1And Israel went forth with all things that he had, and he came to the well of oath or Beersheba; and when sacrifices were slain there to [the] God of his father Isaac,

2he heard God by a vision in that night calling to him, and saying to him, Jacob! Jacob! To whom he answered, Lo! I am present.

3God said to him, I am the full strong God of thy father; do not thou dread, go down into Egypt, for I shall make thee there into a great folk;

4I shall go down thither with thee, and I shall bring thee turning again from thence, and Joseph shall set his hand on thine eyes.

5Jacob rose from the well of oath, and his sons took him, with their little children, and wives, in the wains which Pharaoh had sent to bear the eld [or old] man,

6and all things which he wielded in the land of Canaan; and he came into Egypt with [all] his seed,

7his sons, and their sons, and daughters, and all the generations together.

8Forsooth these be the names of the sons of Israel, that entered into Egypt; Jacob with his free children. The first begotten is Reuben;

9the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.

10The sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a woman of Canaan.

11The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, and Zarah. Forsooth Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan; and the sons of Perez were born, Hezron, and Hamul.

13The sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.

14The sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.

15These be the sons of Leah, which she childed to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, with Dinah, her daughter; all the souls of his sons and daughters by Leah, three and thirty.

16The sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.

17The sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah; and Serah, the sister of them. The sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.

18These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and through whom Jacob begat these sixteen persons.

19The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin.

20And two sons were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath, [the] daughter of Potipherah, priest of Heliopolis, childed to him.

21The sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, and Ehi, and Rosh, and Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.

22These were the sons of Rachel, the which Jacob begat through her; all the persons were fourteen.

23The son of Dan; Hushim.

24The sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.

25These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. And Jacob begat these through Bilhah; all the souls were seven.

26And all the men that entered with Jacob into Egypt, and went out of his thigh, without his sons’ wives, were sixty and six.

27Forsooth the sons of Joseph, that were born to him in the land of Egypt, were two men. All the souls of the house of Jacob, that entered into Egypt, were seventy.

28Forsooth Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph, that he should tell to him, and he meet with them in Goshen. And when Jacob had come thither,

29Joseph went up in his chariot to meet his father at the same place. And he saw Jacob, and felled on his neck, and wept betwixt embraces.

30And the father said to Joseph, Now I shall die joyful, for I have seen thy face, and I leave thee living.

31And Joseph spake to his brethren, and to all his father’s household, I shall go up, and tell to Pharaoh, and I shall say to him, My brethren, and the household of my father, that were in the land of Canaan, be come to me,

32and they be men keepers of sheep, and have busyness of flocks to be fed; they brought with them their sheep, and great beasts, and all things which they might have.

33And when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your work?

34ye shall answer, We be thy servants, men shepherds, from our childhood till into this present time, both we and our fathers. Soothly ye shall say these things, that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen, for Egyptians loathe all keepers of sheep.

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Genesis 46

Jacob’s Journey to Egypt

1So Jacob#46:1 Hebrew Israel; also in 46:29, 30. See note on 35:21. set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 2During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called.

“Here I am,” Jacob replied.

3“I am God,#46:3 Hebrew I am El. the God of your father,” the voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. 4I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.”

5So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt. They carried him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them. 6They also took all their livestock and all the personal belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. So Jacob and his entire family went to Egypt— 7sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.

8These are the names of the descendants of Israel—the sons of Jacob—who went to Egypt:

Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son. 9The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

10The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul’s mother was a Canaanite woman.)

11The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (though Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

13The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah,#46:13a As in Syriac version and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also 1 Chr 7:1); Hebrew reads Puvah. Jashub,#46:13b As in some Greek manuscripts and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1); Hebrew reads Iob. and Shimron.

14The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

15These were the sons of Leah and Jacob who were born in Paddan-aram, in addition to their daughter, Dinah. The number of Jacob’s descendants (male and female) through Leah was thirty-three.

16The sons of Gad were Zephon,#46:16 As in Greek version and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Num 26:15); Hebrew reads Ziphion. Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

17The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malkiel.

18These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant given to Leah by her father, Laban. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Zilpah was sixteen.

19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

20Joseph’s sons, born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim. Their mother was Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.#46:20 Greek version reads of Heliopolis.

21Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

22These were the sons of Rachel and Jacob. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Rachel was fourteen.

23The son of Dan was Hushim.

24The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25These were the sons of Bilhah, the servant given to Rachel by her father, Laban. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Bilhah was seven.

26The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons’ wives, was sixty-six. 27In addition, Joseph had two sons#46:27a Greek version reads nine sons, probably including Joseph’s grandsons through Ephraim and Manasseh (see 1 Chr 7:14-20). who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy#46:27b Greek version reads seventy-five; see note on Exod 1:5. members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt.

Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen

28As they neared their destination, Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen. And when they finally arrived there, 29Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time. 30Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive.”

31And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s entire family, “I will go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s entire family have come to me from the land of Canaan. 32These men are shepherds, and they raise livestock. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’”

33Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation, 34you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise shepherds.”

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Genesis 46

Genesis 46