Genesis 48: “He Blessed Them That Day”
1. The Call to Bless
“After this Joseph was told, ‘Behold, your father is ill.’ So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.” (Gen 48:1)
The story begins with filial piety and faith: Joseph, though ruler of Egypt, honours the dying patriarch.
He brings his sons to the source of blessing — the living covenant.
St Bede the Venerable writes:
“He who was honoured among men hastens to receive blessing from one who lies weak in body but strong in faith.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 48)
Grace values the invisible: blessing over power, promise over prosperity.
2. “Israel Strengthened Himself and Sat Up”
“When Jacob was told, ‘Your son Joseph has come to you,’ Israel strengthened himself and sat up in bed.” (v. 2)
The frail patriarch gathers his strength for the sacred act.
Faith often revives at the hour of testimony — weakness transformed by purpose.
St Ambrose comments:
“Old age rises when faith speaks; for the spirit’s vigour outlasts the body’s decay.”
(On the Duties of the Clergy II.10)
Even at life’s end, the vocation to bless remains.
3. Remembering God’s Promise
“God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you…’” (vv. 3–4)
Jacob begins not with his story but with God’s — the faithfulness of the Lord who made covenant and kept it.
His memory is doxology: to recall God’s deeds is to worship.
St Augustine remarks:
“He who recounts grace glorifies the Giver; memory is praise when it remembers mercy.”
(City of God XVI.56)
Jacob blesses his grandsons as one blessed and made fruitful by divine fidelity.
4. Adoption into the Promise
“Now your two sons, who were born to you in Egypt before I came to you, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.” (v. 5)
With this declaration, Jacob adopts Joseph’s sons as his own.
They become full heirs within Israel’s twelve tribes — Egypt’s children grafted into the covenant family.
St Bede observes:
“In adopting the sons of Joseph, the patriarch prefigures the adoption of the Gentiles, strangers made heirs through faith.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 48)
The covenant expands through love; divine election is never narrow but generous.
5. Remembering Loss
“As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died to my sorrow… and I buried her on the way to Ephrath.” (v. 7)
Jacob recalls his beloved Rachel — the mother of Joseph.
Even amid joy, he remembers grief; faith does not erase sorrow but sanctifies it.
St Ambrose writes:
“He remembers the dead not in despair but in gratitude; for love purified by faith becomes prayer.”
(On the Mysteries 26)
Rachel’s memory sanctifies the moment of blessing — love lost on earth but living before God.
6. The Sons Presented
“Then 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 him.” (v. 13)
Joseph arranges them according to age and honour — the elder at the right, the younger at the left.
But God’s purposes will cross human order.
St Bede comments:
“Joseph’s arrangement signifies human expectation; Jacob’s crossing hands signifies divine election.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 48)
Grace works by wisdom higher than custom.
7. The Crossing of Hands
“Israel 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, crossing his hands deliberately.” (v. 14)
This gesture astonishes and instructs.
Jacob, guided by the Spirit, reverses the order of nature — the younger receives the stronger blessing.
St Ambrose observes:
“He crosses his hands that he may show the mystery of the Cross, by which the younger people — the Gentiles — are blessed before the elder — Israel.”
(On the Duties of the Clergy II.10)
The Fathers saw in this crossed blessing the prefiguration of the Gospel’s paradox: “The last will be first, and the first last.” (Mt 20:16)
8. The Blessing Itself
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has led me all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads.” (v. 15–16)
This is one of Scripture’s most beautiful blessings — a Trinitarian echo before the Trinity was named:
God of the patriarchs — the Father of promise;
God who has led me — the Spirit’s providence;
The angel who has redeemed me — the Son, the Divine Word appearing to the saints.
St Augustine comments:
“He names the Redeeming Angel not as creature but as Christ, the Mediator who guides and guards His chosen.”
(City of God XVI.56)
Jacob’s blessing unites the whole history of salvation in one prayer of thanksgiving.
9. Joseph’s Attempt to Correct
“When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him… And Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.’” (vv. 17–18)
Even the wise Joseph cannot foresee grace’s freedom.
He acts in filial respect, not unbelief, yet the Spirit’s design transcends his understanding.
St Bede remarks:
“Nature resists but faith prevails; for grace teaches that order lies not in birth but in blessing.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 48)
This humility of faith — accepting God’s choice — is the mark of the saints.
10. Jacob’s Reply
“But his father refused, and said, ‘I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he.’” (v. 19)
The repetition “I know, my son, I know” reveals calm prophetic assurance.
Grace does not despise nature but assigns each his role in divine economy.
St Ambrose comments:
“Both are blessed, but the order of blessing is grace’s prerogative; for God’s mercy chooses whom it will, yet leaves none unblessed.”
(On the Mysteries 26)
In this, Jacob mirrors God Himself: just, generous, and sovereign.
11. The Blessing Formula
“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’” (v. 20)
Jacob institutes a benediction that will echo through generations.
The names of these two boys become the pattern of parental blessing in Israel — faith’s continuity through speech.
St Bede the Venerable writes:
“The blessing upon children renews in each generation the covenant’s joy; for every family becomes altar and sanctuary.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 48)
The family prayer of Israel thus foreshadows the Christian domestic church.
12. The Promise of Return
“God will be with you, and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.” (v. 21)
Though dying in Egypt, Jacob’s heart belongs to Canaan.
Faith always points forward — even at death, the promise lives.
St Augustine notes:
“The righteous die as travellers, not as citizens; their homeland is future, not past.”
(City of God XIX.1)
Hope transforms mortality into mission.
13. The Extra Portion
“Moreover I have given to you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.” (v. 22)
This portion — literally shechem — becomes prophetic: the city of Shechem will later belong to Joseph’s descendants.
It symbolises the inheritance of faith won through struggle.
St Ambrose writes:
“Faith’s reward is not ease but inheritance; for the sword of prayer and the bow of perseverance conquer the true land of promise.”
(On the Duties of the Clergy II.11)
Spiritual inheritance is secured by fidelity in trial.
14. Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation |
| Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh | Expansion of covenant to include the nations |
| Crossing of hands | Freedom of grace and prophecy of the Cross |
| Blessing of the Redeeming Angel | Christ prefigured as guardian and saviour |
| Faith’s continuity | The domestic passing-on of blessing |
| Hope of return | Death faced through promise, not despair |
St Augustine summarises:
“In the hands crossed upon the heads of the sons we see the mystery of salvation — the sign of the Cross over Jew and Gentile alike.”
(City of God XVI.56)
15. Moral and Spiritual Application
Honour faith in your elders. Receive the blessing of those who have walked with God before you.
Bless your children daily. Speak words of grace that shape their memory of God.
Accept grace’s freedom. Do not envy others’ gifts but rejoice in God’s choices.
Remember the Redeeming Angel. Christ is with you in every struggle and journey.
Hope in return. Like Jacob, face death as homecoming, not loss.
16. Christ the True Israel
| Patriarchal Image | Fulfilment in Christ |
| Jacob blesses as dying patriarch | Christ blesses His disciples before the Ascension |
| Crossed hands forming a cross | The saving sign fulfilled on Calvary |
| Younger preferred before elder | Gentiles called before Israel |
| Adoption of foreign-born sons | The Church adopted into God’s family |
| Promise of return | Christ’s assurance: “I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2) |
St Ambrose concludes:
“In Jacob’s hands the Cross is foretold, in his blessing the Church is prefigured, and in his dying hope the resurrection shines.”
(On the Mysteries 26)
17. Closing Prayer
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
You are faithful through every generation.
Bless us with the wisdom of Israel,
that we may see Your hand in all things
and pass on Your promise to our children.
Teach us to cross our hands in mercy,
to bless rather than to envy,
and to trust that Your grace is greater than our order.
May we live as adopted heirs of Your covenant
and die in the hope of the land You have prepared for us,
through Jesus Christ, the Redeeming Angel,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 