Kejadian 12:16

12:16 and he did treat Abram well ¹  on account of her. Abram received ²  sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Kejadian 48:20

48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you ³  will Israel bless, ⁴  saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ⁵ 

[12:16]  ¹ sn He did treat Abram well. The construction of the parenthetical disjunctive clause, beginning with the conjunction on the prepositional phrase, draws attention to the irony of the story. Abram wanted Sarai to lie “so that it would go well” with him. Though he lost Sarai to Pharaoh, it did go well for him – he received a lavish bride price. See also G. W. Coats, “Despoiling the Egyptians,” VT 18 (1968): 450-57.

[12:16]  ² tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[48:20]  ³ tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.

[48:20]  ⁴ tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”

[48:20]  ⁵ sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.