Genesis 48: 1-7: "And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem. "
After missing his son for so many years and seeing his three oldest sons damage his family name in various ways, Jacob decided that he was going to try and forge a new family with Joseph’s children since he had managed to do so well and obtain such a high position in Egypt. Joseph’s two sons were called Manasseh (meaning “forget” see Gen 41: 51) and Ephraim (meaning “fruitful” see Gen 41: 52) so Jacob believed that he could leave behind the strife that came from his own family, forget those problems and be fruitful instead. Jacob told Joseph of the promise that the Lord had made to him all those years ago when he had no family of his own and was running away because he believed that his brother would kill him.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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