Genesis 48:12

Then Joseph got his 2 sons to move away from Jacob. And Joseph got down on his knees and put his face near the ground, to show respect to his father Jacob.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

In Context

11Then Jacob said to Joseph, “You know, for a really long time, I thought you were dead. But a long time later, God let me see you again. And now, he let me see your kids too.”

13Then Joseph stood up. He put his son Ephraim on his right side, and he put his son Manasseh on his left side, and he went near to Jacob with his 2 sons, so that Jacob can ask God to be good to them. Then Joseph put his younger son Ephraim in front of Jacob’s left hand, and he put his older son Manasseh in front of Jacob’s right hand. You see, in that culture, people thought that their right hand was more important than their left hand. So Joseph wanted Jacob to put his right hand on Manasseh, because he was the older son. And he wanted Jacob to put his left hand on Ephraim, because he was the younger son.

Read all of Genesis 48

Cross References

Genesis 18:2and he looked up and saw 3 men standing nearby. He got up quickly, and he ran to meet them, and he got down on his knees and put his face near the ground to show them respect.

Genesis 23:7Then Abraham got down on his knees in front of the Heth people, to show them respect.

Genesis 42:6At that time, Joseph was in charge of Egypt country, and he was the one that sold food to everybody. So Joseph’s brothers came to him, and they got down on their knees and put their faces near the ground, to show him respect.

Matthew Henry on Genesis 48:9-22

Jacob Blesses the Sons of Joseph; Jacob's Dying Prophecy. ( b. c. 1689.) 8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 48:12