†. Gen 48:16c . . may He bless the lads.
Jacob himself was blessed by The Angel in Gen 32:24-29.
Webster's defines "bless" as 1) to speak well of; viz: approve, 2) to confer
prosperity or happiness upon, 3) to protect, to preserve, 4) to endow, and 5)
to favor.
I suppose there's a middle ground somewhere between blessing and
cursing, which could probably be labeled a zone of indifference: but in
regards to God, indifference is dangerously close to a curse because where
there's indifference, there's no blessing. Some might consider indifference a
blessing in itself, but personally I would far rather be blessed than ignored.
To be ignored is to be neglected, and in regards to matters of eternal
consequence; that can't be a good thing.
†. Gen 48:16d . . And may my name live on in them, and the names
of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
Jacob certainly got his wish. The Israelites have survived some pretty
extreme genocidal attempts on their existence, but they're still here, and in
them, the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have remained famous; and
a perpetual reminder of the Bible's God.
What is the purpose of Yhvh's people anyway? To chafe and annoy the world
with their famous master-race mentality? No, they hold the distinction of
being the one political body on earth who's sacred duty is to prevent the
knowledge of God from becoming lost forever; a virtual human depository of
divine revelation.
†. Acts 7:38 . . Moses was in the assembly in the desert, with The Angel who
spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living
words to pass on to us.
†. Rom 3:2 . . the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.
What Jacob conferred upon Manasseh and Ephraim wasn't just the dubious
fortune to be identified with the world's most famous patriarchs, but rather,
the solemn duty of perpetuating the patriarchs' religion too. That's a heavy
responsibility; one that Esau himself scoffed, and finally traded for a
temporary pleasure.
Identification with Israel is not something to brag about; rather, it's
something to be frightened about.
†. Amos 3:1-2 . . Hear this word, O people of Israel, that Yhvh has spoken
concerning you, concerning the whole family that I brought up from the land
of Egypt: You alone have I singled out of all the families of the earth-- that is
why I will call you to account for all your iniquities.
In other words; people called to an association with the Bible's God are held
to a higher standard than outsiders.
†. Gen 48:16e . . And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth.
The Hebrew word for "grow" is dagah (daw-gaw'); which means to spawn.
Webster's defines "spawn" as: to produce young; especially in large
numbers.
Curiously, this one verse is the only instance in the entire Old Testament
where dagah appears.
Increasing by spawning is quite a bit different than increasing by other
means like adoption or naturalizing; so the blessing of spawning that Jacob
conferred upon the two men is somewhat similar to the blessing of fertility
that God conferred upon Adam and his wife at the very beginning. (Gen
1:27-28)
Being fruitful just means being fertile, and doesn't automatically imply
generating a multitude, whereas spawning implies both fertility and massive
numbers of offspring together. As an example of the proliferation implied by
spawning; Coho salmon lay an average of 3,096 eggs per fish in just one run
upriver.
†. Gen 48:17-19a . .When Joseph saw that his father was placing his
right hand on Ephraim's head, he thought it an error; so he took hold
of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.
Not so, Father; Joseph said to his father; for the other is the
firstborn; place your right hand on his head. But his father objected,
saying: I know, my son, I know.
Joseph himself was an inspired man; so you'd think he'd instantly perceive
that Jacob's prioritizing Ephraim over Manasseh was from God; but didn't.
That's curious, and tells me that inspired people aren't always 100%
inspired all the time. Inspiration is, after all, a Divine initiative rather than a
personal talent. God is under no one's beck and call; and inspired people are
able to understand certain things only as God himself decides when, where,
and how to get in their heads and clear things up.
For example according to 1John 2:26-27 all believers are endowed with a
special anointing that enables them to grasp God's meanings; but does that
mean they can get by on their own without Spirit-empowered Bible
teachers? No. It's via Spirit-empowered Bible teachers that God
communicates His meanings. (Eph 4:11-15)
†. Gen 48:19b . . He too shall become a people, and he too shall be
great. Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his
offspring shall be plentiful enough for nations.
This is now the third instance in Genesis where the right of the firstborn is
seen transferred to a younger sibling. The first instance was Jacob and Esau,
and the second was Joseph and Reuben. The important lesson to be learned
from this is that in the Bible, the firstborn male of a family isn't eo ipso the
one born first. That may seem trivial but when its applied to Christ, it's a
really big deal.
†. Col 1:14-15 . . He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation.
Was Christ the first human born in all creation? No; Adam was; and there
was a time when Adam was the creation's senior patriarch; but not any
more. That honor has been transferred to Christ so that there is not a man
on earth superior to that one. (Dan 7:13-14, Mtt 28:18, Php 2:9-11)
†. Gen 48:20-22 . . So he blessed them that day, saying: By you shall
Israel invoke blessings, saying: God make you like Ephraim and
Manasseh. Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel said
to Joseph: I am about to die; but God will be with you and bring you
back to the land of your fathers. And now, I assign to you one
portion more than to your brothers, which I wrested from the
Amorites with my sword and bow.
There exists no specific Biblical record of Jacob's own personal conquest of
Canaanite peoples; so what Jacob is doing here is apparently predicting
Joshua's conquest of Canaan as something so certain to take place that he
could speak of it as an historical fact already accomplished; similar to the
manner in which the apostle John reported many of his visions in the book of
Revelation as having taken place as he watched them.
Jacob was an inspired man, so it shouldn't surprise anyone if he was
permitted a vision of his offspring's future successes in Palestine. Whatever
Joshua was to conquer in later years, would certainly be credited to Jacob's
sword and bow just as surely as if he'd been there and led the attacks
himself because it was his own blood kin who eventually did all of it, which
would be in keeping with his prediction that "God will be with you and bring
you back to the land of your fathers." Joseph's body returned to the land as
a mummy. But the prediction is a reality: Joseph will return to the land some
day, not just to be buried, but to take up residence. (Ezk 37:1-14, Dan
12:1-2, Heb 11:8-16)
The "one portion more than to your brothers" was in keeping with the
custom of the firstborn son inheriting a double portion of his father's estate.
Cont.
/
Jacob himself was blessed by The Angel in Gen 32:24-29.
Webster's defines "bless" as 1) to speak well of; viz: approve, 2) to confer
prosperity or happiness upon, 3) to protect, to preserve, 4) to endow, and 5)
to favor.
I suppose there's a middle ground somewhere between blessing and
cursing, which could probably be labeled a zone of indifference: but in
regards to God, indifference is dangerously close to a curse because where
there's indifference, there's no blessing. Some might consider indifference a
blessing in itself, but personally I would far rather be blessed than ignored.
To be ignored is to be neglected, and in regards to matters of eternal
consequence; that can't be a good thing.
†. Gen 48:16d . . And may my name live on in them, and the names
of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
Jacob certainly got his wish. The Israelites have survived some pretty
extreme genocidal attempts on their existence, but they're still here, and in
them, the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have remained famous; and
a perpetual reminder of the Bible's God.
What is the purpose of Yhvh's people anyway? To chafe and annoy the world
with their famous master-race mentality? No, they hold the distinction of
being the one political body on earth who's sacred duty is to prevent the
knowledge of God from becoming lost forever; a virtual human depository of
divine revelation.
†. Acts 7:38 . . Moses was in the assembly in the desert, with The Angel who
spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living
words to pass on to us.
†. Rom 3:2 . . the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.
What Jacob conferred upon Manasseh and Ephraim wasn't just the dubious
fortune to be identified with the world's most famous patriarchs, but rather,
the solemn duty of perpetuating the patriarchs' religion too. That's a heavy
responsibility; one that Esau himself scoffed, and finally traded for a
temporary pleasure.
Identification with Israel is not something to brag about; rather, it's
something to be frightened about.
†. Amos 3:1-2 . . Hear this word, O people of Israel, that Yhvh has spoken
concerning you, concerning the whole family that I brought up from the land
of Egypt: You alone have I singled out of all the families of the earth-- that is
why I will call you to account for all your iniquities.
In other words; people called to an association with the Bible's God are held
to a higher standard than outsiders.
†. Gen 48:16e . . And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth.
The Hebrew word for "grow" is dagah (daw-gaw'); which means to spawn.
Webster's defines "spawn" as: to produce young; especially in large
numbers.
Curiously, this one verse is the only instance in the entire Old Testament
where dagah appears.
Increasing by spawning is quite a bit different than increasing by other
means like adoption or naturalizing; so the blessing of spawning that Jacob
conferred upon the two men is somewhat similar to the blessing of fertility
that God conferred upon Adam and his wife at the very beginning. (Gen
1:27-28)
Being fruitful just means being fertile, and doesn't automatically imply
generating a multitude, whereas spawning implies both fertility and massive
numbers of offspring together. As an example of the proliferation implied by
spawning; Coho salmon lay an average of 3,096 eggs per fish in just one run
upriver.
†. Gen 48:17-19a . .When Joseph saw that his father was placing his
right hand on Ephraim's head, he thought it an error; so he took hold
of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.
Not so, Father; Joseph said to his father; for the other is the
firstborn; place your right hand on his head. But his father objected,
saying: I know, my son, I know.
Joseph himself was an inspired man; so you'd think he'd instantly perceive
that Jacob's prioritizing Ephraim over Manasseh was from God; but didn't.
That's curious, and tells me that inspired people aren't always 100%
inspired all the time. Inspiration is, after all, a Divine initiative rather than a
personal talent. God is under no one's beck and call; and inspired people are
able to understand certain things only as God himself decides when, where,
and how to get in their heads and clear things up.
For example according to 1John 2:26-27 all believers are endowed with a
special anointing that enables them to grasp God's meanings; but does that
mean they can get by on their own without Spirit-empowered Bible
teachers? No. It's via Spirit-empowered Bible teachers that God
communicates His meanings. (Eph 4:11-15)
†. Gen 48:19b . . He too shall become a people, and he too shall be
great. Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his
offspring shall be plentiful enough for nations.
This is now the third instance in Genesis where the right of the firstborn is
seen transferred to a younger sibling. The first instance was Jacob and Esau,
and the second was Joseph and Reuben. The important lesson to be learned
from this is that in the Bible, the firstborn male of a family isn't eo ipso the
one born first. That may seem trivial but when its applied to Christ, it's a
really big deal.
†. Col 1:14-15 . . He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation.
Was Christ the first human born in all creation? No; Adam was; and there
was a time when Adam was the creation's senior patriarch; but not any
more. That honor has been transferred to Christ so that there is not a man
on earth superior to that one. (Dan 7:13-14, Mtt 28:18, Php 2:9-11)
†. Gen 48:20-22 . . So he blessed them that day, saying: By you shall
Israel invoke blessings, saying: God make you like Ephraim and
Manasseh. Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel said
to Joseph: I am about to die; but God will be with you and bring you
back to the land of your fathers. And now, I assign to you one
portion more than to your brothers, which I wrested from the
Amorites with my sword and bow.
There exists no specific Biblical record of Jacob's own personal conquest of
Canaanite peoples; so what Jacob is doing here is apparently predicting
Joshua's conquest of Canaan as something so certain to take place that he
could speak of it as an historical fact already accomplished; similar to the
manner in which the apostle John reported many of his visions in the book of
Revelation as having taken place as he watched them.
Jacob was an inspired man, so it shouldn't surprise anyone if he was
permitted a vision of his offspring's future successes in Palestine. Whatever
Joshua was to conquer in later years, would certainly be credited to Jacob's
sword and bow just as surely as if he'd been there and led the attacks
himself because it was his own blood kin who eventually did all of it, which
would be in keeping with his prediction that "God will be with you and bring
you back to the land of your fathers." Joseph's body returned to the land as
a mummy. But the prediction is a reality: Joseph will return to the land some
day, not just to be buried, but to take up residence. (Ezk 37:1-14, Dan
12:1-2, Heb 11:8-16)
The "one portion more than to your brothers" was in keeping with the
custom of the firstborn son inheriting a double portion of his father's estate.
Cont.
/
