Genesis 50:23 - Exposition

And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation:—i.e . Ephraim's great-grandchildren (Kalisch, Lange), or Ephraim's great-great-grandsons (Keil, Murphy), which perhaps was not impossible, since Ephraim must have been born before Joseph's thirty-seventh year, thus allowing at least sixty-three years for four generations to intervene before the patriarch's death, which might be, if marriage happened early, say not later than eighteen— the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh-by a concubine ( 1 Chronicles 7:14 ) were brought up upon Joseph's knees— literally, were born upon Joseph ' s knees, i.e. were adopted by him as soon as they were born (Kalisch, Wordsworth, 'Speaker's Commentary'), or were born so that he could take them also upon his knees, and show his love for them (Keil).