And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?
Joseph brought Ephraim and Manasseh to Jacob to be formally placed among the children of Israel as heads of separate tribes. Jacob's eyes were dim with age, so he had not realized the young men were present, and seeing only the outline of their forms he asked who they were. When told they were Joseph's sons, he called them to come near so he could bless them, then embraced and kissed them and laid his hands on their heads in blessing.
The verse belongs to the famine years when Jacob's sons went to Egypt for grain and bowed before Joseph as ruler of the land. Joseph knew his brothers but they did not know him, because his Hebrew name had been replaced by the name bestowed by the king and there was little resemblance between the prime minister of Egypt and the youth sold to the Ishmaelites. When Joseph saw his brothers stooping and making obeisance, his earlier dreams came to his mind.
Joseph brought Ephraim and Manasseh to Jacob to be formally placed among the children of Israel as heads of separate tribes. Jacob's eyes were dim with age, so he had not realized the young men were present, and seeing only the outline of their forms he asked who they were. When told they were Joseph's sons, he called them to come near so he could bless them, then embraced and kissed them and laid his hands on their heads in blessing.
The verse belongs to the famine years when Jacob's sons went to Egypt for grain and bowed before Joseph as ruler of the land. Joseph knew his brothers but they did not know him, because his Hebrew name had been replaced by the name bestowed by the king and there was little resemblance between the prime minister of Egypt and the youth sold to the Ishmaelites. When Joseph saw his brothers stooping and making obeisance, his earlier dreams came to his mind.