Theodore Beza
48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that [one] told Joseph, Behold, thy father [is] sick: and he took with him his {a} two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
(a) Joseph valued his children being received into Jacob’s family, which was the Church of God, more than enjoying all the treasures of Egypt.
48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an {b} everlasting possession.
(b) Which is true in the carnal Israel until the coming of Christ, and in the spiritual forever.
48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They [are] my sons, whom {c} God hath given me in this [place]. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
(c) The faithful acknowledge all benefits come from God’s free mercy.
48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] upon {d} Ephraim’s head, who [was] the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh [was] the firstborn.
(d) God’s judgments are often contrary to man’s and he prefers what man despises.
48:16 The {e} Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my {f} name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
(e) This angel must be understood to be Christ, as in Genesis 31:13; Genesis 32:1.
(f) Let them be taken as my children.
48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it {g} displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
(g) Joseph fails by binding God’s grace to the order of nature.
48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as {h} Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
(h) In whom God’s graces should manifestly appear.
48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of {i} your fathers.
(i) Which they had by faith in the promise.
48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which {k} I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
(k) By my children whom God spared for my sake.