Genesis 48:11

Gen 48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

Ver. 11. I had not thought to see thy face.] God delights to outbid the hopes of his people, and to be better to them than their deserts, than their desires, yea, than their faith. {Isa 54:2-3; Isa 54:12; Isa 54:14} As it is storied of a certain emperor, that he delighted in no undertakings so much as in those that his counsellors and captains held impossible: and he seldom miscarried. So God, Exo 15:11.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 48:11. I had not thought to see thy face — Having many years given him up for lost; and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed! — See here, how these two good men own God in their comforts. Joseph saith, They are my sons whom God has given me — And to magnify the favour he adds, in this place of my banishment, slavery, and imprisonment. Jacob saith here, God hath showed me thy seed — Our comforts are then doubly sweet to us, when we see them coming from God’s hand.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 11. I had not thought to see thy face] There is much delicacy and much tenderness in these expressions. He feels himself now amply recompensed for his long grief and trouble on account of the supposed death of Joseph, in seeing not only himself but his two sons, whom God, by an especial act of favour, is about to add to the number of his own. Thus we find that as Reuben and Simeon were heads of two distinct tribes in Israel, so were Ephraim and Manasseh; because Jacob, in a sort of sacramental way, had adopted them with equal privileges to those of his own sons.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. thy seed also] This expression, like the question in Gen_48:8, seems to imply that Jacob had not before set eyes upon the sons of Joseph.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face,.... Some years ago he never expected to have seen him any more; he had given him up for lost, as a dead man, when his sons brought him his coat dipped in blood; and by reason of the long course of years which passed before ever he heard anything of him:

and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed; it was an additional favour to see his offspring; it can hardly be thought, that in a course of seventeen years he had been in Egypt, he had not seen them before, only he takes this opportunity, which was the last he should have of expressing his pleasure on this occasion.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Deprived. Hebrew, "I did not expect; or, I durst not pray" to God for a thing which I thought impossible; I mean, the happiness of seeing thee; and lo, God, &c.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God (Elohim) hath showed me also thy seed. The first half of Israel s utterance is rendered by the LXX "Idoupou sou oujk ejsterhqhn"

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I had not thought to see thy face, (having many years given him up for lost) and lo God hath shewed me also thy seed? - See here, How these two good men own God in their comforts. Joseph saith, They are my sons whom God has given me - And to magnify the favour he adds, in this place of my banishment, slavery and imprisonment. Jacob saith here, God hath shewed me thy seed - Our comforts are then doubly sweet to us, when we see them coming from God's hand.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

to see your face again

Here "face" stands for the whole person. AT: "to see you again" (See: Synecdoche)

between Israel's knees

When Joseph placed his sons on Israel's lap or knees it was a sign that Israel was adopting them. This gave the children special inheritance rights from Jacob. (See: Symbolic Action)

then he bowed with his face to the earth

Joseph bowed down to show honor to his father. (See: Symbolic Action)

Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand

Joseph places the boys so that Israel will put his right hand on Manasseh. Manasseh was the oldest brother and the right hand was the sign he would receive the greater blessing. (See: Symbolic Action)

translationWords

bow

right hand

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

לא פללתי I HAD NOT CONTEMPLATED — I had never dared to cherish the thought that I would again see your face. פללתי is an expression for thinking, like the noun in (Isaiah 16:3) “Give counsel, carry out the thought (פלילה)”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

לא פללתי, related to the word ונתן בפלילים (Exodus 21,22) meaning here “I have not judged the situation and responsibility by myself but have left it to independent judges who are without prejudice.” As far as Joseph’s fate was concerned, Yaakov said that he had not arrived at definitive conclusions but had not dared hope that he would ever see him again. Some commentators relate the word פללתי to the word תפלה, prayer, in which case Yaakov was saying to Joseph that he had not prayed to G’d concerning being reunited with Joseph in this life as he had considered it a forbidden, vain prayer, i.e. uttering the Lord’s name in vain, seeing that all the evidence he had at his disposal indicated that Joseph was already dead. (compare Midrash Lekach Tov on this paragraph)

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.