Genesis 48:13-20

GENESIS—NOTE ON Genesis 48:13 By placing his right hand on the head of Ephraim (v. Genesis 48:13), Jacob gives him priority over his older brother Manasseh (see Genesis 41:51). Joseph protests, thinking his father has mistakenly placed his right hand on the wrong head (Genesis 48:17). Jacob insists that Ephraim should be blessed as the firstborn, meaning that the special family line traced throughout Genesis 1:1 will continue through Ephraim’s descendants. The Ephraimites will become one of the leading tribes, with Joshua guiding the people into the Promised Land. But God will later reject the Ephraimites in favor of Judah (see Psalms 78:67).