Targum Jonathan - Genesis 48
1 And after these things it was told Joseph, Behold, thy father is lying ill. And he took his two sons with him., Menasheh and Ephraim.
2 And it was announced to Jakob, saying, Behold, thy son Joseph hath come to thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3 And Jakob said to Joseph: El Shadai revealed Himself to me at Luz, in the land of Kenaan, and blessed me.
4 And He said to me, Behold, I will increase thee and multiply thee, and make thee an assemblage of tribes, and will give this land to thy sons after thee for an everlasting inheritance.
5 And now, thy two sons who have been born to thee in the land of Mizraim before I came to thee into Mizraim are mine; Ephraim and Menasheh as Reuben and Shimeon shall be reckoned unto me.
6 And thy children whom thou mayest beget after them shall be thine; by the name of their brethren shall they be called in their inheritance.
7 And I beseech thee to bury me with my fathers. Rahel died by me suddenly in the land of Kenaan, while there was yet much ground to come to Ephrath; nor could I carry her to bury her in the Double Cave, but I buried her there, in the way of Ephrath which is Bethlechem.
8 And Israel looked at the sons of Joseph and said, From whom are these born to thee?
9 And Joseph answered his father, They are my sons which the Word of the Lord gave me according to this writing, according to which I took Asenath the daughter of Dinah thy daughter to be my wife. And he said, Bring them now near to me, and I will bless them.
10 But Israel's eyes were heavy from age, and he could not see. And he brought them to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
11 And Israel said to Joseph, To see thy face I had not reckoned, but, behold, the Lord hath also showed me thy sons.
12 And Joseph brought them out from (between) his knees, and worshipped on his face upon the ground.
13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right side, which was Israel's left, and Menasheh on his left side, which was Israel's right, and brought them to him.
14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger; and his left hand upon the head of Menasheh, altering his hands, for Menasheh was the firstborn.
15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: The Lord, before whom my fathers Abraham and Izhak, did serve; the Lord who hath fed me since I have been unto this day,
16 be pleased that the angel whom thou didst ordain for me, to redeem me from all evil, may bless the children; and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my fathers Abrabam and Izhak. And as the fishes of the sea in multiplying are multiplied in the sea, so may the children of Joseph be multiplied abundantly in the midst of the earth.
17 And Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand upon Ephraim's head; and it was evil before him, and he uplifted his father's hand to remove it from off the head of Ephraim, that it might rest on the head of Menasheh.
18 And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; lay thy right hand on his head.
19 But his father was not willing, and said, I know, my son, I know that he is the firstborn, and also that he will be a great people, and will also be multiplied; yet will his younger brother be greater than he, and his sons be greater among the nations.
20 And he blessed them in that day, saying, In thee, Joseph my son, shall the house of Israel bless their infants in the day of their circumcision, saying, The Lord set thee as Ephraim and as Menasheh. And in the numbering of the tribes the prince of Ephraim shall be numbered before the prince of Menasheh. And he appointed that Ephraim should be before Menasheh.
21 And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, my end cometh to die. But the Word of the Lord shall be your Helper, and restore you to the land of your fathers;
22 and I, behold, I have given to thee the city of Shekem, one portion for a gift above thy brethren, which I took from the hand of the Amoraee at the time that you went into the midst of it, and I arose and helped you with my sword and with my bow.