Genesis 48 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Genesis 48

WHEN:

• Jacob’s family moved to Egypt in the 2nd year of the 7-year famine (approx. 1706 B.C.).  

• Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years (47:28), until his death in 1689 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Joseph – Jacob’s son with Rachel. In this chapter, he was the second most powerful man in Egypt.

• Jacob – The grandson of Abraham and the father of Joseph and his 11 brothers. God changed his name to Israel.

• Manasseh – Joseph’s oldest son. His mother was Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On (46:20).

• Ephraim – Joseph’s second son with Asenath.

WHERE:

• After moving from Canaan, Jacob settled in Goshen in Egypt.

OUTLINE:

• JACOB ADOPTS JOSEPH’S TWO SONS AS HIS OWN (48:1-7):

  • Joseph was told his father was ill, so he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to visit Jacob.

  • Jacob told Joseph how God had appeared to him in Canaan and promised to make him a great nation and to give his children Canaan as an inheritance.

  • Jacob told Joseph he was going to adopt Manasseh and Ephraim so they would be his sons and recipients of God’s promise.

  • Rather than being Joseph’s sons, the two boys would be considered sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob’s wife who died giving birth to Benjamin).

• JACOB (ISRAEL) BLESSES EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH (48:8-22):

  • Jacob was very old and he could not see very well.

  • He called Ephraim and Manasseh to him, kissed them, and embraced them.

  • Anticipating Jacob’s blessing, Joseph took his younger son Ephraim to Jacob’s left hand and his eldest son Manasseh to Jacob’s right hand.

  • But Jacob crossed his arms and put his right hand on Ephraim and his right hand on Manasseh.

  • Joseph, thinking he had made a mistake, tried to correct his father.

  • But Jacob ensured him he hadn’t made a mistake, Ephraim would be greater than his brother even though he wasn’t the oldest.

  • Manasseh would become a people, but Ephraim would become a “multitude of nations.”

  • Jacob blessed Joseph and told him God would eventually take his family back to the land of Canaan.

  • As part of his inheritance, Jacob left Joseph a mountain slope he had taken from the Amorites in battle.

APPLICATION:

• As Jacob’s family grows into a large nation, you’ll notice the “tribe of Joseph” is never mentioned.

• Instead, you’ll read about the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

• This chapter explains the absence. Joseph’s family name was carried down through his sons who were adopted by his father.