Texts in Conversation
Genesis 48 describes an angel who guarded Jacob and is asked to bless his grandsons, blending divine and angelic roles. The Samaritan Pentateuch instead reads “king,” likely to avoid confusing God with an angel.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 48:16
Hebrew Bible
14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked—the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 16 the angel who has protected me from all harm—bless these boys. May my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. May they grow into a multitude on the earth.” 17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Samaritan Genesis 48:16
Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan
14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his arms, for Manasseh was the first-born. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16 the king who has redeemed me from all evil, bless these boys, and let my name be carried by them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. And let them grow into a multitude in the middle of the earth.” 17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father: “Not so, my father, for this is the first-born. Put your right hand on his head.”
Date: 130–120 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger ..."
W. Hall Harris, NET Bible (Biblical Studies, 2019), 110.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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I think we need to keep in mind the author of the Bible. Then we move from the author to the writer (Moses) and then from the writer to the purpose or context.
I think we need to keep in mind the author of the Bible. Then we move from the author to the writer (Moses) and then from the writer to the purpose or context.The Author cannot change neither does His purposes nor context no matter who He chooses to write it through.
Their purpose is to alwa ...
The Author cannot change neither does His purposes nor context no matter who He chooses to write it through.
Their purpose is to always bring honor and glory to the Godhead which is God. Three distinct individuals with the same essence who took on three different roles to glorify one another and fulfill the purpose of themselves before the foundation of the world. One not greater than the other.
I find it humorous that we trip all over Jesus the Christ and how He chose to manifest Himself to serve His children and preserve the Godhead’s purpose in the Old Testament and New Testament and yet forget all about The Holy Spirit and how actively He’s been involved throughout the whole Bible and what He does in our everyday lives.
Context along with the personality of the Author is key to finding out what scripture means. Here again, the Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible. When we walk under the leadership of the Spirit we have a better chance of not misconstruing scripture and involving human understanding in spiritual matters.