In his weakened condition, Ja'cob did not fail to carry out a very solemn duty. Jo'seph's two sons must be made members of the family which God had promised A'bra-ham to bless. The sons of Jo'seph had an E'gyp-tian mother, and had not been born in the Promised Land. It was therefore very important that a blessing should be given them by one whom the LORD had chosen to carry on the promise made to A'bra-ham, and surely no one was more worthy to give it than the man whose name had been changed from "Ja'cob" to "Is'ra-el."
Jo'seph brought his sons before Ja'cob to receive the blessing, and to be adopted into his father's family. Ma-nas"seh, as the older of the two, was placed at the right, while E'phra-im was placed at the left. When Ja'cob stretched forth his arms to bless them, however, he crossed his arms, placing his right hand on the head of E'phra-im, and his left on that of Ma-nas'seh. This meant that the blessing of the firstborn was being given to the younger son.
Thinking that his father's dimness of sight had led him to make what seemed to be a mistake, Jo'seph told his father that he had chosen the wrong son for the chief blessing. But Ja'cob insisted that he was doing what he intended. He said, "The greater blessing shall rest upon E'phra-im; his descendants shall be stronger and more numerous. A double portion is to be bestowed upon Jo'seph, and two shares of the Promised Land are to be given him. Both E'phra-im and Ma-nas'seh are to be the heads of tribes."
Thus the two sons of Jo'seph who belonged to E'gypt by birth, and who might have advanced to the highest ranks in that nation, were now numbered among the children of Is'ra-el. The prophecies which Ja'cob uttered in his dying words all came true, and the descendants of E'phra-im and Ma-nas'seh were among the strongest tribes of Is'ra-el in the land of Ca'naan two hundred years later.
Ja'cob then called his sons to his bedside, and gave his blessing to each one of them in turn. His bodily powers were fast failing, but the strength of his faith in God grew brighter as his eyes dimmed. He believed that God would be with his descendants, bringing them at last up from E'gypt to the Promised Land.
As the things of this world faded from his sight, the glories of the world beyond became more clear, and he was filled with the spirit of true prophecy. He told each son what the history of his descendants would be, and very clearly described the characteristics of each tribe of Is'ra-el. The choice of the tribe of Ju'dah for the honor of carrying on the line through which the Mes-si'ah was to be born was positively announced from the death bed of Ja'cob.
With his life work finished, his last blessing and prophetic message spoken, and his last prayer ended, Ja'cob quietly fell asleep in the LORD.
