Genesis 48:20
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
a. NASB 1995: He blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]
b. YLT: And he blesseth them in that day, saying, 'By thee doth Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh;' and he setteth Ephraim before Manasseh. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]
c. Classic Amplified: And he blessed them that day, saying, By you shall Israel bless [one another], saying, May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]
d. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Israel bless saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh” And he put Ephraim before Manasseh. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]
e. ESV: So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]
1. “And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.’
a. [And he] blessed [him] [Strong: 1288 bârak, baw-rak'; a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):—× abundantly, × altogether, × at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, × greatly, × indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, × still, thank.]
b. that [Strong: 1931 hûwʼ, hoo; of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is הִיא hîyʼ; he a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular; he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are:—he, as for her, him(-self), it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they, this, those, which (is), who.]
c. day [Strong: 3117 yôwm, yome; from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):—age, always, chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), elder, × end, evening, (for) ever(-lasting, -more), × full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, × required, season, × since, space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), × whole ( age), (full) year(-ly), younger.]
d. saying [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]
e. [In thee shall] Israel [Strong: 3478 Yisrâʼêl, yis-raw-ale'; from H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisraël, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity:—Israel.]
f. bless [Strong: 1288 bârak, baw-rak'; a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):—× abundantly, × altogether, × at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, × greatly, × indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, × still, thank.]
g. saying [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]
h. God [Strong: 430 ʼĕlôhîym, el-o-heem'; plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:—angels, × exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), × (very) great, judges, × mighty.]
i. make thee [Strong: 7760 sûwm, soom; or שִׂים sîym; a primitive root; to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically):—× any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, name, × on, ordain, order, paint, place, preserve, purpose, put (on), regard, rehearse, reward, (cause to) set (on, up), shew, stedfastly, take, × tell, tread down, (over-)turn, × wholly, work.]
j. [as] Ephriam [Strong: 669 ʼEphrayim, ef-rah'-yim; dual of masculine form of H672; double fruit; Ephrajim, a son of Joseph; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory:—Ephraim, Ephraimites.]
k. [and as] Manasseh [Strong: 4519 Mᵉnashsheh, men-ash-sheh'; from H5382; causing to forget; Menashsheh, a grandson of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him, and its territory:—Manasseh.]
l. [and he] set [Strong: 7760 sûwm, soom; or שִׂים sîym; a primitive root; to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically):—× any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, name, × on, ordain, order, paint, place, preserve, purpose, put (on), regard, rehearse, reward, (cause to) set (on, up), shew, stedfastly, take, × tell, tread down, (over-)turn, × wholly, work.]
m. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]
n. Ephriam [Strong: 669 ʼEphrayim, ef-rah'-yim; dual of masculine form of H672; double fruit; Ephrajim, a son of Joseph; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory:—Ephraim, Ephraimites.]
o. before [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]
p. Manasseh [Strong: 4519 Mᵉnashsheh, men-ash-sheh'; from H5382; causing to forget; Menashsheh, a grandson of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him, and its territory:—Manasseh.]
1). Footnote in Classic Amplified: This prophecy begins to be fulfilled “from the days of the judges onward, as the tribe of Ephraim in power and compass so increased that it became the head of the northern ten tribes, and its name became of like significance with that of Israel; although, in the time of Moses, Manasseh still outnumbered Ephraim by 20,000” (Karl F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament). Joshua, whom Israel so long regarded as their ruler, was an Ephraimite. The ark of the covenant was placed in Shiloh in the territory of Ephraim, which increased the tribe’s prestige. How could Jacob have prophesied Ephraim’s supremacy so positively except by divine inspiration?
2). Benson Commentary: Genesis 48:19. Truly his younger brother shall be greater than he — This prophecy was evidently fulfilled in the posterity of these two children: a convincing proof that Jacob spoke by inspiration of God; for who but he can foresee what is to happen in distant ages? About two hundred years after this, when the Israelites were first numbered in the wilderness, the tribe of Ephraim had eight thousand three hundred men more than that of Manasseh, Numbers 1:32; Numbers 1:35. In encamping about the tabernacle, Ephraim had the standard, and was set before Manasseh, Numbers 11:18-20. Of him came Joshua, the conqueror of Canaan, Numbers 13:18, and Jeroboam, king of Israel, 1 Kings 11:26. So that the name of Ephraim is often used to signify that whole kingdom. God, in bestowing his 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. And he often gives most to those that are least likely: he chooseth the weak things of the world, raiseth the poor out of the dust. Grace observes not the order of nature, nor doth God prefer those whom we think fittest to be preferred, but as it pleaseth him.