THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL (4) The Birthright

BIRTHRIGHT

Before dying a family’s patriarch would gather his children around him to bestow upon them a blessing. The firstborn was given a special blessing, since he was to become the family’s next patriarch. The firstborn inherited a great responsibility, but with it came certain privileges…

These were the rights of the firstborn:

a. Authority over the family (patriarchy)

b. Double portion of the inheritance

c. The father’s name (just like a last name today)

In Jacob’s case, his firstborn son, the one who was born first, was Reuben. Nevertheless, he did not receive the blessing of the firstborn.

(Genesis 49:1-4)  Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.  (2)  "Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father.  (3)  "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.  (4)  Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it--he went up to my couch!

The Bible tells us that Reuben lay with one of Jacob’s concubines (Genesis 35:22). This cost him his birthright.

If Reuben did not receive the birthright blessing, who did? The brothers on line to receive it, according to the order in which they were born, were Simeon and Levy, but they did not receive this right either, for the shame they put Jacob through when they avenged the rape of their sister Dinah (Genesis 34).

(Genesis 49:5-7)  Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.  (6)  Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.  (7)  Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

Neither Reuben, nor Simeon or Levy received the blessing of the birthright. We read who was given the privilege in the first book of Chronicles:

(1 Chronicles 5: 1-2)  The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son;  (2)  though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph).

The birthright (the authority, the double portion and the name of the father) were divided among Joseph and Judah. Let’s review one at a time:

a. AUTHORITY (for Judah)
Judah was given the authority among the children of Israel.

(Genesis 49:8-10)  Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.  (9)  Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?  (10)  The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Judah received the honor of being the royal family of Israel, represented by the scepter, a symbol of government. From his descendants would come the kings of Israel, the first of whom was David. [Note that even though Saul (from the tribe of Benjamin) was the first king of Israel, he was a king after the people’s desire, while David was the king after God’s own heart].

The blessing Jacob gave Judah is a “prophetic shadow” of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, who comes from the tribe of Judah, specifically from David’s lineage. The word “Shiloh” literally means: “he whose it is” and has a messianic connotation.

b. DOUBLE PORTION (for Joseph)

As we mentioned, the firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance. In Jacob’s case he gave the double portion to Joseph, in the form of tribes.

Joseph was given two tribes, represented by his two children, Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 41:50-52). Both sons had been born to him in Egypt, but Jacob adopted them. Thus they were included in the same level as the rest of Jacob’s children (Genesis 48:5-6). This is a beautiful image of how the Lord adopts the gentiles to be a part of God’s family (Romans 11:24-26; Romans 8:14-17).

Joseph’s tribe became two tribes: the tribe of Ephraim and the tribe of Manasseh. That is how we know there were 13 tribes. However, the Bible always mentions the 12 tribes of Israel because when the Promised Land was distributed all tribes were given a territory, with the exception of the tribe of Levy. The tribe of Levy was set apart to serve God. They were assigned Levite cities throughout the whole territory of Israel.

c. FATHER’S NAME (for Joseph)

 

When Jacob adopted Ephraim and Manasseh, one of them received one of the rights given to the firstborn: the name of the father.

(Genesis 48:8-16)  When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"  (9)  Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." And he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them."  (10)  Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.  (11)  And Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also."  (12)  Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.  (13)  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.  (14)  And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn).  (15)  And he blessed Joseph and said, "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 redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

Not only did Jacob adopt them, but he also gave them Abraham’s blessing (land and offspring). Also, he said that they would carry on his name: Israel.

However, among Joseph’s children one would be “greater”, and he would keep the birthright… and to Joseph’s surprise, it was not going to be the firstborn.

(Genesis 48:17-22)  When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.  (18)  And Joseph said to his father, "Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head."  (19)  But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations."  (20)  So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, 'God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.  (21)  Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.  (22)  Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow."

[Note that in Hebrew tradition the right hand is used to bless the oldest and the left to bless the youngest.]

When he blessed the sons of Joseph, Jacob prophesied that Manasseh was going to be a great people. But then he pointed out that Ephraim was going to be greater and his tribe would become a multitude of nations (Hebrew Melo HaGoyim, which literally means “the fullness of the gentiles”).

As with any prophecy, the words spoken were not fully understood at the time they were said, but later… Surely Joseph and his children didn’t know what these words meant. However, with the added benefit of the historical background, today we may understand what Jacob wanted to say. And this is precisely what we will discover throughout this study… we will learn what role Ephraim will play regarding this prophecy and where his tribe is today.

Maybe many people overlook the details of the birthright blessing among the children of Israel. However, these are important facts when it comes to understanding who the children of Israel are, and how they were divided.  It is also important to understand this in order to distinguish between Judah and Ephraim in biblical prophecy. But for now, what we must understand is that Ephraim was given the right to carry on the name of “Israel”.