8 Then Israel, looking at Joseph's sons, said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this land. And he said, Let them come near me, and I will give them a blessing. 10 Now because Israel was old, his eyes were no longer clear, and he was not able to see. So he made them come near to him, and he gave them a kiss, folding them in his arms. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, I had no hope of seeing your face again, but God in his mercy has let me see you and your children. 12 Then Joseph took them from between his knees, and went down on his face to the earth. 13 Then taking Ephraim with his right hand, Joseph put him at Israel's left side, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Israel's right side, placing them near him. 14 And Israel, stretching out his right hand, put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands on purpose, for Manasseh was the older. 15 And he gave Joseph a blessing, saying, May the God to whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, gave worship, the God who has taken care of me all my life till this day, 16 The angel who has been my saviour from all evil, send his blessing on these children: and let my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, be given to them; and let them become a great nation in the earth. 17 Now when Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it did not seem right to him; and lifting his father's hand he would have put it on the head of Manasseh. 18 And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the older; put your right hand on his head. 19 But his father would not, saying, I am doing it on purpose, my son; he will certainly become a nation and a great one; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a great family of nations. 20 So he gave them his blessing that day, saying, You will be the sign of blessing in Israel, for they will say, May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh; and he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 48:8-20
Commentary on Genesis 48:8-22
(Read Genesis 48:8-22)
The two good men own God in their comforts. Joseph says, They are my sons whom God has given me. Jacob says, God hath showed me thy seed. Comforts are doubly sweet to us when we see them coming from God's hand. He not only prevents our fears, but exceeds our hopes. Jacob mentions the care the Divine providence had taken of him all his days. A great deal of hardship he had known in his time, but God kept him from the evil of his troubles. Now he was dying, he looked upon himself as redeemed from all sin and sorrow for ever. Christ, the Angel of the covenant, redeems from all evil. Deliverances from misery and dangers, by the Divine power, coming through the ransom of the blood of Christ, in Scripture are often called redemption. In blessing Joseph's sons, Jacob crossed hands. Joseph was willing to support his first-born, and would have removed his father's hands. But Jacob acted neither by mistake, nor from a partial affection to one more than the other; but from a spirit of prophecy, and by the Divine counsel. God, in bestowing blessings upon his people, gives more to some than to others, more gifts, graces, and comforts, and more of the good things of this life. He often gives most to those that are least likely. He chooses the weak things of the world; he raises the poor out of the dust. Grace observes not the order of nature, nor does God prefer those whom we think fittest to be preferred, but as it pleases him. How poor are they who have no riches but those of this world! How miserable is a death-bed to those who have no well-grounded hope of good, but dreadful apprehensions of evil, and nothing but evil for ever!