Bible Strands
Numbers 26:28
The descendants of Joseph included the clans of Manasseh and Ephraim.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses records a second tribal census for the Israelites on the plains of Moab, listing the registered family units for each tribe before the conquest. The words — בְּנֵי (benei) means “sons” or “descendants,” and מִשְׁפְּחֹתָם (mishpechotam) translates as “their clans,” structurally organizing Joseph’s lineage into distinct administrative groups. The thread — This division originates in Egypt where Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph (Genesis 46:20), later formally recognized by Jacob as tribal heirs (Genesis 48:5) and named by Joseph (Genesis 41:51). Why it lands — It establishes that tribal identity and future inheritance rights are grounded in documented genealogical lines, requiring the reader to treat family registration as a structural and legal reality rather than a mere historical record.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim.
Cross-references
- Genesis 46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
- Genesis 41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
- Genesis 48:5 And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
- Genesis 48:13 And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him.