Genesis 48:8
in Genesis 48When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?
KJV
And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?
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This verse in Genesis 48
Commentary
3 notes on this verseWho are these? - At Gen 48:10 it is said, that Jacob’s eyes were dim for age, that he could not see - could not discern any object unless it were near him; therefore, though he saw Ephraim and Manasseh, yet he could not distinguish them till they were brought nigh unto him.
This site's exposition
When Israel saw the sons of Joseph
on Genesis 48:8-10
Israel's eyes are poor with age, and he asks who the boys are. Isaac's eyes had failed the same way at Genesis 27:1, and a son was passed off as his brother. He asks for them to be brought close, so that he may bless them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons,....
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יוֹסֵ֑ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֵֽלֶּה׃ | ʾeleh | [are] these | H428 → | 746 times |
וַיַּ֥רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יוֹסֵ֑ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מִי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
אֵֽלֶּה׃[are] these
ʾelehH428 →746 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.