Genesis 46

Israel set out with everything he had. He came to Beersheba, and there he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

1And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

NoteBeersheba lay at the southern edge of Canaan, the last settled place before the desert road down to Egypt. Abraham and Isaac had both worshiped there, so Jacob is pausing at the family's own boundary marker before leaving the land.

2God spoke to Israel in visions during the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he answered, "Here I am."

2And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

3God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down into Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

3And 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:

Note"Go down" and "come up" are the standard idioms for travel between Canaan and Egypt: Canaan is hill country, Egypt is the flat river delta, so one always goes down to Egypt and up from it, whatever the compass direction.

4I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will surely bring you back up again. And Joseph will lay his hand on your eyes."

4I 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.

NoteClosing the eyes of someone who has just died was the duty of the nearest son. The promise means Joseph will outlive Jacob and be at his side when he dies, not something Jacob could assume, since he had believed Joseph dead for years.

5Jacob left Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

5And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: 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.

NoteWheeled wagons were an Egyptian resource, uncommon in the Canaanite hill country. Pharaoh's sending them was both a practical favor and visible proof that Joseph's invitation was genuine.

6They took their livestock and the goods they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and Jacob came into Egypt, and all his descendants with him.

6And 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:

7He brought with him into Egypt his sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters, all his descendants.

7His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

8These are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, that is, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.

8And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

NoteWhat follows is a formal register of the household that entered Egypt, listing each son of Jacob with his sons. Lists like this fix a family's legal shape at a turning point; these names later become the ancestral divisions of the tribes. "Firstborn" is a rank, not just a birth order: the eldest son normally held authority over his brothers and a double share of the inheritance.

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

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

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

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

NoteThe text notes the mother's nationality because Jacob's family generally married within their own kin group rather than taking wives from the local Canaanite population. Shaul is flagged as the exception.

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

11And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Pharez, and Zarah. But Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

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

NoteEr and Onan were Judah's sons by a Canaanite wife and died childless before the move (the story is in chapter 38). Their two nephews, Hezron and Hamul, Judah's grandsons through Pharez, are listed here in their place, which is why this line reaches a generation further down than the others.

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

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

NoteThis Job is a different person from the Job of the book that bears that name; the two names are spelled differently in Hebrew.

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

14And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.

15These are the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Padanaram, along with his daughter Dinah. All his sons and daughters together numbered thirty-three.

15These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.

NotePadanaram was the district in upper Mesopotamia, around Haran, where Laban lived and where Jacob spent his twenty years of service. The figure thirty-three does not match a simple count of the names just given (thirty-two once Er and Onan are subtracted); ancient readers made up the difference in different ways, some including Jacob himself, others counting differently.

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

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

17The sons of Asher: Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

17And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.

18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen people.

18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

NoteZilpah was a servant given to Leah as part of her marriage settlement. Under the custom of the time a wife could have her servant bear children on her behalf, and those children counted as the household's legitimate sons, which is why Zilpah's sons appear in this register as Jacob's own.

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

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

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

20And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.

NoteOn is the city the Greeks called Heliopolis, just north of modern Cairo and the center of the sun-god's worship. Its priesthood was a wealthy, high-ranking office, so this was a prestigious Egyptian marriage. Potipherah is a different man from Potiphar, Joseph's former master.

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

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

NoteTen names is a large family for Benjamin, who is still young in the story. In other lists elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible some of these are Benjamin's grandsons rather than his sons, so the register may be gathering the whole Benjamin line rather than one generation.

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

22These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.

23The sons of Dan: Hushim.

23And the sons of Dan; Hushim.

NoteThe Hebrew uses the plural heading "the sons of" for every name in the list, even where, as here, only one is given. It is a fixed formula, not a sign that names have dropped out.

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

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

25These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore these to Jacob, seven people in all.

25These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.

NoteBilhah, like Zilpah in verse 18, was a servant given to a daughter at her marriage, and her sons by Jacob counted as full members of the household.

26All the people who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his own direct descendants, not counting the wives of Jacob's sons, numbered sixty-six.

26All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

27The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two people. All the people of Jacob's household who came into Egypt were seventy.

27And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

NoteThe two totals fit together: sixty-six direct descendants who traveled, plus Jacob himself, plus Joseph and his two sons already in Egypt, makes seventy. Seventy is also a round number for a complete household. The ancient Greek translation of Genesis gives seventy-five here instead, counting further descendants of Joseph, and that is the figure quoted in the New Testament book of Acts.

28He sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to show the way to Goshen. And they came into the land of Goshen.

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

NoteGoshen was a district in the eastern Nile delta: well-watered grazing land on the edge of Egypt rather than in its heartland, which suited herders and kept the family somewhat apart from Egyptian society.

29Joseph got his chariot ready and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. He presented himself to him, threw his arms around his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

29And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

NoteA chariot was a light, fast, horse-drawn vehicle and a mark of high state office in Egypt, Joseph arrives with the trappings of his rank.

30Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face and you are still alive."

30And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

NoteAn idiom of complete contentment, roughly "I could die happy now." Jacob is not asking to die; he is saying that the one thing he still wanted has been given him.

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

31And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;

32The men are shepherds, for their work has been raising livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and everything they have.'

32And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

33So when Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your work?'

33And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?

34you are to say, 'Your servants have worked with livestock from our youth until now, both we and our fathers.' Then you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is detestable to the Egyptians."

34That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Note"Your servants" is the ordinary polite way of speaking to a superior, like saying "sir", it does not mean they are slaves. Egyptians of the settled farming class looked down on nomadic herders, partly as foreigners and partly because of religious scruples about their animals; Joseph is turning that contempt to the family's advantage, since a despised occupation is the surest way to be granted land on the margin, in Goshen, rather than being absorbed into Egypt proper.