Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
Parallel Translations
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Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
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And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
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And Joseph said unto his father: 'Not so, my father, for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head.'
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Genesis 48:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 19:18 Lot said to them, “Oh, not so, my lord.
- Genesis 27:15 Rebekah took the good clothes of Esau, her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son.
- Genesis 29:26 Laban said, “It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn.
- Genesis 43:33 They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth, and the men marveled with one another.
- Genesis 49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; excelling in dignity, and excelling in power.
- Exodus 10:11 Not so! Go now you who are men, and serve Yahweh; for that is what you desire!” Then they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
- Matthew 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
- Acts 10:14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
- Acts 11:8 But I said, ‘Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (4 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not…
Gen 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
Ver. 18. Not so, my father, &c.] Here are a couple of holy prophets differing in their judgments; yet not about the substance of the blessing, but the circumstance of it. Wonder not though such things still fall out in the true Church, and the doctors be likewise divided in points less material, and that touch not the foundation. Luther interprets those words of Christ, "This is my body," synecdochically; Calvin, metonymically. Hence the Jesuits straight cry out: The Spirit of God dissents not from itself; but these interpretations dissent one from another, therefore they are not of the Spirit. {a} Now it were easy to stop their foul mouths, by telling them of their own far worse differences. But is it not a doleful thing that we should, with those birds, aqnoscere in nostris vulneribus nostras pennas? "Brother goeth to law with brother, and that before infidels." {1Co 6:6} This is the devil’s malice, to sow tares, &c. Christ came to destroy his works; yet never were so many possessed as about that time.
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{a} See The Peace of Rome.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Joseph said unto his father, not so, my…
And Joseph said unto his father, not so, my father,.... It is not right, it should not so be, that the right hand should be put on the youngest, and the left hand on the eldest:
for this is the firstborn; directing him to Manasseh, and seeking to guide his hand towards him:
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put thy right hand upon his head; Joseph was for proceeding according to the order of birthright, but Jacob was directed by a spirit of prophecy, as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 18. Joseph said - Not so, my father]…
Verse 18. Joseph said - Not so, my father] Joseph supposed that his father had made a mistake in laying his right hand on the head of the youngest, because the right hand was considered as the most noble, and the instrument of conveying the highest dignities, and thus it has ever been considered among all nations, though the reason of it is not particularly obvious. Even in the heavens the right hand of God is the place of the most exalted dignity. It has been observed that Joseph spoke here as he was moved by natural affection, and that Jacob acted as he was influenced by the Holy Spirit.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my…
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. "From Joseph"s behavior we cannot certainly infer that, like Isaac, he loved the firstborn better than the youngest; but he was sorry that an honor was not given to the eldest which he would naturally expect, and bestowed on the youngest, who did not expect it, and who would not have been hurt by the want of it" (Lawson).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.