Since Jacob was about to die, he figured it was time to start handing out blessings to his offspring, as was the custom in those days. So Jacob called in Joseph along with his two sons, Ephraim and Mannaseh. When they arrived, Jacob propped himself up in bed and told Joseph of the conversation he had had with God all those years ago in which God had promised him his seed would multiply and be a great people and so on and so forth. Jacob further told Joseph that he would count Joseph’s two sons as his own as far as the inheritance went, so they would get a share of it just like Simeon and Reuben and all the rest of Jacob’s kids would. Since Jacob had an enormous family, this probably meant they were each going to get a cow and a half each, but it’s the thought that counts.
So Jacob summoned the two boys, Ephraim and Mannaseh, over so he could lay his hands on them and bless them. Unfortunately, he was going blind and laid his left hand on Manasseh, who was the oldest, and laid his right hand (aka the “money hand”) on Ephraim, who was the youngest. Joseph, seeing this, tried to switch the hands, but Jacob insisted he had it right, and that as a result the youngest son would end up with a better blessing and a better overall life than the oldest. One can only assume Manasseh was not happy with this news. To placate Joseph, Jacob told him he would be getting a bigger share of the inheritance than his brothers would, so don’t worry too much about the mixup with his sons.
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