“And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.”
In this verse, we find Joseph speaking to his father, Jacob (also known as Israel). To fully grasp the significance of this conversation, let’s explore the context leading up to this moment.
Genesis 48 recounts the story of Jacob blessing Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob had journeyed to Egypt to be reunited with Joseph, whom he believed to be dead but had risen to a position of great power in Egypt. When Jacob arrived, Joseph presented his two sons before his father for a blessing.
In the customary manner of blessing, the right hand is typically placed upon the head of the recipient, signifying favor, authority, and inheritance. However, in this instance, Jacob intentionally crosses his hands, placing his right hand on the younger son, Ephraim, and his left hand on the older son, Manasseh.
Joseph, upon witnessing this, becomes concerned and requests his father to correct the positioning of his hands. He says, “Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.” Joseph, being the firstborn of Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, expected that his own eldest son, Manasseh, should receive the greater blessing.
However, Jacob, acting under divine inspiration, consciously decides to bestow the greater blessing upon Ephraim, the younger son. In doing so, Jacob overrules the conventional expectation of conferring the primary blessing on the firstborn.
This reversal of the birthright blessing is consistent with a pattern seen throughout the book of Genesis. It demonstrates how God often chose the younger over the elder to fulfill His divine purposes and establish His covenant. In this case, the blessing upon Ephraim signifies that he would become a great nation and would be more prominent than his older brother Manasseh.
This episode illustrates God’s sovereignty and His ability to work through unexpected circumstances to fulfill His plans. It emphasizes the principle of divine election rather than human merit or birthright. The story also highlights the faithfulness of Jacob in accepting God’s will and submitting to His choice, despite cultural expectations.
In summary, Genesis 48:18 presents a significant moment in which Jacob deliberately places his right hand, denoting the primary blessing, on the younger son Ephraim instead of the older son Manasseh. It underscores the divine prerogative of God to choose and bless as He sees fit, rather than adhering strictly to human conventions and expectations.
