Old Testament Commentary ~ Genesis 48

by Don R. Hender

Israel Blesses Joseph, Ephriam and Manasseh

"Blessed Is He Through Whose Seed Messiah Shall Come"
Moses 7:53
Editorial, Commentary and Explanation by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
           CHAPTER 48             

Jacob tells of the appearance of God to him in Luz—He adopts Ephraim and Manasseh as his own children—Jacob blesses Joseph—He puts Ephraim before Manasseh—
Seed of Ephraim shall become a multifude of nations—Israel shall come again into the land of their fathers.

The Birthright Portions

Now the birthright son had been Joseph from the start. The coat representing the sign or token of the everlasting covenant was made and given unto Joseph, the firstborn son of the selected wife Rachel, of Jacob. The elder sons had lost their rightful claim unto the birthright by various acts of wickedness, Rueben the eldest had defined his father's bed with that combubine of Jacob given him by Rachel. Simeon and Levi had dishonored Jacob by their murderous theatment of the pagan city. Judah may have thought it ought to then come to him, and many of his acts against Joseph indicate that Judah acted against Joseph, that Joseph would not be the heir and the birthright son. Then for years Joseph was gone. But now in Egypt, Joseph was and how would the birthright's two portions be given unto Joseph. It was by Jacob's wisdom that Jacob did adopt Joseph's two sons in the stead of Rueben and Simeon. Thus the two portions of the birthright was still bestowed upon Joseph through his two sons becoming tribes in Israel.

 1 ¶ AND it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim [here named in order of their natural birth].
 2  And one told aJacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel bstrengthened himselfa, and sat upon the bed.

.3  And Jacob said unto Joseph, God aAlmighty bappeareda unto me at cLuz [which Jacob called Bethel] in the land of Canaan, and blessed mea,

 4  And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee afruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; ['kings shall come out of thy loins']a and will give this bland to thy seed after thee for an everlastingb cpossession.  

Jacob refers to the total covenant blessing. The compiled brevity of Jewish scripture has left much out. The right of birth of the Messiah would have plainly and clearly been set out as part of the covenant and in the blessing of Ephraim, the 'anointed firstborn birthright'. Joseph Smith's Translation adds more of what the covenant included to which Joseph and his son Ephraim prevailed in obtaining. It clearly implies Christ, in whom is Salvation (Jehoshua), as being of Joseph's loins. Joseph Smith's translation does not give any more detail of the actual blessing than is in the Bible. This may indicate that the details of the formal blessing were never in the Bible. That is in keeping with the sacred privacy of a patriarchal blessing, kept to the individual upon whom it is given.

 5  aAnd now thy two sonsa, bEphraim and cManasseh [here named in covenant birthright order], which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are minea; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

Ephraim is blessed as Israel's firstborn son. As such, Ephraim is the receiver of the fulness of the blessing of the covenant in place of Reuben. Though the 'brevity of Jewish scripture' merely brushes by this, it is confirmed in Chronicles and Jeremiah. The fulness of that covenant was established from the foundation of the world and it came down through the fathers beginning from Adam, included the right of ancestry to the Messiah. How it is that both the houses of Judah and Joseph are ancester to the Messiah is set out in some detail in the text Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph.

Abraham Covenant
(Personal Odinances)
1) Gospel of Baptism
2) Priesthood Endowment
3) Celestial Marriage
(General Provisions)
1) Nations Blessed via Posterity
2) Christ in Linage
3) Promised Covenant Lands
   2a - Israel strengthened himself Though sick, Jacob raised up as strengthened by the spirit and prepared himself to receive Joseph and his sons as the Patriarch of the house of Israel. Jacob was going to act as God's voice and bestow the divine blessing of the covenant upon the house of Joseph by adopting his two oldest sons as his own. (Compare Genesis 45:27).
  3a God Almighty appeared ... and blessed me This blessing of Jacob included that 'Kings' should come from him which was to include the 'King of Kings', even Jesus Christ (See: Genesis 35:9-15 especially verse 11).
 4a kings shall come out of thy loins It must be considered that Jacob referenced the whole of his covenant blessing from the Lord to Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, which included the fact that not only 'kings' should come from him according to the blessings of that covenant, but the Messiah also. The Joseph Smith Translation adds more to what Jacob stated upon that occasion and it does indicate that the Messiah would come of the fruit of Joseph's loins. We can only presume that the editing Jewish compilers removed the statements found in the Joseph Smith translation which were the infurences that not only was there to be the Messiah of Salvation, but that he was legally and rightfully the seed of Joseph. This 'birthright of the firstborn' is a vital part of the blessing of the covenant of Jacob and of the fathers since Adam, which Jacob was in the process of referencing and bestowing upon the household of Joseph in the blessing of Ephraim, the son of Joseph.
  5a Thy two sons ... are mine The first two sons of Joseph were adopted by Jacob as the rightful heirs of the blessings of the birthright of the covenant of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. Jacob's places Ephraim and Manasseh as his rightful 'first' and 'second' born sons in place of Reuben and Simeon, who had been found unworthy. By this adoption, Jacob effectively places Joseph in the patriarchal line and Ephraim as the firstborn through whom the 'King of Kings' was to come as Jacob had been so blessed (See: Genesis 49:24, Genesis 49:10 and Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph)

NOTE: The wisdom of God in combining the ancestory of the Messiah to be from the two houses of Rachel and Leah, thus not dividing but uniting them in the House of Israel in the Messiah, is set out in much detail in the last referenced text entitled 'Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph'. How else will the envy and vexation betwen Judah and Ephraim end?

 2a Heb. 11:21
   b Gen. 47:31
 3a 1 Ne. 1:14; 2 Ne. 9:46;
      3 Ne. 4:32; D&C 76:106-107;
      D&C 87:6; Moses 2:1;
      JS-H 1:29; A of F 11
   b D&C 107:54; Abr. 2:6
   c Gen 28:19; Gen. 35:6;
      Josh. 18:13
 4a TG Seed of Abraham
   b TG Promised Land
   c Gen 17:8; Abr. 2:6;
 5a JST Gen. 48:5-11
   b TG Israel, Joseph, People of
   c Deut 3:13

Joseph Smith Translation adds:
 5+ 'the God of my fathers shall bless them' [It is not just a blessing from Jacob, Jacob is being the voice of God.]
 5+ 'wherefore they shall be called after my name. (Therefore they were called Israel.)' [The blessing from God through Jacob was to convey to Joseph's sons the fulness of the covenant of the fathers as they took the name of the covenant, Israel, indicating they will prevail with God as Jacob did.]
 6+ 'in the tribes; therefore they were called the tribes of Manasseh and of Ephraim.
 8+ 'O may son [Joseph], he hath blessed me in raising thee up to be a servant unto me, in saving my house from death;'
 9+ 'In delivering my people, thy brethren, from famine which was sore in the land; wherefore the God of thy fathers shall bless thee, and the fruit of thy loins, that they shall be blessed above thy brethren, and above thy father's house;' [Here Jacob states why it is that the blessing of the birthright was given to the 'fruit of Joseph's loins'. It was not just that Reuben and Simeon were not worthy, it also included Joseph's worthy performance thereby deserving such blessing of the Lord.]
 10+ 'For thou hast prevailed, and thy father's house hath bowed down unto thee, even as it was shown unto thee, before thou wast sold into Egypt by the hands of thy brethren; wherefore thy brethren shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins forever;' [Here is sure evidence that Joseph's dreams meant more than just the immediate bowing before Joseph in Egypt. It extendx to Joseph's posterity 'forever'. And there is only one of the fruit of Joseph's loins before whom all will 'bow down'. That can only be the Lord God Jehovah, Jesus Christ.]
 11+ 'For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin.' [While it is 'Ephraim's leadership' which carries the gospel to the world in the latter days, it is only Christ who 'brings salvation' and 'delivers' men from the 'captivity' of sin. And He, as stated, will be rightfully and legally from the fruit of the loins of Joseph (see Gen. 49:24).]

 6  And thy issue, which thou begettest after thema, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren [Ephraim and Manasseh] in their inheritance.  
This increased the tribes to 13. The Levite appointment reduced them back to 12 inheriting tribes.  
.7  And as for me, when I came from Padan, aRachel died by mea in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrathb; the same is Bethlehemc.

BETHLEHEM  
The exact distance yet to travel to Ephrath is never given. Bethlehem is about 5 miles south of Jerusalem and is a good 2 hour walk. Rachel's tomb today is upon the outskirts of Bethlehem, about a mile north of the 'town' center. During the some 300 years absence of the Israelites, the people of Canaan had built a 'house' or temple to their God Lahmu at that location, thus the name when the Israelites returned from Egypt which associated with for the place just one mile from Rachel's tomb was 'Bet Lahm' meaning in the Arabic 'house of meat'. The Jews who assume tha land, though it was the tribe of Benjamin's inheritance, basicly keep the pagan name, changing it slightly to 'Bet Lehem', meaning 'house of bread'. Later Jewish scribes and comilers of the Bible, after the hundreds of years being removed from where ever Ephrath had been, make Ephrath to be the same as Bethlehem in their editorialized clarification that Ephrath was the same as Bethlehem. This we do not know for sure, neither would the Jewish compilers, it being an opportunistic presumption upon their part to make it so.

Mother Rachel 
Having her life cut short, the Lord has taken Rachel home. She is the true mother of Israel. She is the mother of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, who Jacob under the direction of the Lord places the name of Israel and the covenant of the fathers upon. When Israel has been scattered, Jeremiah records that Rachel, the mother of Israel weeps for the return of her children. When Herod murders innocent babies of the house of Israel, it is Rachel who weeps for the loss of her children. According to tradition, Rachel was told and she did prophesy that the Messiah would come of the house of Rachel. Of the two mothers arguing over the Christ Child, Leah's house would have the child dead and it is Rachel, the true mother, who would willingly claim him as her own. 		  6a - thy issue, which thou begettest after them This meant that the rest of Joseph's posterity, and there were others, would come under the tribes of their two elder brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh, as to their tribal affiliation in the house of Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel.
  7a Rachel died by me Jacob seems to assume the resposiblity for Rachel's death. He not only had caused his favored pregnant wife to travel great and wandering distances from Assyria and the house of Laban, but he also had once proclaimed a death sentence upon her. Jacob had sworn to Laban the death of the person who was found to have stolen Laban's idols.
 7b Ephrath Ephrath, like Ephraim, means 'fruitful'. Ephrath is of the same Hebrew root origin as is Ephraim, the one being a land or place name and the other stylized as a man's name. After the infamous acts of Simeon and Levi, which prompted an early departure from Shechem, and after his wife Rachel's death, Jacob seems to have taken some comfort in calling this next land of pasture Ephrath after his firstborn son Ephraim. And when one consider's Jacob's profession, the keeper of herds and flocks, the pasture lands of Ephrath beyond the Midgal, or shepherd's lookout tower of Edar, were not that distant for a shepherd's and his pasturing and wandering flocks and herds to Rachel's tomb.
 7c the same as Bethlehem Bethlehem was a later name associated with Ephrath by the Jewish compilers of the Bible. Thus this must be considered as an editorial comment added to clarify for the reader the 'presumed' association between Bethlehem and Ephrath. It was not a part of Jacob's or Moses' original text. Samuel associates Zelzah with the site of Rachel's tomb. Therefore it seems more proper to associate Zelzah with Bethlehem than to associate it with Ephrath, though granted Ephrath was just 'a little way to come' from that site. Further, Zelzah and Rachel's tomb, that is Bethlehem, was within the border of the land of the tribe of Benjamin. Today, Rachel's tomb is in Bethlehem. (See: 1 Samuel 10:2).


Rachel's Tomb 
Inronically and perhaps even in a sense prophetically, Rachel's Tomb is the object of 'Jewish' pilgrimage, in honor of the 'Mother of Israel'. They come not clearly knowing why, seeking the blessings of Mother Rachel, and wearing mystical 'red string' braclets. 		 7a Gen 35:19

Rahel or Rachel's Death
(Rachel's Song) 
The events of Rachel's pregnantcy, carrying Benjamin, are many and varied. Rachel was likely known to be expecting when she left with Jacob's troop her Assyria home and her father Laban's house and lands. She steels her father's pagan idols to take with her. When Laban catches up with Jacob's troop in Gilead, Rachel uses her womenly condition as an excuse to hide the stolen idols.

Further, still in early pregnatcy, Rachel experiences the anxiety of what to expect from Esua, Jacob's brother, at Jacob's return to the lands of his father Isaac. Jacob seems to prepare his household to meet Esau's advance not knowing what to expect from his brother Esau. But Esua, perhaps affected by Jacob's generosity and graciousness, only offers love and acceptance to his long absent brother. Esau returns to Edom and Jacob crosses the river Jordan west, into the hills of what would become know as 'Mt. Ephraim'.

There Jacob seems to be able to settle in to an expected long term land of pasture upon the plain of Shechem, and things seem to become settled in the Lord. Jacob had bought the land and takes charge as the spiritual leader of his household. Jacob calls his house to repentance from the 'idols' of worship, and Rachel responds and repents, ridding herself of those idols of her father. Jacob then receives the blessing of the covenant of the fathers, the Covenat of Abraham and Isaac back to Adam, And Rachel is informed, according to some Jewish traditions, and prophesies of the coming Messiah to be the fruit of her loins. During this same time of spiritual high, Dinah, Leah's youthful teen daughter, acts up and gets herself into trouble.

Simeon and Levi commit murders against the house of Shechem in a supposed 'defense' of Dinah's honor. And Jacob is needfully on the move again due to the infamous acts of his two sons. Rachel is now ending the term of her pregnantcy as Jacob nears new lands of pasture for his vast herds and flock. Rachel dies at the very last of this journey's end, giving birth to her second son. In dying, Rachel names him Benoni, meaning 'son of my sorrow/distress',

Rachel dies as a result of her hard labor and likely from the long term of travels, stress and duress over the months she had carried her child. Benjamin just a baby and Ephraim a young child with 10 older brothers of other mothers, were now without a mother other than perhaps Bilhah, Jacob's concubine from Rachel. But then Reuben, Leah's oldest son, lays with Bilhah, which seems to be the final aftermath of the dispoiling of the house of Rachel.

 8 ¶ And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
 9  And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will abless them.
 10  Now the eyes of Israel were adim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them bnear unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
 11  And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

Jacob's eyes are dim. His vision fails to distinguish figures clearly. Seeing only the blurred presences of Joseph's sons, he asks to have them identified and distinguished. As is the case in human conversation, what Josesph perceives is not exactly what Jacob is asking. Jacob recieves his two grandsons with hugs and kisses, like all good grandparents do. And in the process, Jacob identifies to himself who is who, distinguishing between the two blurred figures the identity of each. This information Jacob will use as he proceeds with blessing the two sons of Joseph as his own first and second born sons of the covenant.

   9a Gen 49:26                                                     Image from ASB, public domain
 10a Gen 27:1
     b Gen 27:27

Shepherd Eyes 
Strained, searching the horizon for the sight of the flock, squinted to hold out the light of noon day sun, Jacob now suffers from the same visual impairment of which Isaac had suffered in his old age. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were of the same basic honest profession. They were keepers of flocks and herds. Anyone familiar with herds and flocks of animals will understand that the 'troop' of the large herdsman required many hands to make the large amount of work easier to bare. Large were their camps with people.

With his visual temporal light grown dim, Jacob proceeds to exercise his greatly increased spiritual vision as he blesses the sons of the covenant, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh with the blessings of heaven, which God would have him pronounce. His blessing of these three reaches beyond the years of time into eternity. They convey the blessings and promises of the covenant of God from before the foundation of the world, from Adam, Enoch and Noah, from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, through these sons and their posterity, including the rightful and legal seed the Christ. Thus on into the latter days of the restoration and the kingdom of God rolling forth to fill the earth they ran, culminating with the reign of Jehovah as King David, the Beloved Son, the final judgement of God proceeding on into kingdoms of immortality. T'is the vision of the eternal now seen by the shepherd's eyes.

 12  And Joseph brought them out from between his kneesa, and he bowed himselfb with his face to the earth.
.13  And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right handa toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left handb toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
 14  And Israel stretched out his right handa, and laid it upon aEphraim's heada, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's headb, bguiding his hands wittinglyc; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

This is a very touching, tender and loving scene of the covenant blessings of God being passed from generation to generation. It is both of a private and sacred family ordination. It is the joint blessing being given upon the 'First Family of Israel', Joseph and his two sons. The whole of the words spoken during this blessing by Jacob upon the heads of his two grandsons and son are not given in today's Bible. We bearly have the jest of the significances of the event from the generalization statements of what was said. The blessing of that Fathers, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham and beyond are being preserved upon Joseph and his seed (See D&C 27:10). It is the fate of the world hanging upon the heads and shoulders of but one one thread of a family unit binding man to the heavens of God in providing the means of the covenanted salvation to all mankind of the earth.

  12a Joseph brought them out from between his knees Some see in this a traditional enactment formalizing the adoption of Joseph's sons as his own first and second born sons. Others perceive it as merely an informal but sacred event such is the nature of the giving of a priesthood blessing. Not all is being recorded of this event, for we have just jumped from Jacob hugging and kissing his grandsons to them sitting with their father Joseph.
  12b he bowed himself Joseph proceeds to kneel before his father Jacob who is seated upon his bed.
  13a Ephraim in his right hand Paralleled with Christ being at the right hand (arm) of God the Father, Joseph 'unwittingly' places Ephraim, the younger, before Manasseh by placing him upon his right hand.
  13b Manasseh in his left hand Joseph's intent of placing Manasseh in his left hand (arm) is so that Manasseh will be upon Israel's right and receive the greater covenant blessing of the firstborn. But in so doing, Manasseh is positioned by Joseph at his own left hand signifiying the lesser position.
  14a right hand . . . upon Ephraim's head Having distinguished between the two sons, Jacob 'sees', though dimly where Ephraim is at and proceeds to place his right hand upon him in order to given him the right of the firstborn son of Israel.
  13b his left hand upon Manasseh's head Knowing that Manasseh is upon his right, Jacob crosses over his left hand and places it upon Manasseh to bestow the blessing of the second born son in Israel upon Manasseh. 		 14a Zechariah 10:7 (6-12);
       D&C 109:60-61;
       D&C 133:34;
       TG Israel, Joseph, People of
    b Septuagint; crosing his hands

Pride & Humility 
Joseph's action of bowing before Jacob could be taken to be but a ceremonial performance. But what one must understand about Joseph, is that there is no such pride of custom in him. As Phaoroh's appointed ruler of Egypt, many had both ceremoniously and in ernest bowed before Joseph, even his own brothern. But what is being exhibited at this point is Joseph's humility before God. Per the Joseph Smith Translation, Jacob has just paised Joseph as being the source of temporal salvation of the house of Jacob. Jacob further stated that because of Joseph's faithful performance before God thus far, Joseph and his posterity would be the bearer of the fulness of the covenant of the fathers. Joseph rather than being puffed up with pride at his position before man and God, here prayfully knees in preparation to be so blessed by the hand of God's servant, his father Jacob. Joseph appreciates deeply as did his father Jacob before him the eternal importance of this blessing of the covenant.

After his prayful moments of personal preparation before God, Joseph then proceeds to present himself and his two sons before God's anointed, his father Jacob, in order that Jacob can perform the ordinational blessing of bestowing the covenant of God upon Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.

 15  And he blessed aJosepha, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaacb did bwalk, the God which cfed me all my life long unto this day,
 16  The aAngel which redeemed mea from all evil, bless the lads; and let my bname be named on themb, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaacc; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

A Simple Family Matter? 
In this simple and humble family huddle of humanity, grandfather, son and two grandsons, at the side of the bed of an aged, sick and dying Israel, Jacob did raise his voice as the rightful patriarch of the covenant and bestowed the fulness of the covenant of the fathers upon Joseph and the two lads, to Ephraim as the firstborn son of the covenant and to Manasseh as the supporting and aiding 'secondborn' son of the covenant. Jacob had gathered his strength and raised up to insure the blessings of the covenant would be preserved. Shortly after this event, Jacob dies. Such is the importance of simple family matters. They affect the world. 		  15a he blessed Joseph As part of the covenant of the patriarchal linage, Joseph was included in Jacob's blessing. Jacob was not removing Ephraim and Manasseh from Joseph's family by his covenant adoption of them. He was just adding the fulness of the promised covenant of God of the linage of the firstborn birthright.
  15b God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac The covenant being preserved was that of the Fathers which Abraham had sought after and obtained. It was preserved through Abraham unto Isaac then to Jacob and was presently being continued on to Joseph and his sons, Ephraim being the heir of the rights and covenants of the firstborn.
  16a Angel which redeemed me The 'Angel' who was the redeeming God was Jehovah, who is the same redeemer of us all, even Jesus Christ.
  16b bless the lads; and let my name be named on them The name of 'Israel' was placed on Ephraim and Manasseh with all the powers, covenants and blessings.
  16c and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac This was the same covenant and blessings of the fathers from Abaraham and Isaac. 		 15a Septugint: them
     b TG Walking with God
     c HEB shepherded; i.e., who
       was my shepherd
 16a Genesis 32:29 (24-30);
     b TG Israel, Joseph, People of
       TG Name

Of the Fathers 
The blessings or covenants of the fathers had come down through the ages and from before. In our preexistant heaven, God the Father had given the covenant promise of his oath, that if we would choose to come to this second estate, a Redeemer would be provided and that salvation would come by the works associated with him. Of course that redeemer was selected, Jehovah. And his name was further given at that time to be 'Jehovah Is Salvation' or Jehoshua. The more ancient father such as Adam, Enoch, and Noah entered into this covenant that their posterity might be blessed with the salvation of God and as such they became the ancestrial line to the eventual birth of the Messiah. This was the same blessings and covenants of the fathers to which Abraham sought and obtained. It was the same which was received by Isaac, Abraham's son of the promise. It was the birthright for which Esau cared little about and Jacob sought unto, as was given to Rebekah to understand. It was what was now by the hand of Jacob being bestowed upon Joseph and his posterity through Ephraim the selected firstborn of Israel.

This covenant of the fathers is the very New and Everlasting Covenant of God. Enoch prayed for it and obtained it. Noah was given its symbol to be the rainbow. Through the singular and simple lineal family lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph was it preserved. And to Joseph's son Ephraim was it now being given by the hand of Jacob.

.17  And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right ahand upon the head of bEphraim, cit displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
 18  And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborna; put thy right handb upon his head.

God's Anointed 
Ephraim becomes the Lord's Anointed, Son of the Birthright. He becomes the holder of the covenant of the Firstborn. Christ was the Firstborn, Anointed by God the Father, yet he was the servant of all. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were herdsmen. Joseph Smith but a farm boy. Jesus was a carpenter, and Peter James and John but fishermen. Those who look for something more than 'men' in position as the Lord's Anointed, see past the mark to a false concept of prideful status, falsely placing one above another. Great leaders are common humble men. Joseph, as Phaorah's Ruler, did not pridefully consider himself above another. He rose from prison, a constant reminder of being a common man. 		  18a Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn As Jacob's blessing commences, Joseph fears that due to Jacob's extreme nearsightedness and dimness of vision, he has inadvertantly made an error of mistaken identity between Ephraim and Manasseh. He attempts to correct his father. He states that the right hand of Jacob should be placed upon the head of Joseph's firstborn Manasseh. It is not a matter of confontation but the simple matter of trying to get it right.
  18a thy right hand We have been taught at some time that we should partake of the sacrament with our right hand. Early elders of the church, when they prayed would do so with their right hand up lifted. The baptismal ordinance is performed with the right arm raised to the square as a token of proper priesthood authority. There is a significance to the use of the right hand and arm in the Church. The greater blessing of Jacob upon Ephraim was bestowed under the right hand of Jacob. Christ was placed by God the Father at his right hand and Jehovah is the strong right arm of the Lord. No further significance need be explained than that the right hand and arm is the proper symbol of our Savior, it signifies the Anointed of God. 		 17a TG Hands, Laying on of
    b TG Israel, Blessings of
    c HEB it was wrong in his eyes

Manasseh's Worthiness 
We have no reason to doubt Manasseh's worthiness. A concept seems to be at hand here. Who was more worthy to be King after Saul? Jonathan the king's son or David? Who is more worthy, the humble Hometeacher, Sunday School Teacher, Bishop, or Stake President? One's calling may have little to do with who is most worthy. It may have more to do with foreordinational assignments. Jonathan was not offended that David was selected before him, the king's son, to be the king of Israel. He loved David just the same. So we must presume as much concering Manasseh. Lehi, Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni, all the great prophets of the Nephites where descendants of Manasseh. Manasseh was to be great before the Lord, yet to Ephraim went the fulness of the covenant and the greater blessings and responsibilities of it. The work is the same regardless the position and there is glory and reward enough for all. Manasseh stands shoulder to shoulder by Ephraim his brother, aiding and assisting in the work of the kingdom.
 19  And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know ita: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be agreat: but truly his younger brother shall be greaterb than he, and his bseed shall become a cmultitude of dnations.
 20  And he blessed thema that day, saying, aIn thee shall Israel bbless [bless and be blessed]b, saying, *God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh*: and he set cEphraim before Manasseh.

* Mystery of Ephraim * 
A 'mystery' of the ages has been, 'Just how would the nations of the earth be blessed by the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim, as set out in the covenant of the fathers?' Any such covenant and blessing comes in two parts for there are always at least two parties to any covenant. The 'Covenant of the Fathers' was a covenant between God of the first part and man as the second part. God has provided his part in the mission of the Savior, Jesus Christ, the same who is Jehovah. This was a gift freely given by God to man.

But that is only God's half of the covenant agreement. The other half rests upon men having access to the covenant blessings and performing according to the covenant contract. As to access, many have lived and died without ever having an opportunity to obtain to God's blessings. These must some how also come under God's Eteranl Covenant with man, the Covenant of the Fathers, the same which was the Covenant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim.

Carrying forth the gospel to the world, both living and dead, rests upon the shoulders of Ephraim. It is the work of the gospel amoung men and it will be carried on throughout the Millennial reign until every tongue will confess Jesus Christ and every knee will bow before him as being their Redeemer and King. A more complete understanding of this is found in the gospel of the kingdom in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No other kingdom states themselves to be the seed of Ephraim of the latter days fulfilling the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Ephraim and all the ancient fathers til Adam as the LDS Church proclaims itself to be. The leadership of this kingdom is Ephraim supported and aided by Manasseh. Thus may *God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh*. For it is by so becoming like the righteous of Ephraim and Manasseh who present the true gospel of Christ to the world, that all will be blessed, every nation, kindred, tongue and people.

  19a I know it, my son, I know it Jacob reasures Joseph that he is will aware of who is who and the he purposefully has placed his right hand upon the head of the younger son.
  19b younger brother shall be greater As the Kingdom of God rolls forth today, it is clear that Ephraim has the greater blessing of resposiblity and that his seed has been scattered throughout the nations of the earth and has become a 'multitude of nations'. But even in the days of ancient Israel, Ephriam was great and the whole northern kingdom was often called Ephriam (see Isaiah 7:2 & Hosea 4:17) as well as Israel, Ephraim's blessed name of covenant inheritance.
  20a he blessed them Jacob proceeds to confer upon Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh the blessing of Israel which the abriviated scriptural account of the Jews summaries into a very short summary statement. Perhaps in the brass plates of Laban will we obtain the greater details of the full blessing of the covenant endowed upon Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh that day.
  20b In thee shall Israel bless [bless and be blessed] There are two seasons of the blessing of Israel under the covenant of the fathers as bestowed upon Ephraim that day. The one is in the rightful and legal seed through whom the Lord Jesus Christ would come and bless the earth in the meridian of time by performing the great atonment. Though Jesus is of the 'blood' of Boaz and Judah, I would present to you that he is legally the seed of Joseph and the fulfiller of that portion of the covenant of the fathers whereby his ancestry was promised. That is a lengthy presentation which can be consulted here. The other season of blessing is that of the fulness of times when the gospel is to be taken to all the earth, every nation and tongue and kindred and people. This has commenced and is going forth today in full force as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The seed of Ephraim spearheads that kingdom of God as the majority of those members of the Church are blessed as the seed of Ephraim.

Birthright of the Firstborn 
Though spoken of, to avoid talking around it, let it be said, Ephraim, the Covenant Firstborn of Israel, holder of the Birthright Blessings of the Covenant of the Fathers, was established to be the legal and rightful ancestor to the Messiah. Boaz of Judah was parent to Obed, Jesse and David in bloodline descent. But Boaz was surrogate in the Law of the Covenant, the Law of Moses. Obed's legal rightful father of the covenant was Mahlon, son of Elimelech, Ephrathites. Ephraim is the last Patriarch in the Jewish Old Testament recorded as holding the full covenant of the fathers. Any real Israelite history faded when King David selected Judah over Ephraim/Israel (2 Samuel 19:41-43), after by the supporting arm of Israel, David was enabled to retain his kingdom. (See text) Not only by virtue of having 10 tribes to Judah's 2, did Israel have right in Israel's king, and not only that it was Israel that had fought for the king against Judah who had sought to dethrone him, did Israel have a greater claim in David, but also as Israel stated 'and we have also more right in Daivd'. That 'right' being the legal right of ancestry by the Law of Moses in David, as David was by that law that posterity that had been raised up to the 'dead' house of Mahlon and Elimelch, Ephraimites. And thus David was 'heir' of the 'covenant', that through his 'seeds' would 'the seed', even the Son of God, come, and by right of the Covenant of Israel, held by Joseph and thence by and though his son Ephraim was David so blessed. 		 19a Josh. 17:14
    b TG Seed of Abraham
    c Num. 1:33
    d D&C 45:24 (24-25);
       TG Israel, Joseph, People of
 20a OR Through thee
    b Septuagint: be blessed
    c Jer. 31:9; Jer. 31:18-20;
       D&C 133:34 (32-34);
       TG Birthright

A Family Matter 
Salvation and Exaltation are but family matters. We are told that except there be some 'binding or sealing link' which welds us to and connects us with heaven, the earth will be cursed and all of mankind lost. Baptism is one such saving ordinance which links us to Christ. We may become his sons and daughters and he our Father by this ordiance and our worthy performance in connection with it. But this is but the gate which leads to God's highest degree of glory.

There is much more to what connects heaven and earth to the celestial glory of God, and it all revolves around 'family'. Family is the basic unit of society, family is the basic unit of the Church and family is the basic unit of the Kingdom of God. Families not only can be forever, families are forever. We are of the family of God. We are his spirit children. He is our Heavenly Father. The truth of reason tells us that we have a Mother in Heaven as well as a Father in Heaven. Christ as Jehovah was the first born of the Father in the spirit. He is our older brother in the realm of the spirit children of God. We are all brothers and sisters of the same Eternal God. We are the sons and daughters of God. Family is what eternity is all about.

In mortality we develop further 'family ties'. Family is the unit which properly brings children into the world and rasies them here. These mortal closely net units of family can have their units seal as family units of God. Marriages can be Celestial Marriages which do not end in death's parting. And the children of these families can be 'sealed' or 'linked' to that family to continue on into eternity. This is a further state of exaltation beyond the opening gate to heaven, which baptism is. It the relationship spoken of by Malachi in his chapter 4. It is the bond which tied Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim together. It is made up of the sons of God who are members of the covenant of God. 'And hearts of the fathers be turned to the children and the hearts of the children be turned to the fathers least the earth be cursed.' This declaration of the need for the family in the acceptable kingdom of God is a mandate in avoiding destruction.

.21  And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but aGod shall be with you, and bbring you again unto the cland of your fathers.
.22  Moreover I have given to thee aone portion above thy brethrena, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
  22a one portion above thy brethren Jacob purchased land from the father of Shechem (See: Genesis 33:18-20). This was located on a beautiful grazing plain among the mountains of Ephraim, close to the two sacred hills, Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. Jacob had dug a well which has become known as Jacob's Well. Jacob's altar erected there was called 'El-elohe-Israel' meaning 'El' is the God of Israel. 'El' being a short form for the holy name of God. Many presume this to be the portion mentioned here and recorded in John as being that given to Joseph. Joseph was buried at Shechem. Today both Ephraim and Manasseh have inherited another Covenant Pomised Land where Adam the most ancient father of the coveant once lived.
 21a Gen. 46:4
    b TG Israel, Bondage of, in Egypt
    c TG Israel, Land of
       TG Promised Land
 22a TG Earth
       TG Inheritance

'This Land Is Your Land' 
The Everlasting Covenant of God does contain a promise of land. But unlike the limited mind set of this bing but the land of Israel in the land of Palestine, the universal 'promised land' of the Everlasting Covenant of God is the whole of the Earth. Adam was given dominion over the earth and commanded to multiply and fill it. The earth and the fulness thereof is the true inheritance of the covenant. It shall receive its paradisical glory.
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