Genesis 48 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 7 Similar 4 Different 5 Divergent 3 Disparate 3
Disparate in this chapter: 48:12, 48:15, 48:20
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
Israel’s Covenant Remembrance
48:1 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:1 And it came to pass after these things that it was reported to Joseph, “Behold, your father is ailing.” So he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Greek · Saints priority
48:1 And it came to pass after these things that it was reported to Joseph, “Behold, your father is ailing.” So he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to Jacob.
Greek explicitly adds the journey to Jacob [G48].
48:2 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:2 And it was reported to Jacob, saying, “Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you.” Then Israel gathered his strength and sat up on the bed.
Greek · Saints priority
48:2 And it was reported to Jacob, saying, “Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you.” Then Israel gathered his strength and sat up on the bed.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
48:3 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in Canaan and blessed me.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “My God appeared to me at Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me.”
Hebrew El Shaddai is retained as a divine title; Greek has my God. Greek Luza is normalized to Luz. [G48]
48:4 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:4 “He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and multiply you. I will make you a company of peoples and give this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’”
Greek · Saints priority
48:4 “He said to me, ‘I will increase and multiply you. I will make you assemblies of nations and give this land to you and your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’”
Greek adds to you and uses plural assemblies against Hebrew’s company [G48].
48:5 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:5 “And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, belong to me; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:5 “And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, belong to me; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
48:6 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:6 “But any children you beget after them shall be yours; they shall be called under the names of their brothers within their inheritances.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:6 “Any children you beget after these will be yours; they will be called by their brothers’ names within their allotments.”
Rahlfs–Hanhart includes will be yours. The earlier draft’s omission and associated difference claim are corrected. [G48]
48:7 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:7 “When I came from Paddan, Rachel died beside me in Canaan on the journey, while there was still some distance to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:7 “When I came from Mesopotamia of Syria, your mother Rachel died in Canaan as I approached the horse-course of Chabratha on the way to Ephrath. I buried her on the road of the horse-course, which is Bethlehem.”
Greek explicitly says your mother and has the difficult horse-course/Chabratha expressions; compare 35:16b. The exact geographical interpretation remains provisional [G48].
Israel’s Cross-Hand Blessing
48:8 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:8 Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?”
Greek · Saints priority
48:8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these to you?”
Greek adds to you [G48].
48:9 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:9 And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, so that I may bless them.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:9 And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And Jacob said, “Bring them to me, so that I may bless them.”
Greek names Jacob; Hebrew includes the request particle rendered please [G48].
48:10 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:10 Israel’s eyes were dim with age, and he could not see. Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed and embraced them.
Greek · Saints priority
48:10 Israel’s eyes were dim with age, and he could not see. Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed and embraced them.
Both describe impaired sight. Joseph is supplied as the contextual subject of bringing the sons near [G48].
48:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:11 Israel said to Joseph, “I had not expected to see your face, and now God has shown me your seed as well.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:11 Israel said to Joseph, “I have not been deprived of your face, and now God has shown me your seed as well.”
An earlier expectation and the present outcome are stated differently but compatibly [G48].
48:12 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:12 Joseph brought them out from between his knees and bowed with his face to the ground.
Greek · Saints priority
48:12 Joseph brought them away from his knees, and they bowed before him with their faces to the ground.
The bowing subject is singular in Hebrew and plural in Greek. The possessive in his knees is left unexpanded [G48]. The actors performing homage change within the blessing scene.
48:13 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:13 And Joseph took them both—Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right—and brought them close to him.
Greek · Saints priority
48:13 And Joseph took them both—Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right—and brought them close to him.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
48:14 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Greek · Saints priority
48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, with his hands crossed.
Greek lacks the final Manasseh-was-firstborn clause. The arrangement remains explicit [G48].
48:15 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:15 He blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has shepherded me all my life to this day,”
Greek · Saints priority
48:15 He blessed them and said, “The God whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac pleased, the God who has nourished me from youth to this day,”
The blessing’s named recipient changes from Joseph to them, and walked before / pleased and shepherded / nourished reshape the description. Rahlfs–Hanhart repeats God, not Lord. [G48]
48:16 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:16 “the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the young men. Let my name and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac be carried on in them, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:16 “the Angel who delivers me from all evils, bless these children. My name and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac will be called upon them, and may they multiply into a great multitude on the earth.”
Greek makes the name clause future and adds great to the multitude. Identification of the Angel beyond the text belongs to attributed reception [G48].
48:17 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:17 When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased. He took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.
Greek · Saints priority
48:17 When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased. He took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.
Both describe Joseph’s displeasure; Greek’s heavy idiom is smoothed [G48].
48:18 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father! For this one is the firstborn; place your right hand upon his head.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father! For this one is the firstborn; place your right hand upon his head.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
48:19 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:19 His father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people and be great. But his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:19 He refused and said, “I know, child, I know. He too will become a people and be exalted. But his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations.”
Be great/be exalted differs in expression; the younger brother’s precedence is shared [G48].
48:20 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:20 He blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” He placed Ephraim before Manasseh.
Greek · Saints priority
48:20 He blessed them that day, saying, “In you Israel will be blessed, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” He placed Ephraim before Manasseh.
Hebrew has an active blessing formula; Greek has Israel will be blessed [G48]. Rabbinic reception: Rashi describes this wording as the formula a parent uses when blessing sons, asking that they become like Ephraim and Manasseh [R48]. The blessing formula changes from Israel’s action to Israel’s reception of blessing.
48:21 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die; but God will be with you and will return you to the land of your fathers.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die; but God will be with you and will return you to the land of your fathers.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
48:22 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
48:22 “I give you one portion beyond your brothers, which I took from the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Greek · Saints priority
48:22 “I give you Shechem as a choice portion beyond your brothers, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
Hebrew shechem can mean shoulder or portion and evokes Shechem; Greek explicitly transliterates the place. The account is not rewritten to resolve its relation to the earlier purchase and conquest narratives [G48].
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.