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Genesis 46

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God Assures Jacob at Beersheba 1–7

1
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. ​
2
And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. ​
3
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: ​
4
I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. ​
5
And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ​
6
And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:
7
his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

The List of Jacob's Descendants 8–27

8
And these are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s first-born. ​
9
And the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, and Pallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10
And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. ​
11
And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12
And the sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ​
13
And the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puvah, and Iob, and Shimron.
14
And the sons of Zebulun: Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
15
These are the sons of Leah, whom she bare unto Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
16
And the sons of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17
And the sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister; and the sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel.
18
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19
The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin.
20
And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On, bare unto him. ​
21
And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
22
These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
23
And the sons of Dan: Hushim.
24
And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25
These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.
26
All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, that came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; ​
27
and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. ​

Jacob and Joseph Are Reunited 28–30

28
And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to show the way before him unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. ​
29
And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen; and he presented himself unto him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. ​
30
And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, that thou art yet alive. ​

Joseph Strategizes for Goshen 31–34

31
And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; ​
32
and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
33
And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
34
that ye shall say, Thy servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Genesis 46

Verse 1

came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices — At Beersheba Abraham 'called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God' (21:33), and Isaac built an altar after the LORD appeared to him (26:23–25). Isaac had been told, 'Go not down into Egypt' (26:2); Jacob now sacrifices to 'the God of his father Isaac' before he goes.

Verse 2

in the visions of the night — Mar'ot, visions, found in Genesis only here. God speaks to 'Israel' yet calls him by his first name, twice: 'Jacob, Jacob', as 'Abraham, Abraham' (22:11), 'Moses, Moses' (Ex 3:4) and 'Samuel, Samuel' (1 Sam 3:10). Abraham and Moses answer as Jacob does: 'Here am I.'

Verse 3

I am God, the God of thy father — El, the God of Isaac, who said, 'fear not' at this same place (26:24). 'Fear not to go down into Egypt' answers the earlier 'Go not down' (26:2). 'A great nation' (goy gadol) restates 12:2, now with a place: 'there', in Egypt.

Verse 4

I will go down with thee… bring thee up again — The two verbs are yarad and alah, down and up, and 'bring up' is doubled in the Hebrew, 'surely'. The promise reaches Jacob's body (50:5–13) and his descendants: 'God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land' (50:24). Joseph's hand upon his eyes promises Joseph's presence at his death (cf. 50:1).

Verse 5

the wagons which Pharaoh had sent — Agalah, a wagon; in Genesis it occurs only in 45:19, 21, 27 and here. Pharaoh gave the order (45:19), Joseph supplied them (45:21), and the sight of them revived Jacob's spirit (45:27). The sons 'carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives' in them.

Verse 8

the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt — The list is arranged by mother: Leah, thirty-three (v.15); Zilpah, sixteen (v.18); Rachel, fourteen (v.22); Bilhah, seven (v.25). They total seventy. Ex 1:1 opens with the same words, 'Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt'.

Verse 10

Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman — Shaul's mother is identified only by her nation, here and in Ex 6:15. Abraham made his servant swear not to take for Isaac a wife 'of the daughters of the Canaanites' (24:3), and Isaac gave Jacob the same charge (28:1). Judah too took the daughter of Shuah, a Canaanite (38:2).

Verse 12

Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan — The LORD slew Er (38:7) and Onan (38:10), so Judah's line continues through Shelah, Pharez and Zerah. Pharez's sons Hezron and Hamul are counted among those who came into Egypt; Hezron carries the line to David (Ruth 4:18–22).

Verse 20

Manasseh and Ephraim — They were born 'before the years of famine came' (41:50) to Asenath, 'the daughter of Potipherah priest of On' (41:45). Their names speak of what God had done: 'made me forget all my toil' and 'caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction' (41:51–52). Jacob later takes them as his own sons (48:5).

Verse 26

threescore and six — This is the count of those 'which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives'. It leaves out Jacob, Joseph and Joseph's two sons born in Egypt; v.27 adds the two sons, and with Jacob and Joseph the total is seventy. Ex 1:5 gives the same total as 'seventy souls' and notes that 'Joseph was in Egypt already'.

Verse 27

threescore and ten — The sixty-six who came with Jacob, together with Joseph, his two sons born in Egypt (v.20) and Jacob himself, make seventy. The number is repeated: 'Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven' (Deut 10:22).

Verse 28

he sent Judah before him — Yarah, to point out or show: Judah is sent 'to direct his face unto Goshen'. He is the son who stood before Joseph for Benjamin (44:18–34). Goshen lies 'in the land of Rameses' (47:11), the place Joseph had promised in 45:10 and where Pharaoh later says, 'in the land of Goshen let them dwell' (47:6).

Verse 29

made ready his chariot — Asar, to bind or harness. The chariot is the 'second chariot' given with his office (41:43). Joseph 'presented himself' (ra'ah, appeared) to his father and 'wept on his neck a good while'. The weeping is of the kind in 33:4 and 45:14–15.

Verse 30

Now let me die — Jacob had said, 'It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die' (45:28). He then lives in Egypt 'seventeen years' (47:28). Compare Simeon's words on seeing the child Jesus: 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace' (Luke 2:29).

Verse 31

I will go up, and shew Pharaoh — Joseph tells his family what he will say to Pharaoh, who had himself said, 'come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt' (45:18). He speaks of 'my father's house' as the whole family. He goes up and tells Pharaoh in 47:1.

Verse 34

every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians — Toebah, the word of 43:32, where the Egyptians would not eat bread with the Hebrews. 'Trade' is literally 'men of cattle' (miqneh). Pharaoh grants the request: 'in the land of Goshen let them dwell' (47:6). Moses later speaks of 'the abomination of the Egyptians' (Ex 8:26).