The patriarchs · Genesis 48–50
Jacob Blesses His Sons
Israel is ill. Joseph brings him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and Jacob declares that they will be his own, like Reuben and Simeon. He blesses them with his hands crossed: his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, though Manasseh is the firstborn. Joseph protests, but his father refuses: “I know it, my son, I know it.” Jacob then gathers his twelve sons and tells each of them what lies ahead. To Judah: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah.” He orders them to bury him at Machpelah, with Abraham and Isaac, and then he breathes his last. The Egyptians mourn for him seventy days, and a great procession takes him to Canaan. Joseph’s brothers then fear that he will take revenge. Joseph weeps and reassures them: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Joseph dies at the age of one hundred ten, after making his brothers swear that his bones would be carried up out of Egypt.
What happens
- Jacob declares that Ephraim and Manasseh will be his Genesis 48:5
- Hands crossed: the right on Ephraim, the younger Genesis 48:13–14
- “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” Genesis 49:8–10
- “Bury me… in the cave in the field of Machpelah” Genesis 49:29–31
- “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” Genesis 50:19–20
- Joseph makes them swear that his bones will be carried up out of Egypt Genesis 50:24–25
Who is in this story
The lesson
God turns what people meant for evil into good, and he keeps his promises far beyond the lifetimes of those who receive them. Jacob and Joseph die looking toward the promised land: this is the faith of the patriarchs (Heb 11:21-22).
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Quick quiz on this story
Where does Jacob ask to be buried with his fathers?
Jacob orders his sons to bury him “in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah,” where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah already lie. Genesis 49:29–31
Joseph tells his brothers: “You meant evil against me, but God …”
Joseph reassures his brothers: the evil they intended, God meant for good, “to save much people alive.” Genesis 50:20
On which boy does Jacob lay his right hand, against Joseph’s wishes?
Jacob lays his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, and his left on Manasseh, the firstborn: “he guided his hands wittingly.” Genesis 48:14
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