And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
- BSB “Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
- NKJV And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
- NASB And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.”
- NLT “No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joseph protests that Manasseh is the firstborn and should receive the right hand. He urges his father to follow the expected order.
Overview
Joseph insists that the firstborn deserves the chief blessing, voicing the conventional expectation. His protest sets up Jacob's firm and Spirit-led refusal in the verses that follow. The episode teaches that God's electing grace, not birth order or human merit, determines the bestowal of His blessing, a truth fulfilled in the gospel of grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 10:11Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
- Acts 11:8But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
- Acts 10:14But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
- Gen 27:15And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
- Gen 49:3Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
- Gen 19:18And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my LORD:
- Gen 43:33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
- Gen 29:26And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
- Matt 25:9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 48:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.