e his
blessing,--Manasseh and Ephraim, born in Egypt, whose grandfather was
the high-priest of On, the city of the sun. As Manasseh was the oldest,
he placed him at the right hand of Jacob, but the old man wittingly and
designedly laid his right hand on Ephraim, which displeased Joseph. But
Jacob, without giving his reason, persisted. While he prophesied that
Manasseh should be great, Ephraim he said should be greater,--verified
in the fact that the tribe of Ephraim was the largest of all the tribes,
and the most powerful until the captivity. It was nearly as large as all
the rest together, although in the time of Moses the tribe of Manasseh
had become more numerous. We cannot penetrate the reason why Ephraim
the younger son was preferred to the older, any more than why Jacob was
preferred to Esau. After Jacob had blessed the sons of Joseph, he called
his other sons around his dying bed to predict the future of their
descendants. Reuben the oldest was told that he would not excel, because
he had loved his father's concubine and committed a grievous sin. Simeon
and Levi were the most active in seeking to compass the death of Joseph,
and a curse was sent upon them. Judah was exalted above them all, for he
had sought to save Joseph, and was eloquent in pleading for
Benjamin,--the most magnanimous of the sons. So from him it was
predicted that the sceptre should not depart from his house until Shiloh
should come,--the Messiah, to whose appearance all the patriarchs
looked. And all that Jacob predicted about his sons to their remote
descendants came to pass; but the highest blessing was accorded to
Joseph, as was realized in the future ascendency of Ephraim.

When Jacob had made an end of his blessings and predictions he gathered
up his feet into his bed and gave up the ghost, and Joseph caused him to
be embalmed, as was the custom in Egypt. When the days of public
mourning were over (seventy days), Joseph obtained leave from Pharaoh to
absent himself from the kingdom and his government, to bury his father
according to his wish. And he departed in great pomp, with chariots and
horses, together with his brothers and a great number, and deposited the
remains of Jacob in the cave of the field of Machpelah, where Abraham
himself was buried, and then returned to his duties in Egypt.

It is not mentioned in the Scriptures how long Joseph retained his power
as prime minister of Pharaoh, but probably until a new dynasty succeeded
t