Just before he died, Jacob called his son Joseph to his bedside along with Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Jacob began by claiming Ephraim and Manasseh as his own – making them co-heirs with Joseph’s brothers who became founders of tribes of Israel in their own right. This leads to considerable confusion in listings of the 12 tribes of Israel found later in God’s Word. Although Manasseh was the firstborn of Joseph, Jacob gave his younger brother Ephraim preeminence over Manasseh in his blessing. Over a century earlier, Jacob had conspired with his mother Rebekah to deceive his own father Isaac into giving the firstborn blessing and birthright to Jacob over his elder twin brother Esau.