Genesis 46

1 SO ISRAEL made his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba [a place hallowed by sacred memories] and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. [Gen. 21:33; 26:23-25.]

2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, Jacob! Jacob! And he said, Here am I.

3 And He said, I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will there make of you a great nation.

4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you [your people Israel] up again; and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes [when they are about to close in death].

5 So Jacob arose and set out from Beersheba, and Israel's sons conveyed their father, their little ones, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

6 And they took their cattle and the gains which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him:

7 His sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters–all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

8 And these are the names of the descendants of Israel who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah. All of his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

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

17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

18 These are the sons of Zilpah, [the maid] whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. And these she bore to Jacob–sixteen persons all told.

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

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

21 And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob–fourteen persons in all.

23 The son of Dan: Hushim.

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

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, [the maid] whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. And she bore these to Jacob–seven persons in all.

26 All the persons who came with Jacob into Egypt–who were his own offspring, not counting the wives of Jacob's sons–were sixty-six persons all told.

27 And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob [including Joseph and Jacob himself], who came into Egypt, were seventy.

28 And he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen and meet him there; and they came into the land of Goshen.

29 Then Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen; and he presented himself and gave distinct evidence of himself to him [that he was Joseph], and [each] fell on the [other's] neck and wept on his neck a good while.

30 And Israel said to Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen your face [and know] that you are still alive.

31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, I will go up and tell Pharaoh and say to him, My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been keeping livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.

33 When Pharaoh calls you and says, What is your occupation?

34 You shall say, Your servants' occupation has been as keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our fathers before us–in order that you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

Genesis 46

Jacob and His Family Go to Egypt

1Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. 2That night, God spoke to him in a dream and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” Jacob answered.

3God said, “I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. 4I will go with you to Egypt, and later I will bring your descendants back here. Your son Joseph will be at your side when you die.”

5-7 # Ac 7.15. Jacob and his family set out from Beersheba and headed for Egypt. His sons put him in the wagon that the king#46.5-7 the king: See the note at 12.15. had sent for him, and they put their small children and their wives in the other wagons. Jacob's whole family went to Egypt, including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters. They took along their animals and everything else they owned.

8-15When Jacob went to Egypt, his children who were born in northern Syria#46.8-15 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10. also went along with their families.

Jacob and his wife Leah had a total of 33 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but two of their grandchildren had died in Canaan.

Their oldest son Reuben took his sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Their son Simeon took his sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, whose mother was a Canaanite.

Their son Levi took his sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Their son Judah took his sons Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan. Judah's son Perez took his sons Hezron and Hamul.

Their son Issachar took his sons Tola, Puvah, Jashub,#46.8-15 Jashub: The Samaritan Hebrew Text and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “Iob.” and Shimron.

Their son Zebulun took his sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

Their daughter Dinah also went.

16-18Jacob and Zilpah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Leah, had a total of 16 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Their son Gad took his sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

Their son Asher took his sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, who took his sons, Heber and Malchiel.

Serah, the daughter of Asher, also went.

19-22 # Gn 41.50-52. Jacob and Rachel had 14 children and grandchildren.

Their son Joseph was already in Egypt, where he had married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of Heliopolis.#46.19-22 Heliopolis: See the note at 41.45. Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Jacob and Rachel's son Benjamin took his sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

23-25Jacob and Bilhah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Rachel, had seven children and grandchildren.

Their son Dan took his son Hushim.

Their son Naphtali took his sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

26Sixty-six members of Jacob's family went to Egypt with him, not counting his daughters-in-law. 27#Ac 7.14. Jacob's two grandsons who were born there made it a total of 70 members of Jacob's family in Egypt.

28Jacob had sent his son Judah ahead of him to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. 29So Joseph got in his chariot and went to meet his father. When they met, Joseph hugged his father around the neck and cried for a long time. 30Jacob said to Joseph, “Now that I have seen you and know you are still alive, I am ready to die.”

31Then Joseph said to his brothers and to everyone who had come with them:

I must go and tell the king#46.31 the king: See the note at 12.15. that you have arrived from Canaan. 32I will tell him that you are shepherds and that you have brought your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. 33The king will call you in and ask what you do for a living. 34When he does, be sure to say, “We are shepherds. Our families have always raised sheep.” If you tell him this, he will let you settle in the region of Goshen.

Joseph wanted them to say this to the king, because the Egyptians did not like to be around anyone who raised sheep.

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Genesis 46

Genesis 46