“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.”
This verse is part of the narrative in Genesis where Jacob, also known as Israel, blesses his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh. To better understand the significance of this verse, let’s provide some context.
Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites, had twelve sons, and Joseph was his eleventh son. Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers but had risen to a position of prominence in Egypt through divine providence. Eventually, he was reunited with his family, and his father Jacob lived out his final years in Egypt with Joseph and his descendants.
In Genesis 48, Jacob is nearing the end of his life, and Joseph brings his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to receive a blessing from their grandfather. In the custom of that time, the eldest son would usually receive the greater blessing. However, Jacob crosses his hands while blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, symbolically placing his right hand, representing the greater blessing, on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger son.
This act surprises Joseph, who tries to adjust his father’s hands, thinking it was a mistake. However, Jacob insists and affirms that he intentionally placed his right hand on Ephraim because he saw that Ephraim would become greater than Manasseh:
“But 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” (Genesis 48:19, KJV).
Jacob’s intentional reversal of his hands in blessing Ephraim over Manasseh is significant because it illustrates God’s sovereignty in choosing and working through the younger and seemingly less significant individual. It emphasizes the principle found throughout the Bible that God’s ways are not always in line with human expectations. God often chooses the weak, the unlikely, and the overlooked to accomplish His purposes.
This event foreshadows the future prominence and blessing of the tribe of Ephraim within the nation of Israel. The tribe of Ephraim would later become one of the most powerful and influential tribes in Israel’s history. Jacob’s blessing over Ephraim highlights God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises and the importance of His divine choice rather than human conventions.
