Genesis 48:8

Amplified Bible

When Israel [who was almost blind] saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Yisra'el saw Yosef's sons, and said, "Who are these?"

King James Version
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

Lexham English Bible
When Israel saw the sons of Joseph he said, "Who are these?"

New Century Version
Then Israel saw Joseph's sons and said, "Who are these boys?"

New English Translation
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he asked, "Who are these?"

New American Standard Bible
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Israel beheld Iosephs sonnes & sayd, Whose are these?

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Israel saw Joseph's sons and said, "Who are these?"

Contemporary English Version
Jacob was very old and almost blind. He did not recognize the two boys, and so he asked Joseph, "Who are these boys?" Joseph answered, "They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt." "Bring them to me," Jacob said. "I want to give them my blessing." Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged and kissed them.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then Isra'el noticed Yosef's sons and asked, "Whose are these?"

Darby Translation
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Israel saw Joseph's sons. Israel said, "Who are these boys?"

English Standard Version
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

George Lamsa Translation
And when Israel saw Josephs sons, he said to him, Who are these?

Good News Translation
When Jacob saw Joseph's sons, he asked, "Who are these boys?"

Christian Standard Bible®
When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”

Literal Translation
And Israel saw the sons of Joseph, and he said, Who are these?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Israel loked vpon Iosephs sonnes, & sayde: What are these?

American Standard Version
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

Bible in Basic English
Then Israel, looking at Joseph's sons, said, Who are these?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Israel beheld Iosephes sonnes, and sayde: What are these?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said: 'Who are these?'

King James Version (1611)
And Israel behelde Iosephs sonnes, and said, Who are these?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And when Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he said, Who are these to thee?

English Revised Version
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

Berean Standard Bible
When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Jacob seiy the sones of Joseph, and seide to him, Who ben these?

Young's Literal Translation
And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph, and saith, `Who [are] these?'

Update Bible Version
And Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

Webster's Bible Translation
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who [are] these?

World English Bible
Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, "Who are these?"

New King James Version
Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, "Who are these?"

New Living Translation
Then Jacob looked over at the two boys. "Are these your sons?" he asked.

New Life Bible
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

New Revised Standard
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, - and said - Who are these?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then seeing his sons, he said to him: Who are these?

Revised Standard Version
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

THE MESSAGE
Just then Jacob noticed Joseph's sons and said, "Who are these?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

Contextual Overview

⁸When Israel [who was almost blind] saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"⁹Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here [in Egypt]." So he said, "Please bring them to me, so that I may bless them." ¹⁰Now Israel's eyes were so dim from age that he could not see [clearly]. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed and embraced them. ¹¹Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, but see, God has shown me your children as well." ¹²Then Joseph took the boys [from his father's embrace], and he bowed [before him] with his face to the ground. ¹³Then Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴But Israel reached out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands [intentionally], even though Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵Then Jacob (Israel) blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked [in faithful obedience], The God who has been my Shepherd [leading and caring for me] all my life to this day, ¹⁶The Angel [that is, the LORD Himself] who has redeemed me [continually] from all evil, Bless the boys; And may my name live on in them [may they be worthy of having their names linked with mine], And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a [great] multitude in the midst of the earth." ¹⁷When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him [because he was not the firstborn]; and he grasped his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Amos 5:6 - the house

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Israel beheld Joseph's sons,.... Ephraim and Manasseh, of whom he had been speaking as if they were absent, and he might not know until now that they were present, for his eyes were dim that he could not see clearly, Genesis 49:10; he saw two young men standing by Joseph, but knew not who they were, and therefore asked the following question:

and said, who [are] these? whose sons are they? the Targum of Jonathan is,

"of whom were these born to thee?''

as if he knew them to be his sons, only inquired who the mother of them was; but the answer shows he knew them not to be his sons, and as for his wife, he could not be ignorant who she was.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Joseph Visits His Sick Father

The right of primogeniture has been forfeited by Reuben. The double portion in the inheritance is now transferred to Joseph. He is the first-born of her who was intended by Jacob to be his first and only wife. He has also been the means of saving all his father’s house, even after he had been sold into slavery by his brethren. He has therefore, undeniable claims to this part of the first-born’s rights.

Genesis 48:1-7

After these things. - After the arrangements concerning the funeral, recorded in the chapter. “Menasseh and Ephraim.” They seem to have accompanied their father from respectful affection to their aged relative. “Israel strengthened himself” - summoned his remaining powers for the interview, which was now to him an effort. “God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz.” From the terms of the blessing received it is evident that Jacob here refers to the last appearance of God to him at Bethel Genesis 35:11. “And now thy sons.” After referring to the promise of a numerous offspring, and of a territory which they are to inherit, he assigns to each of the two sons of Joseph, who were born in Egypt, a place among his own sons, and a separate share in the promised land. In this way two shares fall to Joseph. “And thy issue.” We are not informed whether Joseph had any other sons. But all such are to be reckoned in the two tribes of which Ephraim and Menasseh are the heads. These young men are now at least twenty and nineteen years of age, as they were born before the famine commenced. Any subsequent issue that Joseph might have, would be counted among the generations of their children. “Rachel died upon me” - as a heavy affliction falling upon me. The presence of Joseph naturally leads the father’s thoughts to Rachel, the beloved mother of his beloved son, whose memory he honors in giving a double portion to her oldest son.

Genesis 48:8-16

He now observes and proceeds to bless the two sons of Joseph. “Who are these?” The sight and the observant faculties of the patriarch were now failing. “Bring them now unto me, and I will bless them.” Jacob is seated on the couch, and the young men approach him. He kisses and folds his arms around them. The comforts of his old age come up before his mind. He had not expected to see Joseph again in the flesh, and now God had showed him his seed. After these expressions of parental fondness, Joseph drew them back from between his knees, that he might present them in the way that was distinctive of their age. He then bowed with his face to the earth, in reverential acknowledgment of the act of worship about to be performed. Joseph expected the blessing to be regulated by the age of his sons, and is therefore, careful to present them so that the right hand of his dim-sighted parent may, without any effort, rest on the head of his first-born. But the venerable patriarch, guided by the Spirit of him who doth according to his own will, designedly lays his right hand on the head of the younger, and thereby attributes to him the greater blessing.

The imposition of the hand is a primitive custom which here for the first time comes into notice. It is the natural mode of marking out the object of the benediction, signifying its conveyance to the individual, and implying that it is laid upon him as the destiny of his life. It may be done by either hand; but when each is laid on a different object, as in the present case, it may denote that the higher blessing is conveyed by the right hand. The laying on of both hands on one person may express the fulness of the blessing conveyed, or the fullness of the desire with which it is conveyed.

Genesis 48:15-16

And he blessed Joseph. - In blessing his seed he blesses himself. In exalting his two sons into the rank and right of his brothers, he bestows upon them the double portion of the first-born. In the terms of the blessing Jacob first signalizes the threefold function which the Lord discharges in effecting the salvation of a sinner. “The God before whom walked my fathers,” is the Author of salvation, the Judge who dispenses justice and mercy, the Father, before whom the adopted and regenerate child walks. From him salvation comes, to him the saved returns, to walk before him and be perfect. “The God, who fed me from my being unto this day,” is the Creator and Upholder of life, the Quickener and Sanctifier, the potential Agent, who works both to will and to do in the soul. “The Angel that redeemed me from all evil,” is the all-sufficient Friend, who wards off evil by himself satisfying the demands of justice and resisting the devices of malice. There is a beautiful propriety of feeling in Jacob ascribing to his fathers the walking before God, while he thankfully acknowledges the grace of the Quickener and Justifier to himself. The Angel is explicitly applied to the Supreme Being in this ministerial function. The God is the emphatic description of the true, living God, as contradistinguished from all false gods. “Bless the lads.” The word bless is in the singular number. For Jacob’s threefold periphrasis is intended to describe the one God who wills, works, and wards. “And let my name be put upon them.” Let them be counted among my immediate sons, and let them be related to Abraham and Isaac, as my other sons are. This is the only thing that is special in the blessing. “Let them grow into a multitude.” The word grow in the original refers to the spawning or extraordinary increase of the finny tribe. The after history of Ephraim and Menasseh will be found to correspond with this special prediction.

Genesis 48:17-22

Joseph presumes that his father has gone astray through dulness of perception, and endeavors to rectify his mistake. He finds, however, that on the other hand a supernatural vision is now conferred on his parent, who is fully conscious of what he is about, and therefore, abides by his own act. Ephraim is to be greater than Menasseh. Joshua, the successor of Moses, was of the tribe of Ephraim, as Kaleb his companion was of Judah. Ephraim came to designate the northern kingdom of the ten tribes, as Judah denoted the southern kingdom containing the remaining tribes; and each name was occasionally used to denote all Israel, with a special reference to the prominent part. “His seed shall be the fullness of the nations.” This denotes not only the number but the completeness of his race, and accords with the future pre-eminence of his tribe. In thee, in Joseph, who is still identified with his offspring.

At the point of death Jacob expresses his assurance of the return of his posterity to the land of promise, and bestows on Joseph one share or piece of ground above his brethren, which, says he, I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. This share is, in the original, שׁכם sh^ekem, Shekem, a shoulder or tract of land. This region included “the parcel of the field where he had spread his tent” Genesis 33:19. It refers to the whole territory of Shekem, which was conquered by his sword and his bow, inasmuch as the city itself was sacked, and its inhabitants put to the sword by his sons at the head of his armed retainers, though without his approval Genesis 34:0. Though he withdrew immediately after to Bethel Genesis 35:0, yet he neither fled nor relinquished possession of this conquest, as we find his sons feeding his flocks there when he himself was residing at Hebron Genesis 37:13. The incidental conquest of such a tract was no more at variance with the subsequent acquisition of the whole country than the purchase of a field by Abraham or a parcel of ground by Jacob himself. In accordance with this gift Joseph’s bones were deposited in Shekem, after the conquest of the whole land by returning Israel. The territory of Shekem was probably not equal in extent to that of Ephraim, but was included within its bounds.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 48:8. Who are these? — At Genesis 48:10 it is said, that Jacob's eyes were dim for age, that he could not see - could not discern any object unless it were near him; therefore, though he saw Ephraim and Manasseh, yet he could not distinguish them till they were brought nigh unto him.