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—The seed of Ephraim will become a multitude of nations—The children of Israel will come again into the land of their fathers.

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.

2. And one told

Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel

strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

3. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God

Almighty

appeared unto me at

Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4. And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee

fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this

land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting

possession.

5. ¶

And now thy two sons,

Ephraim and

Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

6. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

7. And as for me, when I came from Padan,

Rachel died by me 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 Ephrath; the same is Beth-lehem.

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

bless them.

10. Now the eyes of Israel were

dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them

near 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.

12. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.

14. 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,

guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15. ¶And he blessed

Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did

walk, the God which

fed me all my life long unto this day,

16. The

Angel 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.

17. 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.

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

19. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he 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.

20. And he blessed them that day, saying,

In thee shall Israel

bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set

Ephraim before Manasseh.

21. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but

God shall be with you, and

bring you again unto the

land of your fathers.

22. 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.

2a. Heb. 11:21.

b. Gen. 47:31.

3a. 1 Ne. 1:14.

b. D&C 107:54.

c. Gen. 28:19.

4a. TG Seed of Abraham.