Jacob, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim
And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.-Genesis 48:1-6**The Egyptians descended from Noah the ark builder, and Noah's son Ham, and Ham's son Mizraim. The Arameans descended from Noah's son Shem, and Shem's son Aram. Shem's son Arphaxad was the great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of Terah. Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), Nahor (Nachor), Haran and Sarah (Sarai) were born to Terah. Canaan was land inhabited by idolaters that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham's descendants and childless Abraham. In Canaan, Ishmael was born to 86-year-old Abraham and Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian maidservant. Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah. When Isaac was 40 years old, he was married to Rebekah, Nahor's granddaughter. Fraternal twin sons Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) were born to 60-year-old Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was Isaac's favorite, and Jacob was Rebekah's favorite. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that Esau and Jacob struggled in the womb, and years after they were born, Jacob refused to give Esau any stew until Esau sold his rights as firstborn to Jacob. When Isaac was elderly, and his vision was diminished, and he thought he was dying, he told Esau to hunt a specific animal and fix and service him a specific meal, and Esau told Isaac that he would bless him. Rebekah heard Isaac speaking to Esau and prompted and prepared Jacob to deceive Isaac, and cheat Esau. After Rebekah learned that Esau planned to kill Jacob, she spoke words to Isaac that led him to send Jacob from their home in Beersheba, Canaan, to Rebekah's family in Padan Aram, Haran. Jacob journeyed away from home with only the clothes he was wearing and a walking stick in his hand. Jacob stopped in Luz (Bethel) to sleep and he used a stone for a pillow, and dreamed, and saw the angels of God on a ladder and saw and heard the Lord God speaking to him. During Jacob's 7th year in Haran, he was married to Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Rebekah's brother Laban the Syrian (Aramean). Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and daughter Dinah were born to Jacob and Leah. Dan and Naphtali were born to Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Gad and Asher were born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Joseph was the 1st son born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel and Joseph were Jacob's favorites. During Jacob's 20th year in Haran, he began journeying home to Canaan with his family, servants, animals, and possessions. Near Bethlehem, Benjamin was born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel died. Joseph was 17 years old when his brothers sold him to merchants traveling to Egypt and led Jacob to believe that Joseph was killed by a wild beast. The merchants sold Joseph to Potiphar, an Egyptian official. Potiphar's wife made a false accusation, and Potiphar put Joseph in prison. At least 2 years after Joseph explained the meaning of a dream to the imprisoned cupbearer who served Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and explained the meaning of a dream to Pharaoh's imprisoned baker, 30-year-old Joseph explained the meaning of a dream to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh proclaimed Joseph second-in-command. After the 2nd time that Joseph's brothers were in Egypt during a famine to buy grain (corn), Joseph identified himself to them and told his brothers to move to Egypt with their families, including Jacob. Pharaoh heard about the reunion and expressed his generosity and hospitality. In Beersheba, Jacob offered sacrifices to the Lord God, and the Lord God spoke to 130-year-old Jacob. In Egypt, Jacob proclaimed Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons born to Joseph and his wife Asenath, to be his own sons, and the tribe of Joseph became the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim. Over 1,800 years after 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt, and Jacob's family buried his body in Canaan, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles Ezra 1:1-11, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26