Genesis 46
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
46
1So Israel set out on the journey with everything he owned. He arrived at Beersheba and worshiped, offering sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2God spoke to Israel in a vision that night: “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Yes?” he said. “I’m listening.”
3-4God said, “I am the God of your father. Don’t be afraid of going down to Egypt. I’m going to make you a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt; I’ll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he’ll close your eyes.”
5-7Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons loaded their father and their little ones and their wives on the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They arrived in Egypt with the livestock and the wealth they had accumulated in Canaan. Jacob brought everyone in his family with him—sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters. Everyone.
8These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants, who went to Egypt:
Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
9Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
11Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (Er and Onan had already died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
14Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15These are the sons that Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram. There was also his daughter Dinah. Altogether, sons and daughters, they numbered thirty-three.
16Gad’s sons: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Also their sister Serah, and Beriah’s sons, Heber and Malkiel.
18These are the children that Zilpah, the maid that Laban gave to his daughter Leah, bore to Jacob—sixteen of them.
19-21The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph was the father of two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, from his marriage to Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. They were born to him in Egypt. Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22These are the children born to Jacob through Rachel—fourteen.
23Dan’s son: Hushim.
24Naphtali’s sons: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25These are the children born to Jacob through Bilhah, the maid Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven.
26-27Summing up, all those who went down to Egypt with Jacob—his own children, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six. Counting in the two sons born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who ended up in Egypt numbered seventy.
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28-29Jacob sent Judah on ahead to get directions to Goshen from Joseph. When they got to Goshen, Joseph gave orders for his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. The moment Joseph saw him, he threw himself on his neck and wept. He wept a long time.
30Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die. I’ve looked into your face—you are indeed alive.”
31-34Joseph then spoke to his brothers and his father’s family. “I’ll go and tell Pharaoh, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, all of whom lived in Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they’ve always made their living by raising livestock. And they’ve brought their flocks and herds with them, along with everything else they own.’ When Pharaoh calls you in and asks what kind of work you do, tell him, ‘Your servants have always kept livestock for as long as we can remember—we and our parents also.’ That way he’ll let you stay apart in the area of Goshen—for Egyptians look down on anyone who is a shepherd.”
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.