Genesis 48:1-2

EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH ELEVATED

"And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed."

"After these things ..." does not specify the chronology of this event, but the relation of it in this context indicates that the time was shortly before the death of Jacob, in which case, Manasseh and Ephraim would have been grown men about the ages of twenty or twenty-two. Some time prior to this, Jacob had taken a solemn oath of Joseph concerning the disposition of his body upon the occasion of death, but apparently some considerable time had intervened. Having given the matter much thought, Jacob was prepared at this time to bestow the blessing upon Joseph's sons and to elevate them to a full status as his legal sons by formal adoption. His reason for this will appear in the narrative.

Moses referred to Jacob by that name here in speaking of his sickness, but used Israel in relating his work as the patriarchal head of the Chosen Nation. We have already noted that some consider this usage of the two names as interchangeable, and this is apparently true generally. But here it seems that Israel was the name chosen because Jacob's actions were so directly related to the destinies of the covenant people.