Joseph Ephraim, Manasseh, and the Birthright Promise
The promises God made to Abraham did not disappear when Jacob became Israel. As Jacob’s family grew into twelve sons, the covenant promises began to take on a more detailed form. Scripture shows that different responsibilities and blessings were associated with different tribes.
One of the most important developments concerns Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
To understand this properly, we must distinguish between the sceptre and the birthright. Judah would receive the royal line, while the birthright blessing was given to Joseph.
Reuben Lost the Birthright
Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn son and therefore would ordinarily have possessed the birthright.
But Reuben committed a serious sin against his father’s household.
Genesis records:
“And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it.”
—Genesis 35:22
Years later, when Jacob gathered his sons to pronounce blessings upon them, he reminded Reuben of what he had done:
“Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength… Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed.”
—Genesis 49:3-4
Reuben remained one of the tribes of Israel, but he lost the privilege normally belonging to the firstborn.
First Chronicles explains exactly what happened:
“Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel…).”
—1 Chronicles 5:1
Then Scripture adds:
“For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s.”
—1 Chronicles 5:2
Here we have an important division.
The ruling line would come through Judah.
But the birthright belonged to Joseph.
This distinction is emphasized in Christogenea’s archived treatments of the tribes and the inheritance of Joseph.
Joseph Received a Double Portion
The birthright normally included a double portion of the inheritance.
Joseph received this through his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Although Joseph himself does not appear as one of the later territorial tribes in the same manner as his brothers, his two sons each became tribal heads.
Jacob told Joseph:
“And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt… are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.”
—Genesis 48:5
Jacob effectively adopted Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons.
Thus Joseph received two tribal inheritances.
Instead of one tribe of Joseph, there were Ephraim and Manasseh.
This is why the tribes of Israel can still be reckoned as twelve even though Levi was separated for priestly service and Joseph’s inheritance was divided between his two sons.
“Let My Name Be Named on Them”
When Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, he used remarkable language.
He said:
“The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them.”
—Genesis 48:16
Jacob’s God-given name was Israel.
Therefore, in blessing Joseph’s sons, Jacob specifically associated his own name with Ephraim and Manasseh.
He continued:
“And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
—Genesis 48:16
Once again we hear the language of multiplication that had appeared repeatedly in the Abrahamic Covenant.
God had told Abraham that his descendants would become exceedingly numerous.
That promise was repeated to Isaac.
It was repeated to Jacob.
Now Jacob pronounced multiplication upon the sons of Joseph.
Christogenea’s material dealing with Genesis 48 places particular importance on Jacob’s words, “let my name be named on them,” and on the continuing multiplication promised to Joseph’s descendants.
Jacob Crossed His Hands
Joseph deliberately positioned his sons before Jacob.
Manasseh was the elder, so Joseph placed him where Jacob’s right hand would naturally rest. Ephraim, the younger son, stood before Jacob’s left hand.
But Jacob crossed his hands.
“And 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.”
—Genesis 48:14
Joseph thought his father had made a mistake.
He tried to move Jacob’s hand from Ephraim to Manasseh.
But Jacob refused.
“I know it, my son, I know it.”
—Genesis 48:19
Jacob knew exactly what he was doing.
Manasseh was not rejected. He too received a tremendous blessing.
Jacob said:
“He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great.”
—Genesis 48:19
But concerning Ephraim he added:
“But truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.”
—Genesis 48:19
The younger was placed ahead of the elder.
We have already seen this pattern earlier in Genesis.
Isaac was chosen rather than Ishmael.
Jacob received the covenant blessing rather than Esau.
Now Ephraim was placed before Manasseh.
The covenant story continually demonstrates that God’s purpose is not controlled merely by the natural order of birth.
A Great People and a Multitude of Nations
The language used concerning Joseph’s sons connects directly with promises already given to Abraham and Jacob.
God told Abraham:
“I will make nations of thee.”
—Genesis 17:6
God later told Jacob:
“A nation and a company of nations shall be of thee.”
—Genesis 35:11
Then Jacob said concerning Ephraim:
“His seed shall become a multitude of nations.”
—Genesis 48:19
The wording is not accidental.
Genesis develops the covenant progressively.
What was first promised broadly to Abraham becomes increasingly specific as the family grows.
Abraham would have descendants.
Isaac would carry the covenant.
Jacob would become Israel.
Jacob’s descendants would form tribes.
Joseph would receive the birthright.
Ephraim and Manasseh would receive particular blessings within that birthright inheritance.
Jacob’s Blessing Upon Joseph
Genesis 49 contains another powerful blessing upon Joseph.
Jacob called him:
“A fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall.”
—Genesis 49:22
Joseph would be fruitful and expanding.
Then Jacob spoke of the blessings that would rest upon him:
“The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.”
—Genesis 49:26
These blessings, Jacob said, would be:
“On the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.”
The language is abundant: fruitfulness, blessing, strength, and increase.
Joseph had suffered greatly. His brothers had sold him into slavery. He had been falsely accused and imprisoned in Egypt.
Yet God raised him up.
The very brother who had been rejected became the instrument through whom the entire family was preserved during famine.
There is a lesson there.
God’s covenant purpose cannot be defeated by the schemes of men.
The Covenant Promise Was Becoming a Nation
When Abraham first received the promise, he had no children.
By the end of Genesis, his descendants through Isaac and Jacob had become a large extended family divided into twelve tribal houses.
The promise was unfolding exactly as God had declared.
But the story was far from finished.
The family would go into Egypt.
They would multiply.
They would eventually leave Egypt under Moses.
They would become an organized covenant nation.
And the promises of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would continue to shape their history.
God had told Abraham that his descendants would become nations.
By Genesis 48 and 49, we can already see the foundations being laid.
The birthright had passed from Reuben to Joseph.
Joseph’s double portion had been represented by Ephraim and Manasseh.
Jacob’s name had been placed upon them.
And once again the promise of extraordinary multiplication had been pronounced.
The Abrahamic Covenant was moving from one man to a family, from a family toward tribes, and from tribes toward a nation.
And behind every stage stood the same unchanging God who had first told Abraham:
“I will make of thee a great nation.”