"and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you [as] an everlasting possession.'
"And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, [are] mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
"But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when [there was] but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)."
And Joseph said to his father, "They [are] my sons, whom God has given me in this [place."] And he said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them."
And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought [them] near him.
Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid [it] on Ephraim's head, who [was] the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh [was] the firstborn.
The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.
But 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 descendants shall become a multitude of nations."
So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless, saying, 'May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!' " And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.