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’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