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The ShᵊkhëmꞋ Portion To Yo•seiphꞋ

Bequeathal Bᵊrâkh•ōtꞋ Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim & Mᵊnash•ëhꞋ Bën-Yo•seiphꞋ

ca. B.C.E. 1737

Since Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ was restoring the double-portion of inheritance to Yo•seiphꞋ, Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ blessed each of Yo•seiphꞋ's 2 children, Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim & Mᵊnash•ëhꞋ, directly; as though they were his own sons.

Degel Ephërayim
Flag of Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim
Degel Mᵊnasheh
Flag of Mᵊnash•ëhꞋ

Contrary to ancient Middle East convention, as Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ blessed Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim and Mᵊnash•ëhꞋ, he put his right hand on the head of the younger brother, Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim, to give him priority in inheritance.

When Yo•seiphꞋ noticed that Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ had his right hand on Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim's head, he attempted to correct his father. But Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ assured him that he was aware of which of his hands were on which head and that Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim would be the greater of the two. Then Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ instructed that Am Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ should thereafter bless their sons as follows:

"YᵊsimᵊkhâꞋ ël•oh•imꞋ kᵊË•phᵊr•aꞋyim wᵊ­khi­Mᵊnash•ëhꞋ" — giving priority to Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim.


Shᵊkhem Har Eival (rt) Har Grizim (lft)
Click to enlargeShᵊkhëmꞋ

Additionally, Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ apportioned to Yo•seiphꞋ one ùÑÀëÆí above his brothers of the lands that Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ had taken from the Ë•mor•imꞋ by force of sword and bow.


Optional parental preparation:

  1. In your family, does the father bless his sons and daughters nightly, or on Sha•bâtꞋ, accordingly?

  2. Translation: "May Ël•oh•imꞋ place youmasc. sing. like [He has] Ë•phᵊr•aꞋyim and like [He has] Mᵊnash•ëhꞋ."

    From this, the feminine is derived to bless daughters: éÀùÒÄîÅê àÁìÉäÄéí ëÌÀùÒÈøÈä, øÄáÀ÷Èä, øÈçÅì åÀìÅàÈä – Translation: "May Ël•oh•imꞋ place youfem. sing. like SârꞋâh, RiꞋvᵊq•âh, Râ•kheilꞋ and LeiꞋâh." Return to text

  3. Egyptian heqa (l) & sekhem (r) scepters
    Click to enlargeEgyptian heqa (l) & ùÒÀëÆí (r) scepters
    Reference to the first capital city of the 10 Breakaway Tribes in the Shom•ronꞋ doesn't seem to fit the context. ŌꞋnᵊqᵊlōs translates this into Aramaic as çåÌìÈ÷, which may corroborate the meaning of "ùÑÀëÆí" as the choice shoulder portion. However, vowels weren't introduced into the text until the Masoretes (c 7th century C.E. at the earliest). Since they were living in Egypt, and Yo•seiphꞋ was the Deputy-Par•ohꞋ of all Egypt – and seemed, to the Egyptians, to divinely control the seasons, weather and sky, perhaps the intention was ùÒÀëÆí. A play on these two words might also have been the original intent, lost in the 7-10th centuries C.E. when the introduction of vowels eliminated the Egyptian term. Return to text

Questions you might anticipate that your child might raise and be prepared to discuss:

  1. What does bequeathal mean?

  2. What is a (cultural, scientific, etc.) convention?


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