Josephnamedthe firstbornManasseh,"For," [he said], "Godhas made me forgetallmy troubleand allmy father'shousehold."
and afterthem sevenyearsof faminewill come,and allthe abundancewill be forgottenin the landof Egypt,and the faminewill ravagethe land.
Now beforethe yearof faminecame,twosonswere bornto Joseph,whomAsenath,the daughterof Potipherapriestof On,boreto him.
He namedthe secondEphraim,"For," [he said], "Godhas mademe fruitfulin the landof my affliction."
Now it cameabout afterthesethingsthat Josephwas told,"Behold,your fatheris sick."So he tookhis twosonsManassehand Ephraimwith him.
"Nowyour twosons,who were bornto you in the landof EgyptbeforeI cameto you in Egypt,are mine; Ephraimand Manassehshall be mine, as Reubenand Simeonare.
"For you would forget[your] trouble,As watersthat have passedby, you would remember[it].
You have turnedfor me my mourninginto dancing;You have loosedmy sackclothand girdedme with gladness,
For His angeris but for a moment,His favoris for a lifetime;Weepingmay lastfor the night,But a shoutof joy[comes] in the morning.
Listen,O daughter,giveattentionand inclineyour ear:Forgetyour peopleand your father'shouse;
Let him drinkand forgethis povertyAnd rememberhis troublenomore.
"For I will not contendforever,Norwill I alwaysbe angry;For the spiritwould growfaintbeforeMe, And the breath[of those whom] I have made.
"Becausehe who is blessedin the earthWill be blessedby the Godof truth;And he who swearsin the earthWill swearby the Godof truth;Becausethe formertroublesare forgotten,And becausethey are hiddenfrom My sight!
The sonsof Josephaccording to their families:Manassehand Ephraim.
"As the firstbornof his ox,majestyis his, And his hornsare the hornsof the wildox;With them he will pushthe peoples,Allat once,[to] the endsof the earth.And thoseare the tenthousandsof Ephraim,And thoseare the thousandsof Manasseh."
For the sonsof Josephwere twotribes,Manassehand Ephraim,and they did not givea portionto the Levitesin the land,exceptcitiesto livein, with their pasturelandsfor their livestockand for their property.
Now [this] was the lotfor the tribeof Manasseh,for he was the firstbornof Joseph.To Machirthe firstbornof Manasseh,the fatherof Gilead,were allottedGileadand Bashan,becausehe was a manof war.
It cameabout in duetime,after Hannahhad conceived,that she gavebirthto a son;and she namedhim Samuel,[saying], "BecauseI have askedhim of the LORD."
