Joseph consented to do his father's will, and Jacob tithed
his sons, consecrating Levi to the Holy One, and appointing
him to be the chief of his brethren. He enjoined his sons
to have a care that there should never fail them a son of
Levi in the priestly succession. And it happened that.
of all the tribes Levi was the only one that never proved
faithless to the covenant of the fathers.[364]

Thus Jacob adopted Manasseh and Ephraim to be his own
sons, even as Reuben and Simon were his sons. They were
entitled like the others to a portion in the Holy Land, and
like the others they were to bear standards on their journey
through the desert.[365]

Satisfied as to Jacob's intentions concerning his sons,