Ephraim preceded Manasseh.[371]

The blessing bestowed upon his grandchildren by Jacob
was as follows: "O that it be the will of God that ye walk
in the ways of the Lord like unto my fathers Abraham and
Isaac,[372] and may the angel that hath redeemed me from all
evil give his aid unto Joshua and Gideon,[373] and reveal himself
unto them. May your names be named on Israel, and
like unto fishes may you grow into a multitude in the midst
of the earth, and as fishes are protected by the water, so
may you be protected by the merits of Joseph."[374]

The words "like unto fishes" were used by Jacob for the
purpose of intimating the manner of death awaiting the
Ephraimites, the descendants of Joseph. As fish are caught