manasseh.
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Here, I am about to die, but God will be with you.
He will have you return to the land of your fathers. And now, one more thing must I do.
Now I give you one portion, one shoulder, one mountain slope more than your brothers’ reward,
Which I once took away from the hand of the Amorite with my bow and with my sword.”