Joel M Bradshaw

4The people of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.–Joshua 16

When we read the Joseph story, we recall both the hardship and the grace. Not only was God with Joseph, but Joseph in a way was with Israel. Through Joseph, Israel was saved from starvation and had a future. What his brothers meant for evil, God used for good.

And as you continue reading about the tribes or if you recall any maps, Joseph’s name no longer is present. You don’t read about a tribe of Joseph the same way as you read about a Gad or a Simeon. But we must remember that Jacob gave Joseph a unique, special honor. He instantly became a legacy.

“And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance...And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” (Genesis 48:5-6, 15-16, with emphasis)

At that point, Jacob welcomed the half-Egyptian sons of Joseph that existed at that time officially as full sons, equal in standing to Reuben, Levi, Simeon, and the rest. And in our text today, we simply read that link. The people of Joseph were thus also known as Ephraim and Manasseh, and they received their inheritance.

In fact, by the time of the later prophets, the name Ephraim had become standard usage to poetically describe the upper 10 tribes, who would stand apart from the southern tribe of Judah.

Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. (Isaiah 11:13).

So Joseph’s story came to a close. His legacy lived on. His name lived on as two. He received a double-inheritance that set him apart from his brothers. Jacob’s two grandchildren thus got full standing as sons. Joseph’s honor became complete. Remember when you don’t see his name as prominent in the rest of the Old Testament that Joseph became two.–JMB