Genesis 46

1 And Israel, setting out with all that he had, arrived at the Well of the Oath. And sacrificing victims there to the God of his father Isaac,

2 he heard him, by a vision in the night, calling him, and saying to him: "Jacob, Jacob." And he answered him, "Behold, here I am."

3 God said to him: "I am the most strong God of your father. Do not be afraid. Descend into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation.

4 I will descend with you to that place, and I will lead you back from there, returning. Also, Joseph will place his hands over your eyes.

5 Then Jacob rose up from the Well of the Oath. And his sons took him, with their little ones and wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry the old man,

6 along with all that he possessed in the land of Canaan. And he arrived in Egypt with all his offspring:

7 his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and all his progeny together.

8 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who entered into Egypt, he with his children. The firstborn is Reuben.

9 The sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu, and Hezron and Carmi.

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

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

12 The sons of Judah: Er and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez and Zerah. Now Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And sons were born to Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

13 The sons of Issachar: Tola and Puvah, and Job and Shimron.

14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel.

15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore, along with his daughter Dinah, in Mesopotamia of Syria. All the souls of her sons and daughters are thirty-three.

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

17 The sons of Asher: Imnah and Jesua, and Jessui and Beriah, and also their sister Sarah. The sons of Beria: Heber and Malchiel.

18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. And these she bore to Jacob: sixteen souls.

19 The sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin.

20 And sons were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him: Manasseh and Ephraim.

21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher, and Ashbel and Gera, and Naaman and Ehi, and Rosh and Moppim, and Huppim and Ard.

22 These are the sons of Rachel, whom she bore to Jacob: all these souls are fourteen.

23 The sons of Dan: Hushim.

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

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and these she bore to Jacob: all these souls are seven.

26 All the souls who went into Egypt with Jacob and who went out from his thigh, besides the wives of his sons, were sixty-six.

27 Now the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in the land of Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who went into Egypt, were seventy.

28 Then he sent Judah ahead of himself, to Joseph, in order to report to him, and so that he would meet him in Goshen.

29 And when he had arrived there, Joseph harnessed his chariot, and he went up to meet his father at the same place. And seeing him, he fell upon his neck, and, amid embraces, he wept.

30 And the father said to Joseph, "Now I will die happy, because I have seen your face, and I am leaving you behind alive."

31 And he said to his brothers and to all his father's house: "I will go up and report to Pharaoh, and I will say to him: 'My brothers, and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

32 And these honorable men are pastors of sheep, and they have the task of feeding the flock. Their cattle, and herds, and all that they were able to hold, they have brought with them.'

33 And when he will call you and will say, 'What is your work?'

34 You will respond, 'Your servants are pastors of honor, from our infancy even to the present time, both we and our fathers.' Now you will say this so that you may be able to live in the land of Goshen, because the Egyptians detest all pastors of sheep."

Genesis 46

Jacob Goes to Egypt

1So Israel took all he had and started his trip. He went to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2During the night God spoke to Israel in a vision and said, “Jacob, Jacob.”

And Jacob answered, “Here I am.”

3Then God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make your descendants a great nation there. 4I will go to Egypt with you, and I will bring you out of Egypt again. Joseph’s own hands will close your eyes when you die.”

5Then Jacob left Beersheba. The sons of Israel loaded their father, their children, and their wives in the wagons the king of Egypt had sent. 6They also took their farm animals and everything they had gotten in Canaan. So Jacob went to Egypt with all his descendants— 7his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters. He took all his family to Egypt with him.

Jacob’s Family

8Now these are the names of the children of Israel who went into Egypt (Jacob and his descendants).

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

10Simeon’s sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul (Simeon’s son by a Canaanite woman).

11Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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

13Issachar’s sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

14Zebulun’s sons were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

15These are the sons of Leah and Jacob born in Northwest Mesopotamia, in addition to his daughter Dinah. There were thirty-three persons in this part of Jacob’s family.

16Gad’s sons were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

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

18These are Jacob’s sons by Zilpah, the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. There were sixteen persons in this part of Jacob’s family.

19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 20In Egypt, Joseph became the father of Manasseh and Ephraim by his wife Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

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

22These are the sons of Jacob by his wife Rachel. There were fourteen persons in this part of Jacob’s family.

23Dan’s son was Hushim.

24Naphtali’s sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25These are Jacob’s sons by Bilhah, the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. There were seven persons in this part of Jacob’s family.

26So the total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went to Egypt was sixty-six, not counting the wives of Jacob’s sons. 27Joseph had two sons born in Egypt, so the total number in the family of Jacob in Egypt was seventy.

Jacob Arrives in Egypt

28Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to see Joseph in Goshen. When Jacob and his people came into the land of Goshen, 29Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Joseph saw his father, he hugged him, and cried there for a long time.

30Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, because I have seen your face and I know you are still alive.”

31Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s family, “I will go and tell the king you are here. I will say, ‘My brothers and my father’s family have left the land of Canaan and have come here to me. 32They are shepherds and take care of farm animals, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and everything they own with them.’ 33When the king calls you, he will ask, ‘What work do you do?’ 34This is what you should tell him: ‘We, your servants, have taken care of farm animals all our lives. Our ancestors did the same thing.’ Then the king will allow you to settle in the land of Goshen, away from the Egyptians, because they don’t like to be near shepherds.”

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Genesis 46

Genesis 46