genesis 49 and 50

Read Genesis 49 and 50 at Bible Gateway.

We are going to look at Gen 48 today too. The Hebrew paragraph divisions for Gen 48-50 are:

Gen 48:1-22 {p} the blessing on Joseph’s sons
Gen 49:1-4 {p} Reuben’s blessing
Gen 49:5-7 {p} Simeon and Levi’s blessing
Gen 49:8-12 {p} Judah’s blessing
Gen 49:13 {p} Zebulun’s blessing
Gen 49:14-15 {s} Issachar’s blessing
Gen 49:16-17 {s} Dan’s blessing
Gen 49:18 {s} “I have waited for Your salvation, O YHVH!”
Gen 49:19 {s} Gad’s blessing
Gen 49:20 {s} Asher’s blessing
Gen 49:21 {s} Naphtali’s blessing
Gen 49:22-26 {p} Joseph’s blessing
Gen 49:27-50:26 {p} Benjamin’s blessing + death, burial of Jacob + death of Joseph

To finish the strong themes of Genesis, we have:

Gen 47:28-31 {p} Jacob’s request to be buried in Canaan
Gen 48:1-22 {p} Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
Gen 49:1-13 {px4} Reuben + Simeon +Levi + Judah + Zebulun’s blessing
Gen 49:14-26 {sx6+p} Issachar + Dan + prophecy of Yeshua + Gad + Asher + Naphtali + Joseph’s blessing
Gen 49:27-50:26 {p} Benjamin’s blessing + death, burial of Jacob + death of Joseph

This arrangement of strong themes forms a chiastic structure:

1a) Gen 47:28-31 {p} Jacob’s request that his bones are taken up from Egypt;

1b) Gen 48:1-6, Jacob ill + Joseph and sons appeared before Jacob + Jacob’s command to Joseph;

1c) Gen 48:7, Rachel buried on the road to Bethlehem;

1d) Gen 48:8-20, The great multitude of Ephraim and Manasseh;

1e) Gen 48:21-22 {p} Jacob about to die + the land of the Amorites;

1f) Gen 49:1-2, Jacob to give his sons their prophetic blessing;

1g) Gen 49:3-4 {p} Reuben the eldest;

1h) Gen 49:5-7 {p} Simeon and Levi to be separated among his brothers;

1i) Gen 49:8-12 {p} Judah’s blessing of leadership (the birthright);

1j) Gen 49:13-17 {p+s+s} Zebulun + Issachar + Dan;

central axis) Gen 49:18 {s} “I have waited for Your salvation, O YHVH!”;

2j) Gen 49:19-21 {sx3} Gad + Asher + Naphtali;

2i) Gen 49:22-25, Joseph’s blessing of fruitfulness (the blessing);

2h) Gen 49:26 {p} Joseph separated from his brothers;

2g) Gen 49:27, Benjamin the youngest;

2f) Gen 49:28, Jacob gave his sons their prophetic blessing;

2e) Gen 49:29-33, Jacob about to die + the cave of Machpelah;

2d) Gen 50:1-11, The imposing company of Jacob’s mourners;

2c) Gen 50:12-14, Jacob buried in Machpelah;

2b) Gen 50:15-21, Jacob dead + Jacob’s other sons appeared before Joseph + Jacob’s “command”;

2a) Gen 50:22-26 {p} Joseph’s request that his bones be taken up from Egypt.

Scripture takes an inordinate amount of space concerning the placement of Jacob’s right and left hands on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s heads in Gen 48. When a father gave his deathbed blessing, he placed his right hand on his firstborn’s head, and passed the responsibilities and privileges of the birthright and double portion inheritance to his firstborn son.

But just as Isaac was not the firstborn of Abraham, nor Jacob the firstborn of Isaac, nor Joseph the firstborn of Jacob, so Ephraim was not the firstborn of Joseph. If we think about it, we realize that neither was Abel or Seth the firstborn of Adam, nor Shem the firstborn of Noah. Scripture is drawing attention to the puzzle of the younger son receiving the firstborn son’s birthright and blessing by repeating it over and over again in the lives of the patriarchs. (A hint to solve the puzzle is found in Joh 1:12-13 and Mat 20:16).

Please note that the blessing on the head of Ephraim, which differs from the blessing of Manasseh, is:

But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” Gen 48:19

We will see the Prophets confirm this when we get to them later in the year, that Ephraim truly was dispersed among the nations, for a purpose of God which will become clear as we progress through Scripture.

Now why does Scripture record two separate sessions of blessing, one for Joseph’s sons, and one for Jacob’s sons? Jacob made Joseph’s two sons full heirs with his sons, so that they each had their own tribe counted among the twelve tribes of Israel. In this way, Jacob gave Joseph a double portion of the inheritance among his brothers. So that there are still twelve tribes of Israel, and not thirteen, Jacob put Simeon and Levi together, and dispersed them in Israel (Gen 49:5-7). As we will see, they will not receive their own unified territory of land as the others do.

But compare the two components of Abraham’s blessing, which are descendants and land, and note that the blessing of Joseph’s sons in Gen 48 highlights descendants, while the blessing of Jacob’s sons in Gen 49 highlights the land. There is no idle paragraph, word, or even letter, in Scripture! Scripture is drawing attention to the fact that the blessing was divided into two!

Furthermore, we find that when Jacob blesses his sons in Gen 49, he confers the leadership of the family to Judah, which was supposed to go to the firstborn son. We have already seen that he conferred the double portion of the inheritance to Joseph, which also was supposed to go to the firstborn son. Jacob, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, split the blessing and the birthright of Abraham he had received, and that Isaac and Abraham had received, into two, among Judah and Joseph (or Ephraim, as Joseph’s anointed heir). Just tuck this bit of trivia in the back of your mind, because it will show up again as we go through the Old Testament.

For further reading:
Ephraim and Judah: Israel Revealed – Batya Wootten (Broken link, active February 15, 2015)