Chapter 19

Manasseh and Ephraim


1

And it came to pass that the time drew nigh that Jacob must die;

2

And he called his son Joseph and said unto him: If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigha and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;

3

But I will lie with my fathers; and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.

4

And Joseph answered him, saying: I will do as thou hast said.

5

And Jacob said: Swear unto me.

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And Joseph swore unto him.

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And Jacob bowed himself upon the bed's head for the relief of it.

8

¶ And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Joseph, saying: Behold, thy father is sick.

9

And Joseph went unto his father, Jacob, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

10

And these, Manasseh and Ephraim, had Joseph and Asenath raised in the knowledge of YHVHa; and they had grown up in the ways and instruction of YHVH Elohimb;

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And behold, they did not deviate from the way which their father and mother taught them, neither to the right nor to the left; and YHVH was with them.

12

¶ And it came to pass that it was told Jacob: Look, and behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee, he and his sons; and Jacob strengthened himself and sat upon the bed.

13

And Jacob said unto Joseph:Elohim Shaddaia appeared unto me at Luzb in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

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And said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, saith YHVH; and I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

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And now, of thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, behold, they are mine,

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And the Elohima of my fathers shall bless them; even as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be blessed, for they are mine; wherefore, they shall be called after my name.

17

And it came to pass that after this time were Manasseh and Ephraim called Israel.

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And thy issue which thou begettest after them shall be thine and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance in the tribes; therefore, they were called the tribes of Manasseh and of Ephraim.

19

¶ And Jacob said unto Joseph: When the Elohim of my fathers appeared unto me in Luz in the land of Canaan, he swore unto me that he would give unto me and unto my seed the land for an everlasting possession;

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Therefore, O my son, El Elyona hath blessed me in raising thee up to be a servant unto me, in saving my house from death,

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In delivering my people, thy brethren, from famine which was sore in the land;

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Wherefore, the Elohim 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;

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For thou hast prevailed, and the house of thy father hath bowed down unto thee, even as it was showna unto thee before thou wast sold by the hands of thy brethren that thou should be found here, in the land of Egypt.

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Wherefore, thy brethren shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins forever;

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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.

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And, therefore, as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel dieda by me in the land of Canaan, in the way when we were yet but a little way to come unto Ephrath;

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And I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is called Bethlehem.

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¶ And Jacob beheld the sons of Joseph and said: Who are these?

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And Joseph said unto his father: They are my sons, whom Ha’Elohima hath given me in this land.

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And Jacob said: Bring them, I pray thee, unto me; and I will bless them.

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Now the eyes of Jacob were dim for age, and from years of weeping bitterly for the loss of his son, Joseph, so that he could not see well;

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And Joseph brought them near unto him; and Jacob kissed them and embraced them.

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And Jacob said unto Joseph: I had not thought to see thy face; and lo, Ha’Elohim hath showed me also thy seed.

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¶ And it came to pass that when Joseph had brought Manasseh and Ephraim out from before their father, Jacob, Joseph bowed himself with his face to the earth.

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And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right handa toward the left hand of Jacob, and Manasseh in his left hand toward the right hand of Jacob and brought them near unto him.

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And Jacob stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh, crossinga his hands; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

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And Jacob blessed Joseph and said: Ha’Elohim, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, Ha’Elohim which fed me all my life long unto this day,

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YHVH, which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

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¶ And when Joseph saw that his father laid 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.

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And Joseph said unto his father: Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

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And his father, Jacob, refused and said: This I know, my son, I know it; and it shall even be as it was with me and my brother, Esau:

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Manasseh also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

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¶ And Jacob blessed them that day, saying: In thee shall Israel be blessed, saying: God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh.

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And so it was that Jacob set Ephraim before Manasseh.

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¶ And it came to pass that Jacob said unto Joseph: Behold, I die; but Elohim shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

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Moreover, 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.

47

And it came to pass that Joseph and his sons took leave of their father, Jacob, and Joseph wept privately, that only his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, should know.