1 Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, `Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’ 5 “Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 “But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance.7 “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
Even though the covenant and blessing will now belong to all of Jacob’s sons, he knew he needed to pass it on to someone. And he trusted Joseph the most, so he tells him the blessing here. Don’t assume your children will learn their heritage by themselves. Tell them, and tell them again. Later on, the Israelites forgot this, and there was a whole generation who didn’t learn the promises or the miracles of God, and they paid the price. Don’t let your children grow up that way.