Genesis 48 Jacob blesses Joseph A fiddler on

Genesis 48 Jacob blesses Joseph

A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous? ' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!

Leibesh: Rabbi! May I ask you a question? Rabbi: Certainly, Lebisch! Leibesh: Is there a proper blessing. . . for the Tsar?

Rabbi: A blessing for the Tsar? Of course! May God bless and keep the Tsar. . . far away from us!

BLESS, BLESSING — the act of declaring, or wishing, favor and goodness upon others. The blessing is not only the good effect of words; it also has the power to bring them to pass. In the Bible, important persons blessed those with less power or influence. The patriarchs pronounced benefits upon their children, often near their own deaths (Gen. 49: 1– 28). Even if spoken by mistake, once a blessing was given it could not be taken back (Gen. 27: 33). --Youngblood, Ronald F. (2000 -11 -15). Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Kindle Locations 1567715681). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Three common themes are present in formal Old Testament blessings. First, the greater blesses the lesser, a fact picked up by the writer of Hebrews to demonstrate the superiority of Melchizedek to Abraham (Heb. 7: 6 -7 ). Second, the blessing is a sign of special favor that is intended to result in prosperity and success (Deuteronomy 28: 3 -7 ). Third, the blessing is actually an invocation for God's blessing: "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful" (Genesis 28: 3 ). --Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

“…blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. ” --Luke 11: 28

Genesis 47: 23 -26 23 Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. 24 "At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones. " 25 So they said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves. " 26 Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.

Much of the dilemma of the Egyptians was of their own making. Joseph created neither the seven years of plenty nor the seven years of famine; he predicted both and proposed a program to deal with them. His plan did cost the Egyptians their fortunes and some of their freedom, but it also saved them from certain death. The dire need of the land of Canaan is readily explainable, but why was there this need in Egypt? I must forewarn you that I am reading between the lines, but it is my contention that the dire poverty of the Egyptians was a dilemma of their own making.

If Joseph was the competent administrator he was portrayed to be, surely he informed the general population of the famine coming after the seven years of plenty. This would secure their cooperation in carrying out the plan Joseph had proposed to alleviate the devastation of the coming years of drought. Furthermore, if Joseph believed “that government governs best which governs least, ” he would have endeavored to get the nation to follow his example in saving up for the years of adversity. Joseph accumulated one fifth of the crops of the land during the abundant years. That left four-fifths of a bumper crop for the Egyptians. Should they not have been storing up grain for the famine as well as Joseph? But it would seem that they thought the years of plenty would go on and on. Why not spend some of this excess profit? They seem to no more have expected the famine to come than the people in Noah’s day looked for a flood. The Egyptians, I believe, were informed that hard times were coming, yet they failed to prepare for them. No wonder they did not complain about Joseph’s handling of this matter and heralded him as a savior.

All lines of evidence lead us to the same conclusion: Joseph was just as godly a man here as he had been elsewhere. He wisely had prepared for the future, and his laying up a store of wheat made it possible for him to save his nation from disaster. --Bob Deffinbaugh

Prepare and Provide Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. --Proverbs 6: 6 -8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. --1 Timothy 5: 8

Gen 47: 27 -31 27 Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Please do not bury me in Egypt,

Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, "Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, --Genesis 24: 2, 3

30 but when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place. "And he said, " I will do as you have said. " 31 And he said, "Swear to me. " So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.

Worship Shachah (shaw-khaw') Definition to bow down

If Christianity is the transformation of rebels into worshipers of God, then it is imperative for the Christian to know and understand what constitutes biblical worship. One may always consult Webster's Dictionary for the precise meaning of worship (adore, idolize, esteem worthy, reverence, homage, etc. ). Yet truly defining worship proves more difficult because it is both an attitude and an act. All true worshipers must worship God in "spirit and in truth. " That is, true worship takes place on the inside, in the heart or spirit of the worshiper (cf. Psalm 45: 1; 103: 12 ). Worship pleasing to God must be unfeigned and transparent, offered with a humble and pure heart. --Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

47: 27 -31 As Israel neared the end of his life, he made Joseph promise to bury him in Canaan. Then he bowed himself on the head of his bed (or "on the top of his staff, " Heb. 11: 21). Actually the same Hebrew consonants can be read either "bed" or "staff, " depending on which vowels are supplied. The traditional Hebrew text reads bed, but here the Septuagint, quoted in the Hebrews passage, reads "staff. “ --William Mac. Donald

Kidner comments: While both versions have "bed" at 48: 2, the present occasion tells of Jacob before his last illness (cf. 48: 1), and "staff" may well be the right meaning. It would be an appropriate object to mention as the symbol of his pilgrimage (cf. his grateful words in 32: 10), worthy of the prominence it receives in the New Testament passage. 34 And thus the ex-supplanter was to end his life in an act of worship. He is the only hero of faith of Hebrews 11 to be commended as a worshiper. He had come a long way by the grace of God, and would soon go out in a blaze of glory. --William Mac. Donald

31 "Swear to me, " he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. --Genesis 47: 31 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. --Hebrews 11: 21

11: 21 There were many inglorious chapters in the life of Jacob, but he is honored as a hero of faith nevertheless. His character improved with age and he died in a burst of glory. When he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, he crossed his hands so that the older son's blessing fell on Ephraim, the younger. In spite of Joseph's protests, Jacob insisted that the blessings must stand because this was the order which the Lord had specified. Though his physical sight was dim, his spiritual sight was keen. The closing scene of Jacob's life finds him worshiping while leaning on the top of his staff. --William Mac. Donald

C. H. Mackintosh summarizes in his usual lovely style: The close of Jacob's career stands in most pleasing contrast with all the previous scenes of his eventful history. It reminds one of a serene evening after a tempestuous day: the sun, which during the day had been hidden from view by clouds, mists, and fogs, sets in majesty and brightness, gilding with his beams the western sky, and holding out the cheering prospect of a bright tomorrow. Thus it is with our aged patriarch. The supplanting, the bargain-making, the cunning, the management, the shifting, the shuffling, the unbelieving selfish fears, —all those dark clouds of nature and of earth seem to have passed away, and he comes forth, in all the calm elevation of faith, to bestow blessings, and impart dignities, in that holy skillfulness which communion with God can alone impart. --William Mac. Donald

Gen 48: 1 -22 1 Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is sick. " So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When it was told to Jacob, "Behold, your son Joseph has come to you, " Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession. '

5 "And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 "But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 "Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). " 8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these? " 9 And Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here. " So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them. " 10 Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

48: 1 -7 When Joseph was told that his father was sick, he hurried to his bedside with Ephraim and Manasseh. The dying patriarch sat up on the bed and adopted his two grandsons as his own. By doing this he arranged that the tribe of Joseph would receive a double portion of the land of Canaan when it would be divided among the tribes years later. Joseph thus received the birthright as far as territory was concerned. Any offspring born to Joseph after them would be Joseph's, not Jacob's, and would dwell in the territories allotted to Ephraim or Manasseh. Verse 7 explains why Jacob wanted to adopt Joseph's sons as his own. They were his grandsons by his beloved wife, Rachel, who he felt had died so prematurely. --William Mac. Donald

11 And Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well. " 12 Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the first-born.

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16 The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and may my name live on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. "

Contrast 9 So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning. " --Genesis 47: 9

When Jacob testified that the Lord had been his shepherd all along, he did not deny his sufferings. But now he has come to see them in a different light. Just as Joseph had known in the midst of his sufferings that God had been with him, Jacob was assured of God’s presence in all of his sorrows. While our Shepherd “makes us lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23: 2), He also is with us as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23: 4). Jacob has come to see that every event in his life was a part of the will of God for him and that God was guiding him and shaping him through adversity.

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the first-born. Place your right hand on his head. " 19 But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people and he also shall be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations. " 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

Ephraim “The tribe of Ephraim eventually became larger and more important than any of the other tribes except Judah. Its name was even made synonymous with all 10 tribes in the Northern Kingdom when they rebelled against Rehoboam and became a separate nation. ” --Henry Morris

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 "And I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow. "

Which I took from the hand of the Amorite: Apparently, while still in Canaan, Jacob battled for control of a portion of land from the Amorites, and he deeded the land to Joseph and his descendants. The descendants of Joseph would take this land some 400 years later. --David Guzik

John Gill (23 November 1697 – 14 October 1771) was an English Baptist pastor, biblical scholar, and theologian who held to a firm Calvinistic soteriology.

Moreover, I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren The word for "portion" is "Shechem"…. which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow; not referring, as some think, to the taking and spoiling of the city of Shechem by his sons, and so said to be done by him in them; for Jacob would never make that his act and deed, which he so much abhorred and detested…. it seems more likely, that after Jacob departed from Shechem to Hebron, the Amorite came and seized on this parcel of ground; which he hearing of, went with his sons and servants, and recovered it out of their hands by his sword and bow; though this warlike action of his is nowhere recorded in Scripture, the Jewish writers say, that Jacob and his sons had very grievous war with the Amorites on account of the slaughter and captivity of the Shechemites: by giving to Joseph this portion above his brethren, it appears that the birthright was become his, he having the double portion, and indeed all that Jacob had of his own in the land of Canaan; and hence Joseph's bones were buried here, it being his own ground; see ( Joshua 24: 32 ) ( John 4: 5 ).

He bestowed one portion upon him above his brethren, Genesis 48: 22. The lands bequeathed are described to be those which he took out of the hand of the Amorite with his sword, and with his bow. He purchased them first (Joshua 24: 32), and, it seems, was afterwards disseized of them by the Amorites, but retook them by the sword, repelling force by force, and recovering his right by violence when he could not otherwise recover it. These lands he settled upon Joseph mention is made of this grant, John 4: 5. Pursuant to it, this parcel of ground was given to the tribe of Ephraim as their right, and the lot was never cast upon it and in it Joseph's bones were buried, which perhaps Jacob had an eye to as much as to any thing in this settlement. Note, It may sometimes be both just and prudent to give some children portions above the rest but a grave is that which we can most count upon as our own in this earth. --Matthew Henry

Joseph's Tomb is a funerary monument located at the eastern entrance to the valley that separates Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, 325 yards northwest of Jacob's Well, [1] on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus, near Tell Balāṭa, the site of biblical Shechem. [2][3] One biblical tradition identifies the general area of Shechem as the resting-place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, and his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh.

Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph's sons. --Joshua 24: 32

So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. --John 4: 5, 6

which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow. "

Chuck Baldwin – is a radio broadcaster, syndicated columnist, and pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America was founded.

Even our Lord understood and validated the right of every person to arm themselves for personal self-defense. He said, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. " (Luke 22: 36 KJV) The old Roman sword was the First Century equivalent of a modern handgun. It was the most practical and convenient form of selfdefense available at that time. Also, please note that at least two of Jesus' disciples (one of whom was Simon Peter) were in the habit of carrying their own personal swords, and Jesus never rebuked them. (See Luke 22: 38. ) …. the Apostle Paul said, emphatically, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. " (I Tim. 5: 8) Does "not providing for his own" include not providing protection? Of course it does. The right and, yes, obligation of personal self-defense is entrenched in both Christian and American tradition. People who would deny citizens the right to arm themselves are either naïvely ignorant or deliberately duplicitous. As Robert Heinlein said, "An armed society is a polite society. “ --Chuck Baldwin

…for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU, " 6 so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME? " --Hebrews 13: 5, 6