וּלְיוֹסֵ֣ף אָמַ֔ר מְבֹרֶ֥כֶת יְהֹוָ֖ה אַרְצ֑וֹ מִמֶּ֤גֶד שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מִטָּ֔ל וּמִתְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֥צֶת תָּֽחַת׃

And of Joseph he said: Blessed of the Lord is his land; it is blessed from above, from the sweetness of heaven, from dew, and from below, from the groundwater of the depths lying below; Joseph’s land will abound with water from above and from below;

וּמִמֶּ֖גֶד תְּבוּאֹ֣ת שָׁ֑מֶשׁ וּמִמֶּ֖גֶד גֶּ֥רֶשׁ יְרָחִֽים׃

and from the sweetness of the crops of the sun, that ripen in the sun, and from the sweetness of the yield of the moons, the new fruit that grow every month, by the moon so to speak, each species in its season;

וּמֵרֹ֖אשׁ הַרְרֵי־קֶ֑דֶם וּמִמֶּ֖גֶד גִּבְע֥וֹת עוֹלָֽם׃

and the blessing will come from the tops of the ancient mountains, and from the sweetness of the eternal hills. Not only will the blessing come from heaven and the depths, from the sun and the moon, but it will also come from the fertile land in Joseph’s portion, which included mountains and hills. According to Sifrei , the mountains and hills are an allusion to the patriarchs and matriarchs, who are also a source of Joseph’s blessing.

וּמִמֶּ֗גֶד אֶ֚רֶץ וּמְלֹאָ֔הּ וּרְצ֥וֹן שֹׁכְנִ֖י סְנֶ֑ה תָּב֙וֹאתָה֙ לְרֹ֣אשׁ יוֹסֵ֔ף וּלְקָדְקֹ֖ד נְזִ֥יר אֶחָֽיו׃

And from the sweetness of the earth and its fullness, and the will and love of He who rested in the bush [ seneh ]. Moses refers to God in this manner because God first revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush. Ibn Ezra interprets the word seneh as a reference to heaven. It, this blessing, shall come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of the crowned of his brothers.

בְּכ֨וֹר שׁוֹר֜וֹ הָדָ֣ר ל֗וֹ וְקַרְנֵ֤י רְאֵם֙ קַרְנָ֔יו בָּהֶ֗ם עַמִּ֛ים יְנַגַּ֥ח יַחְדָּ֖ו אַפְסֵי־אָ֑רֶץ וְהֵם֙ רִבְב֣וֹת אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְהֵ֖ם אַלְפֵ֥י מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃ (ס)

A firstborn bull is his majesty. Joseph is likened to a majestic firstborn bull, as Joseph was his mother’s firstborn son and because Reuben’s rights of primogeniture were transferred to him. The bull, which became the symbol of the tribe of Joseph for better and for worse, represents the power of the tribe of Joseph. And his horns are the horns of the aurochs [ re’em ], an extinct species of wild ox, or a large, ancient, mythical creature. This animal symbolizes Joseph’s splendor. With them, these horns, figuratively speaking, he will gore the peoples together, even nations that live at the ends of the earth. And among the tribe of Joseph, they are the myriads of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. Two tribes eme-rged from Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim. Although there were periods when Manasseh was a larger tribe than Ephraim, Ephraim was considered the senior tribe. Therefore, myriads are attributed to Ephraim, whereas thousands are attributed to Manasseh. The verse reflects the internal division of these tribes: The children of Manasseh were divided into units of thousands, while Ephraim was divided into tens of thousands.