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And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
Genesis 48:6 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Your issue, whom you become the father of after them, will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
  • BSB Any children born to you after them shall be yours, and they shall be called by the names of their brothers in the territory they inherit.
  • NKJV Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
  • NASB But your children that you have fathered after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance.
  • NLT But any children born to you in the future will be your own, and they will inherit land within the territories of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh.

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

Any later sons of Joseph will be reckoned under Ephraim and Manasseh for inheritance. Jacob defines the scope of his adoption.

Overview

Jacob limits the special adoption to the two elder sons, while any future children of Joseph would be counted within those tribes. This careful provision orders the family's inheritance with precision. It shows that the bestowal of covenant blessing was both gracious and orderly, governed by deliberate wisdom.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Josh 14:4For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 48:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 48:6 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.