SUMMARY
Jacob invokes the blessingBlessing is the asking for or the giving of God's favor. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn Esau. At the Last Supper Jesus offered a blessing over bread and wine. To be blessed is to be favored by God. More of Joseph and his sons in language that gathers themes from the Genesis narrative and establishes their place in the family.
ANALYSIS
Joseph takes his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to his father Jacob for a proper farewell (48:1-22). Jacob proceeds to adopt Joseph’s two sons as his own, thereby placing them on a par with his actual twelve sons. To conclude the adoption ceremony, a ritual of blessing follows (48:8-20). Jacob designates Ephraim (the youngest) as the more preeminent–so prominent that in time the entire northern kingdomThe Northern Kingdom consisted of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel and lasted for 200 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 721 B.C.E. In the northern kingdom the kings were evil. Prophets like Elijah and Amos railed against them and their evildoing. More becomes known as Ephraim.
Jacob’s blessing of Joseph (48:15-16) includes the two sons. The language of the blessing gathers themes from the Genesis narrative. Its threefold character reminds one of the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:23-26). God is the one before whom Abraham and Isaac walked. God is the one who has been Jacob’s shepherd all the days of his life, evoking his own experience of divine guidance, protection, and provision for the journey. God (the angel is God in human form) is the one who has redeemed him from all harm. The story of God’s activity on behalf of Jacob’s family is now to include the stories of Joseph’s sons, who receive the promises given to the chosen family.
