§1Primum omnium quantam discimus parentibus referre reue- I rentiam, cum legimus quoniam qui benedicebatur a patre benedictus erat et qui maledicebatur maledictus erat! ideo hanc parentibus gratiam donauit deus, ut filiorum pietas prouocetur.
First of all, how great a reverence we learn to pay to our parents when we read that he who was blessed by his father was blessed, and he who was cursed was cursed! Therefore God gave this grace to parents, so that the piety of children might be provoked.
praerogatiua igitur parentum disciplina est filiorum.
The prerogative of parents, therefore, is the instruction of children.
honora ergo patrem, ut benedicat te.
Honor your father, therefore, so that he may bless you.
honoret patrem pius propter gratiam, ingratus pro timore.
Let the dutiful honor his father because of grace, and the ungrateful out of fear.
etsi pauper est pater et non habet diuitiarum copias, quas relinquat filiis, habet tamen ultimae benedictionis hereditatem, qua sanctificationis opes successoribus largiatur.
Even if a father is poor and has no abundance of riches to leave to his children, he nevertheless has the inheritance of the ultimate blessing, by which he may lavish the riches of sanctification upon his successors.
et multo plus est beatum quam diuitem fieri.
And it is much more to become blessed than to become rich.
§2festinabat-Ioseph sumere benedictionem.
Joseph hastened to receive the blessing.
denique et filios suos optulit Manassem et Ephraem, quos benedixit Iacob, ut quia duodecim habebat filios et tertius decimus apostolus futurus erat Paulus quasi posterior electus, tertia decima tribus de Manasse et Ephraem nepotibus sanctificaretur in utrumque diuisa, quo Paulus non extra paternarum tribuum numerum inueniretur, qui ueteris testamenti et noui egregius praedicator paternae benedictionis hereditatem sibi quoque profecisse facile conprobaret.
Consequently, he also presented his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Jacob blessed, so that, because he had twelve sons and Paul was to be the thirteenth apostle, chosen as if later, the thirteenth tribe from his grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim, divided into both, might be sanctified, in order that Paul might not be found outside the number of the paternal tribes—he who, as an outstanding preacher of the Old and New Testaments, would easily prove that the inheritance of the paternal blessing had also profited himself.
§3quam praeclara in hoc mysteria, quod sumens Ioseph filios suos, quos susceperat in Aegypto, Ephraem ad dexteram suam, ad sinistram autem Istrahel patris sui, Manassem autem ad sinistram suam, ad dexteram autem Istrahel, adplicuit eos ante patrem, extendens autem Istrahel manum dexteram inposuit supra caput Ephraem, qui erat iunior et stabat ad sinistram aui, et sinistram suam inposuit supra Manassen, qui erat ad dexteram, et ita inmutatis manibus benedixit eos! in quo et Ioseph naturae ordinem seruauit, ut seniori filio plus deferret, sicut Isaac quoque in Esau priorem filium benedictionem deferre cupiebat, sed minorem filium in typo iunioris populi credidit praeferendum, sicut erat ipse a matre praelatus.
How glorious are the mysteries in this: that Joseph, taking his sons whom he had begotten in Egypt, applied them before his father, Ephraim to his right, but to the left of his father Israel, and Manasseh to his left, but to the right of Israel; but Israel, extending his right hand, placed it upon the head of Ephraim, who was younger and stood to the left of his grandfather, and placed his left hand upon Manasseh, who was to his right, and thus, with hands crossed, blessed them! In this, Joseph also preserved the order of nature, so that he might defer more to the elder son, just as Isaac also desired to defer the blessing to Esau, his elder son; but he (Israel) believed that the younger son was to be preferred as a type of the younger people, just as he himself had been preferred by his mother.
§4denique Manasses ex obliuione Latina interpretatione signatur, eo quod populus Iudaeorum oblitus est deum suum, qui fecit eum, et quicumque ex ea plebe crediderit tamquam ex obliuione reuocatur.
In fact, Manasseh is designated by the Latin interpretation as "from forgetfulness," because the people of the Jews forgot their God who made them, and whoever from that people believes is recalled, as it were, from forgetfulness.
Ephraem autem fecunditatem fidei interpretatione nominis pollicetur, qui auxit patrem, sicut ait ipse Ioseph dicens: quia auxit me deus in terra humilitatis meae. quod est proprium populi iunioris, qui corpus est Christi augens patrem et deum proprium non relinquens.
Ephraim, however, promises the fruitfulness of faith by the interpretation of his name, he who increased his father, just as Joseph himself says, saying: "For God has increased me in the land of my humility." This is proper to the younger people, who are the body of Christ, increasing the Father and not abandoning their own God.
§5denique spiritaliter de populis hoc esse mysterium senior declarauit.
Indeed, the elder spiritually declared this to be a mystery concerning the peoples.
nam cum filius eum putaret errasse uitio hebetioris aspectus, conuertere uoluit manus eius dicens: non sic pater;
For when his son thought he had erred through the defect of a duller sight, he wished to turn his hands, saying: "Not so, father; for this is the firstborn.
hic enim primitiuus est. inpone dexteram tuam supra caput eius. et noluit, sed dixit: scio, fili, scio.
Put your right hand upon his head." But he refused and said: "I know, my son, I know.
et hic erit in populum, et hic exaltabitur, sed frater eius iunior maior illo erit, et semen illius erit multitudo gentium. denique praeferendum Ephraem seniori germano etiam benedictionis serie prophetauit dicens: in uobis benedicetur Istrahel dicentibus: faciat uobis deus sicut Ephraem et Manasse. et ideo cum essent nepotes, in locum filiorum sunt adoptati, ut non essent auitae benedictionis expertes.
He also shall become a people, and he also shall be exalted, but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall be a multitude of nations." Indeed, he prophesied even in the order of the blessing that Ephraim was to be preferred to his elder brother, saying: "In you shall Israel be blessed, saying: God make you as Ephraim and Manasseh." And therefore, although they were grandsons, they were adopted into the place of sons, so that they might not be devoid of the ancestral blessing.
§6Hac benedictione celebrata uocauit etiam filios suos.
This blessing having been celebrated, he also called his sons.
et qui ante iuniorem seniori praetulerat coepit a primo, ut in illo mysterii praeferret gratiam, in hoc ordinem seruaret aetatis, simul quia ante in duobus benedixerat uniuersos cum omni posteritate et progenie futurorum, ne aut superflua uideretur plebis iterata benedictio aut prior aestimaretur infirma.
And he who had previously preferred the younger to the elder began with the firstborn, so that in the former he might prefer the grace of the mystery, and in the latter he might preserve the order of age, and at the same time because he had previously in those two blessed all of them with all their posterity and future offspring, lest either the repeated blessing of the people should seem superfluous, or the first should be esteemed weak.
meritoque repetitam magis adnuntiationem eorum quae posterioribus essent euentura temporibus quam benedictionem conferre se dicit.
And rightly he says that he is conferring a repeated announcement of things that would happen in later times, rather than a blessing.
§7denique sic coepit: Ruben primitiuus meus, tu uirtus mea et initium filiorum meorum, durus portari et durus temerarius, adfecisti contumelia.
Indeed, he began thus: "Reuben, my firstborn, you my strength and the beginning of my children, hard to bear and hard in boldness, you have treated me with insult.
sicut aqua non efferueas; ascendisti enim in cubile patris tui: tunc polluisti torum, quo ascendisti.
Do not boil over like water; for you went up into your father's bed: then you defiled the couch into which you went up." Does he not seem to be rebuked rather than blessed?
nonne redargui magis quam benedici uidetur? et ideo prophetia magis quam benedictio est.
And therefore it is a prophecy rather than a blessing.
prophetia etenim adnuntiatio futurorum est, benedictio autem sanctificationis et gratiarum uotiua conlatio.
For prophecy is the announcement of future things, but blessing is the prayerful conferring of sanctification and graces.