he could not see well” (Gen 48:10). The feeble old man, too, may not have seen the youths for some years, so that he did not recognise them again. On Joseph's answering, “ My sons whom God hath given he mere,” he replied, “ Bring them to me then (קחם־נא), that I may bless them;” and he kissed and embraced them, when Joseph had brought them near, expressing his joy, that whereas he never expected to see Joseph's face again, God had permitted him to see his seed. ראה for ראות, like עשׂו (Gen 31:28). עלּל: to decide; here, to judge, to think.
verses 12-13
Joseph then, in order to prepare his sons for the reception of the blessing, brought them from between the knees of Israel, who was sitting with the youths between his knees and embracing them, and having prostrated himself with his face to the earth, he came up to his father again, with Ephraim the younger on his right hand, and Manasseh the elder on the left, so that Ephraim stood at Jacob's right hand, and Manasseh at his left.
verses 14-16
The patriarch then stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, and placed his left upon the head of Manasseh (crossing his arms therefore), to bless Joseph in his sons. “ Guiding his hands wittingly;” i.e., he placed his hands in this manner intentionally. Laying on the hand, which is mentioned here for the first time in the Scriptures, was a symbolical sign, by which the person acting transferred to another a spiritual good, a supersensual power or gift; it occurs elsewhere in connection with dedication to an office (Num 27:18, Num 27:23; Deu 34:9; Mat 19:13; Act 6:6; Act 8:17, etc.), with the sacrifices, and with the cures performed by Christ and the apostles. By the imposition of hands, Jacob transferred to Joseph in his sons the blessing which he implored for them from his own and his father's God: “ The God ( Ha-Elohim) before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God ( Ha-Elohim) who hath fed me (led and provided for me with a shepherd's faithfulness, Psa 23:1; Psa 28:9) from my existence up to this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads.” This triple reference to God, in which the Angel who is placed on an equality with Ha-Elohim cannot possibly be a created angel, but must be the “Angel of God,” i.e., God manifested in the form of the Angel of Jehovah, or the “Angel of His face” (Isa 43:9), contains a foreshadowing of the Trinity, though only God and the Angel are distinguished, not three
