The Holy Ivri Heritage Bible

1And it came to pass after these things, that it was reported to Yosef, “Behold, your father is ill.” And he took his two sons, Menasheh and Ephrayim, and came to Ya’akov. 2And it was reported to Ya’akov, saying, “Behold, your son Yosef comes to you.” And Yisra’el, having strengthened himself, sat upon the bed. 3And Ya’akov said to Yosef, “Elohim appeared to me in Luzah, in the land of Kena’an, and blessed me, 4and said to me, ‘Behold, I will increase you, and multiply you, and will make of you multitudes of nations; and I will give this land to you, and to your seed after you, for an everlasting possession.’ 5Now then your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Mitzrayim, before I came to you into Mitzrayim, are mine; Ephrayim and Menasheh, as Reuven and Shimon, they shall be mine. 6And the children which you shall beget hereafter shall be in the name of their brethren; they shall be named after their inheritances. 7And as for me, when I came out of Paddan-Aram [Mesopotamia of Syria], Rachel, your mother, died in the land of Kena’an, as I drew near to Chabratha, on the way to Ephrathah; and I buried her there on the road. This is Beit-Lechem [Bethlehem]. 8And when Yisra’el saw the sons of Yosef, he said, “Who are these to you?” 9And Yosef said to his father, “They are my sons, whom Elohim gave me here.” And Ya’akov said, “Bring them to me, that I may bless them.” 10Now the eyes of Yisra’el were dim with age, and he could not see well; and Yosef brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11And Yisra’el said to Yosef, “Behold, I have not been deprived of seeing your face, and behold, Elohim has shown me your seed also.” 12And Yosef brought them out from between his knees, and they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 13And Yosef took his two sons, Ephrayim in his right hand toward Yisra’el’s left, and Menasheh in his left hand toward Yisra’el’s right, and brought them near to him. 14But Yisra’el stretched out his right hand and laid it upon the head of Ephrayim, though he was the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Menasheh, guiding his hands crosswise. 15And he blessed them and said, “The Elohim before whom my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak walked, the Elohim who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16the Malakh [angel/messenger] who delivers me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 17And Yosef, seeing that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephrayim, was displeased; and Yosef took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephrayim’s head to Menasheh’s head. 18And Yosef said to his father, “Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put your right hand upon his head.” 19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; 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.” 20And he blessed them that day, saying, “In you shall Yisra’el bless, saying, ‘Elohim make you as Ephrayim and as Menasheh.’” And he set Ephrayim before Menasheh. 21And Yisra’el said to Yosef, “Behold, I am dying; but Elohim shall be with you, and shall bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22And I give to you Shechem [Sicima], one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”