And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” He said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”
- BSB Joseph said to his father, “They are the sons God has given me in this place.” So Jacob said, “Please bring them to me, that I may bless them.”
- NKJV And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”
- NASB And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, so that I may bless them.”
- NLT “Yes,” Joseph told him, “these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt.” And Jacob said, “Bring them closer to me, so I can bless them.”
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 identifies his sons as those God gave him, and Jacob asks to bless them. The blessing is framed as a gift from God.
Overview
Joseph confesses that his sons are God's gift, acknowledging the Lord as the giver of children. Jacob then asks to draw them near and bless them, exercising his patriarchal role. The recognition that children are God's gracious gift remains a steady biblical truth, and the blessing continues the covenant line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Gen 27:4And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
- Gen 33:5And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
- Heb 11:21By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
- 1 Sam 1:27For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
- Ruth 4:11–14And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
- 1 Chr 25:5All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
- 1 Chr 26:4–5Moreover the sons of Obededom were, Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethaneel the fifth,
- Isa 8:18Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
- Isa 56:3–5Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
- Gen 30:2And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
- Gen 28:3–4And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
- Gen 49:28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
- Gen 27:34–40And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
- Gen 27:28–29Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
- Deut 33:1And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
- Ps 127:3Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
- 1 Sam 1:20Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
- 1 Sam 2:20–21And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home.
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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 48:9 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
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