Thy two sons are mine, by adoption: I shall own them as if they were my immediate children, and each of them shall have equal share, both in my present estate, and future inheritance of Canaan, with the rest of my children. Thus Jacob transfers the double portion, which was the right of the first-born, from which Reuben by his transgression fell, Genesis 49:4, upon Joseph, 1 Chronicles 5:1. He names the two eldest, who, if any, might seem to claim a greater privilege than the rest.
Related Commentaries of Genesis 48:5
Genesis 48:5
5 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.