48:22 one portion above thy brethren. Although this may refer only to a specific tract of land in Canaan, the principle is here established that Joseph, rather than Reuben, will be granted the birthright (see I Chronicles 5:1-2) with its double inheritance, so that Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons, are established as each equal with the other eleven sons of Israel.

48:22 Amorite. This incident is not referred to elsewhere in the account of Jacob’s life, but that doesn’t mean it did not happen. A reasonable explanation might be that an Amorite neighbor of Jacob’s had attacked him, but that Jacob defeated and slew his attacker, thereby acquiring possession of his land. This particular portion he wanted to reserve for Joseph’s inheritance in addition to the ultimate twelve-fold division of the land. It is likely that this is “the parcel of ground” referred to in John 4:5.