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11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected[a] to see you[b] again, but now God has allowed me to see your children[c] too.”

12 So Joseph moved them from Israel’s knees[d] and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 Joseph positioned them;[e] he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father.[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 48:11 tn On the meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּלַל (palal) here, see E. A. Speiser, “The Stem pll in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6. Speiser argues that this verb means “to estimate” as in Exod 21:22.
  2. Genesis 48:11 tn Heb “your face.”
  3. Genesis 48:11 tn Heb “offspring.”
  4. Genesis 48:12 tn Heb “and Joseph brought them out from with his knees.” The two boys had probably been standing by Israel’s knees when being adopted and blessed. The referent of the pronoun “his” (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. Genesis 48:13 tn Heb “and Joseph took the two of them.”
  6. Genesis 48:13 tn Heb “and he brought near to him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” and “him” (Joseph and his father respectively) have been specified in the translation for clarity.