The Tanakh · JPS 1917 Translation

Genesis 48

Jewish Publication Society 1917 · Torah

Genesis chapter 48 — part of the Torah in the Jewish Bible. In the classic JPS 1917 translation it opens: “And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: 'Behold, thy father is sick.' And he took with him his two sons,…” — the complete text of all 22 verses is below, free to read online.

1And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: 'Behold, thy father is sick.' And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2And one told Jacob, and said: 'Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee.' And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

3And Jacob said unto Joseph: 'G-d Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4and said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

5And now thy two sons, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine.

6And thy issue, that thou begettest after them, shall be thine; they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

7And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath--the same is Beth-lehem.'

8And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said: 'Who are these?'

9And Joseph said unto his father: 'They are my sons, whom G-d hath given me here.' And he said: 'Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.'

10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

11And Israel said unto Joseph: 'I had not thought to see thy face; and, lo, G-d hath let me see thy seed also.'

12And Joseph brought them out from between his knees; and he fell down on his face to the earth.

13And 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.

14And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born.

15And he blessed Joseph, and said: 'The G-d before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the G-d who hath been my shepherd all my life long unto this day,

16the angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.'

17And when Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

18And Joseph said unto his father: 'Not so, my father, for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head.'

19And 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; howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.'

20And he blessed them that day, saying: 'By thee shall Israel bless, saying: G-d make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh.' And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21And Israel said unto Joseph: 'Behold, I die; but G-d will be with you, and bring you back unto the land of your fathers.

22Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.'

22 verses · JPS 1917 (public domain)

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