And now thy two sons— The LXX have it, Now therefore thy two sons (thus expressing Jacob's faith in the Divine promises) are mine, as Simeon and Reuben; that is, shall be reputed my immediate sons, as if they were my natural offspring. I adopt them as my own sons, and they shall succeed to my inheritance in that quality; becoming, after my death, the heads of two different tribes, just in the same manner as Simeon and Reuben, my immediate issue, who are mentioned, as being the eldest: a double portion is thus bestowed upon Joseph, which was the privilege of the first-born, by putting his two sons upon a footing with Jacob's own children, 1 Chronicles 5:1. Whatever sons Joseph should have afterwards, 1 Chronicles 5:6 were not to be ranked in this quality, but to be considered in the same light with the descendants of the other brethren.
REFLECTIONS.—1. As it is our duty to visit the sick, so it is a peculiar mercy to be present at the departure of dying saints; as it is fabled of the dying swan, they often then sing sweetest, and leave behind them a deep remembrance of their words.
2. Lest the glare of the world's pomp might seem to make the favour despicable which Jacob now confers on Joseph and his sons, the old patriarch recites the promise that God had made him, to encourage them, notwithstanding present appearances, to prefer the hope of Israel to the honours of AEgypt. Note; (1.) They who with dependance on God's promises renounce the world, to suffer reproach and affliction with the people of God, will find in the end the wisdom of their choice. (2.) We cannot be too explicit in our wills, to prevent disputes when we are dead.