Genesis 48:8

Jacob was very old, and his eyes were weak, so he couldn’t see very well. He looked at Joseph’s 2 sons, and he said to Joseph, “Who are these 2 boys?” Joseph said, “They are my sons, the ones that God gave me here in this country.” Then Jacob said, “Bring them near to me. I will put my hands on them, and I will ask God to be good to them.” So Joseph took his 2 sons near to Jacob. And Jacob hugged those 2 boys, and he kissed them on their cheeks.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?

In Context

7Jacob also said to Joseph, “I want your 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to have their own tribes and their own land, because your mother Rachel only gave me 2 sons. She had you and your brother Benjamin. And then she died, and I was really sad. At that time, we were going from Paddan Aram country to Canaan country. Your mother died in Canaan country, on the way to the town called Efrath. And I buried her body near the road that goes to Efrath.” Another name for that town is Bethlehem.

Read all of Genesis 48

Matthew Henry on Genesis 48:2-8

Jacob's Last Illness. ( b. c. 1689.) 1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 48:8