“But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.”
Genesis 48:14 (BSB)
Context Reading
12Then Joseph removed his sons from his father’s knees and bowed facedown. 13And Joseph took both of them — with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand — and brought them close to him. 14But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn. 15Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16the angel who has redeemed me from all harm — may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”