Genesis 48:18 - Exposition

And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head . "From Joseph's behavior we cannot certainly infer that, like Isaac, he loved the firstborn better than the youngest; but he was sorry that an honor was not given to the eldest which he would naturally expect, and bestowed on the youngest, who did not expect it, and who would not have been hurt by the want of it" (Lawson).