Jacob Laid His Hands On Joseph's Two Sons
Genesis 48:1-22 reads,
48:1
It happened after these things, that one said to Joseph, "Behold, your father is sick." He took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 48:2One told Jacob, and said, "Behold, your son Joseph comes to you," and Israel strengthened himself, and sat on the bed. 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 48:4and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.’ 48:5Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, will be mine. 48:6Your issue, who you become the father of after them, will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 48:7As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem)."48:8
Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, "Who are these?"48:9
Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here."He said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them." 48:10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he couldn’t see. He brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 48:11Israel said to Joseph, "I didn’t think I would see your face, and, behold, God has let me see your seed also." 48:12Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 48:13Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near to him. 48:14Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 48:15He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 48:16the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
48:17
When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 48:18Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."48:19
His father refused, and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations." 48:20He blessed them that day, saying, "In you will Israel bless, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh’" He set Ephraim before Manasseh. 48:21Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers. 48:22Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow."Jacob Sought To Bless Joseph's Two Sons
48:3 notes that Yahweh blessed Jacob. 48:9 notes that Jacob sought to bless Joseph's two sons.
Why did Jacob seek to bless Joseph's two sons?
48:14 shows that in blessing Joseph's two sons Jacob laid his hands on their heads.
Yahweh Guided Jacob In His Blessing Joseph's Two Sons
The nature of Jacob's blessing to Joseph, through his two sons, shows that he was transmitting Yahweh's blessing to him to Joseph. Also, that 48:14 shows that he guided his hands knowingly indicates that he was acting in Yahweh's power, and not out of his own opinion. For, having dim eyes, and not being able to see clearly, and yet insisting that the greater blessing rest on the younger son, Ephraim, indicates that it was Yahweh who had guided this particular action of his.
In other words, Jacob's blessing to Joseph was done under Yahweh's hand, and not out of Jacob's personal opinion. The blessing he transmitted was Yahweh's blessing to Abraham, transmitted to Isaac and then transmitted to him. This was Yahweh's doing and not man's doing.
One Way Yahweh's Blessing Is Transmitted To Another
It therefore appears that Yahweh's blessing can be transmitted to another person through the laying on of hands on the head of that other person accompanied by prayer on behalf of the recipient of the blessing. The person laying hands does so under Yahweh's authority, and not under his own authority.
Sanctification Of The Priests In Israel
Exodus 29:1-46 reads,
29:1
"This is the thing that you shall do to them to make them holy, to minister to me in the priest’s office: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 29:2unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil: you shall make them of fine wheat flour. 29:3You shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams. 29:4You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent of meeting, and shall wash them with water. 29:5You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and dress him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod; 29:6and you shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 29:7Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him. 29:8You shall bring his sons, and put coats on them. 29:9You shall dress them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.29:10
"You shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting: and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. 29:11You shall kill the bull before Yahweh, at the door of the tent of meeting. 29:12You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. 29:13You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 29:14But the flesh of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp: it is a sin-offering.29:15
"You shall also take the one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. 29:16You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar. 29:17You shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its innards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head. 29:18You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to Yahweh; it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.29:19
"You shall take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. 29:20Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood on the altar round about. 29:21You shall take of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be made holy, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. 29:22Also you shall take some of the ram’s fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration), 29:23and one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Yahweh. 29:24You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands, and in his sons’ hands, and shall wave them for a wave-offering before Yahweh. 29:25You shall take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar on the burnt offering, for a sweet savor before Yahweh: it is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.29:26
"You shall take the breast of Aaron’s ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave-offering before Yahweh: and it shall be your portion. 29:27You shall sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the thigh of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: 29:28and it shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering: and it shall be a heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering to Yahweh.29:29
"The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them. 29:30Seven days shall the son who is priest in his place put them on, when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.29:31
"You shall take the ram of consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place. 29:32Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting. 29:33They shall eat those things with which atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat of it, because they are holy. 29:34If anything of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, remains to the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.29:35
"Thus shall you do to Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days shall you consecrate them. 29:36Every day shall you offer the bull of sin-offering for atonement: and you shall cleanse the altar, when you make atonement for it; and you shall anoint it, to sanctify it. 29:37Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it: and the altar shall be most holy; whatever touches the altar shall be holy.29:38
"Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. 29:39The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening: 29:40and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering. 29:41The other lamb you shall offer at evening, and shall do to it according to the meal-offering of the morning, and according to its drink-offering, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 29:42It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you. 29:43There I will meet with the children of Israel; and the place shall be sanctified by my glory. 29:44I will sanctify the tent of meeting and the altar: Aaron also and his sons I will sanctify, to minister to me in the priest’s office. 29:45I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 29:46They shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Yahweh their God.The Priests Lay Their Hands On The Heads Of Sacrificial Animals
It should be noted that Aaron and his sons, the priests, lay their hands on the heads of the animals that were later sacrificed and offered up to Yahweh.
Metaphorically Transferring One's Sins To The Sin Offering
With respect to the bull for sin offering for atonement it is indicated that Aaron and his sons metaphorically transmitted their sins to the bull. For when one lays hands on the head of another at Yahweh's command, that one is indeed transmitting something that he has to the entity that he lays his hands on its head. The metaphor therefore shows that Aaron and his sons were transmitting their sins to the bull. After having transmitted their sins to the bull, and having offered it for a sin offering, they were indeed cleansed of their sins and therefore holy, the entire process metaphorically showing their sanctification.
Laying On Of Hands Facilitates Receipt By Another Of What One Possesses
In Jacob's case in Genesis 48 it is noted that Jacob possessed a blessing from Yahweh, and he was transmitting the blessing that he possessed from Yahweh to Joseph, doing so at Yahweh's command. In Aaron and his sons' case it is noted that they possessed sins and were therefore metaphorically transmitting their sins to the animals, doing so at Yahweh's command. It therefore appears that for one to transfer to another something that one possesses, doing so at Yahweh's command, the one indeed lays his hands on the head of the other to whom the thing is transferred.
Laying On Of Hands To Facilitate Atonement With Yahweh
Leviticus 1:1-9 reads,
1:1
Yahweh called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the Tent of Meeting, saying, 1:2"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the cattle, from the herd and from the flock.1:3
"‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh. 1:4He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 1:5He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 1:6He shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into pieces. 1:7The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire; 1:8and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar; 1:9but its innards and its legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall burn the whole on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to Yahweh.Just as with the priests so it is with the people. When people seek atonement with Yahweh they lay their hands on the heads of their animal offerings to metaphorically transmit their sins to those animals, and then sacrifice and offer them to Yahweh. Once the animal metaphorically bearing the sin has been killed to Yahweh according to specifications the sinner is atoned for his sin and again becomes one with Yahweh.
Leviticus 3:1-2 reads,
3:1
"‘If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings; if he offers it from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before Yahweh. 3:2He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tent of meeting: and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood on the altar round about.Leviticus 3:6-8 reads,
3:6
"‘If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh is from the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 3:7If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before Yahweh; 3:8and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tent of meeting: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on the altar round about.Leviticus 3:12-13 reads,
3:12
"‘If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before Yahweh: 3:13and he shall lay his hand on its head, and kill it before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood on the altar round about.Leviticus 4:1-4 reads,
4:1
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 4:2"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them: 4:3if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bull without blemish to Yahweh for a sin offering. 4:4He shall bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before Yahweh.The Laying On Of Elders' Hands Represents The Laying On Of The Entire Congregation's Hands
Leviticus 4:13-20 reads,
4:13
"‘If the whole congregation of Israel sins, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and are guilty; 4:14when the sin in which they have sinned is known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for a sin offering, and bring it before the Tent of Meeting. 4:15The elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before Yahweh; and the bull shall be killed before Yahweh. 4:16The anointed priest shall bring of the blood of the bull to the Tent of Meeting: 4:17and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before Yahweh, before the veil. 4:18He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before Yahweh, that is in the Tent of Meeting; and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 4:19All its fat he shall take from it, and burn it on the altar. 4:20Thus shall he do with the bull; as he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this; and the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.4:20 shows that the people are forgiven their sin after the metaphoric penalty for their sins has been paid, meaning the entity bearing their sin has been killed and offered up according to Yahweh's specifications. For by laying their hands on the head of the sin offering, and doing so at Yahweh's command, they are metaphorically transmitting their sin to the sin offering, before killing the sin offering in payment for their sin.
Leviticus 4:22-24 reads,
4:22
"‘When a ruler sins, and unwittingly does any one of all the things which Yahweh his God has commanded not to be done, and is guilty; 4:23if his sin, in which he has sinned, is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish. 4:24He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before Yahweh. It is a sin offering.Leviticus 4:27-29 reads,
4:27
"‘If anyone of the common people sins unwittingly, in doing any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and is guilty; 4:28if his sin, which he has sinned, is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has sinned. 4:29He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering.Leviticus 4:32-33 reads,
4:32
"‘If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish. 4:33He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.The Priests Obeyed Their Sanctification Commands
Leviticus 8:14 reads,
8:14
He brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.Leviticus 8:18 reads,
8:18
He presented the ram of the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.Leviticus 8:22 reads,
8:22
He presented the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.Leviticus 16:20-22 reads,
16:20
"When he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 16:21Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 16:22The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.16:21-22 confirms that it is the action of laying hands on the head of an entity that transmits what is in one or represented by one to the entity on whose head that hands are laid on. For when Aaron was to lay his hands on the head of the live goat, confessing over the goat all the iniquities of the children of Israel, the sins were metaphorically transferred to the goat. Therefore the action of a person laying hands on the head of another person, doing so at Yahweh's command, results in the thing that the person has or represents being transferred to the person on whose had he lays his hands upon.
Numbers 8:5-19 reads,
8:5
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 8:6"Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 8:7Thus shall you do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves. 8:8Then let them take a young bull, and its meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering. 8:9You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel. 8:10You shall present the Levites before Yahweh. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, 8:11and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a wave offering, on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh. 8:12The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites. 8:13You shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Yahweh. 8:14Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.8:15
"After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering. 8:16For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me. 8:17For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself. 8:18I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel. 8:19I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel; that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary."The Levites Received Their Service Of The Tent Of Meeting Through The Laying On Of Hands On Them
8:10-11 shows that the children of Israel were to lay their hands on the Levites. In this case the purpose in the children of Israel laying their hands on the Levites was to transmit to the Levites the service of the Tent of Meeting that Yahweh required of the children of Israel, and specifically of their firstborns. It therefore appears that the laying on of one's hands on another, done at Yahweh's command, can be for the purpose of transmitting the service to Yahweh that the one was doing. The other then becomes Yahweh's servant in one's stead, effective from the time of Yahweh's determination.
Joshua's Appointment Over Yahweh's Congregation
Numbers 27:12-23 reads,
27:12
Yahweh said to Moses, Go up into this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 27:13When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered; 27:14because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes. (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)27:15
Moses spoke to Yahweh, saying, 27:16Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, 27:17who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of Yahweh not be as sheep which have no shepherd.27:18
Yahweh said to Moses, Take Joshua the son of Nun,_o cleanse the house of Yahweh. 29:16The priests went in to the inner part of the house of Yahweh, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Yahweh into the court of the house of Yahweh. The Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron. 29:17Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of Yahweh; and they sanctified the house of Yahweh in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.29:18
Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within the palace, and said, We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels of it, and the table of show bread, with all the vessels of it. 29:19Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.29:20
Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Yahweh. 29:21They brought seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven male goats, for a sin-offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. He commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of Yahweh. 29:22So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: and they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar: they killed also the lambs, and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 29:23They brought near the male goats for the sin-offering before the king and the assembly; and they laid their hands on them: 29:24and the priests killed them, and they made a sin-offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin-offering should be made for all Israel.[Previous Section] [Contents] [Next Section]
Click here to inform a friend about this article
Go to Christ the Lamp web site Contents page
Go to Christ the Lamp Home page
© 1999, Isaac Aluochier, All rights reserved. Published by Christ the Lamp, a division of Servants of Yahweh, P O Box 78, Royston, SG8 7WF, United Kingdom. E-mail: christthelamp@christthelamp.org. Permission is hereby GRANTED to reproduce this and other publications in the Christ the Lamp web site, http://www.christthelamp.org, unless otherwise stated.
Financial contributions, payable to Servants of Yahweh, and sent to P O Box 78, Royston, SG8 7WF, United Kingdom, are welcome and gratefully received. These facilitate the effective distribution of the word Yah'shuah has given us, both in electronic and hard copy formats. Not all have easy access to the Internet and therefore cannot easily access our web site, http://www.christthelamp.org, for this information where it is freely available. These need hard copies of the information published on our web site. Production and distribution of books and booklets is significantly more costly than publishing and distributing material over the Internet. In this regard your financial contributions, whether by way of tithes and/or freewill offerings, go a great way in disseminating the word Yah'shuah has given us to the people he wills it to reach. May Yahweh and Yah'shuah richly bless you for your financial contributions to Servants of Yahweh.