Genesis 48:20

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you ¹  will Israel bless, ²  saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ³ 

Ge 24:60; Ge 28:3; Nu 2:18-21; Nu 7:48,54; Nu 10:22,23; Nu 13:8,11,16; Ru 4:11,12

¹ tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

² tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

³ sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.