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Chapter 47
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Genesis, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God, Humanity, and Creation
Mistrust, Disobedience, and Death
Covenants and Faith in God’s Promises
The Role of Women
Summary
Analysis
When Joseph hears that Jacob is dying, he takes his sons Manasseh and Ephraim and visits his father. Jacob musters his strength to sit up in bed and tells Joseph about God’s promise to make him fruitful. This means that the promise applies to Ephraim and Manasseh, too. When Joseph brings his sons near for Jacob’s blessing, he puts Ephraim near Jacob’s left and Manasseh near his right. However, Jacob places his right hand on Ephraim’s head (the younger brother), and his left hand on Manasseh’s head (the firstborn). When Joseph tries to switch the blessing, Jacob patiently refuses, explaining that the younger brother, Ephraim, will become greater. He gives the boys his blessing—the blessing of the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac.
This scene poignantly recalls Jacob’s deception of his father, Isaac, when Isaac offered blessings to his sons. Jacob now focuses on God’s ability to fulfill promises and not on the human attempt to seize or manipulate those blessings. In an echo of Jacob and Esau, however, Joseph tries to orchestrate the blessing he wants his sons to get. But Jacob is familiar with this trick—he knows what he’s doing, prophesying that Ephraim, the younger, will become the ancestor of a mightier tribe.
Themes
