6282. 'May he bless the boys' means, May he make it possible for them to have truth and goodness. This is clear from the meaning of 'blessing' as endowing with truth and goodness, for in the spiritual sense 'a blessing' does not imply anything else, 1420, 1422, 4981; and from the representation of Ephraim and Manasseh, to whom 'the boys' refers here, as the Church's understanding and the Church's will, to which truth and good were to be imparted, truth to its understanding and good to its will.

6254. 'And I will bless them' means a foretelling regarding goodness and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'blessing' as foretelling, as above in 6230, here a foretelling regarding goodness and truth, which are represented by 'Manasseh and Ephraim'. Being a very common word 'blessing' has various meanings. Included among them is the foretelling both of good things that are going to happen and also of bad ones, as is evident in the next chapter in which Israel foretold to his sons what was going to happen to them - bad things to some, such as Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, good ones to others, such as Judah and Joseph. That foretelling is called a blessing in Verse 28 of that chapter,

This is what their father spoke to them; and he blessed them, each according to his blessing he blessed them.

It is also clear from the words contained in the first verse of the chapter that 'blessing' means a foretelling,

Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather together, and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days.