What Does Genesis 48:13 Mean?

And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. Joseph positions the boys before Jacob: Manasseh at Jacob's right (the expected position for the firstborn's greater blessing) and Ephraim at Jacob's left. Joseph's positioning is the conventional arrangement: firstborn receives the right-hand blessing, the senior position. The right hand in the ancient world is the hand of power, preference, and greater blessing; placing Manasseh at Jacob's right is Joseph's way of ensuring the firstborn son receives the firstborn's blessing.

The detailed description of the positioning: Ephraim in Joseph's right hand toward Israel's left, Manasseh in Joseph's left toward Israel's right: is the setup for the narrative drama of verse 14, where Jacob deliberately crosses his hands to place his right hand on Ephraim (the younger) and his left on Manasseh (the older). The reader who understands the conventions of right-hand superiority can follow the positioning and the subsequent crossing with full appreciation of what Jacob is doing and why Joseph protests.

Joseph "brought them near him": the final physical preparation before the blessing. The boys are positioned, brought close to the dying patriarch, and now Jacob will speak. The chapter has been building through the covenant foundation, the adoption, the identification, the embrace, the bow, and the positioning to this moment: the patriarch in the full exercise of his remaining strength and authority, about to bless the boys in whom the covenant promises will have new generational expression.