Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 49:26

"The blessings of thy father Have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." — Genesis 49:26 (ASV)

The blessings of thy father. —As the passage now stands, it means that the blessings which Jacob bestows on Joseph are greater than those which he had himself received from his ancestors, Abraham and Isaac. This was scarcely the case, as the chief spiritual blessing was bestowed on Judah, while for Joseph there was only earthly prosperity.

For this reason most modern commentators adopt the reading of the Samaritan Pentateuch, supported by the Samaritan Targum and the Septuagint, The blessings of thy father are mightier than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the desire (or beauty) of the everlasting hills. Not only is the parallelism of the poetry thus preserved, but the rendering is easy and natural, while the other translation is full of difficulties, especially as to the words, “my progenitors,” and “the utmost bound.” The sense thus given to them cannot be obtained by any ordinary philological process.

Him that was separate from his brethren. —This scarcely gives the force of the verb, which means, set apart, consecrated. Hence the Vulgate renders “Nazarite,” the Hebrew word being nezir. The Syriac and Samaritan Targum translate, “him that is the crown of his brethren;” and the Septuagint, “him who was the leader of his brethren.” Many see in this an allusion to the sovereignty over the ten tribes being finally attained by Ephraim, but probably the meaning is that Joseph was the noblest and highest in rank among Jacob’s children.