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
Migration to Egypt. 1#46:1–47:26] Jacob and his family settle in Egypt. Joseph’s economic policies. Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called: Jacob! Jacob! He answered, “Here I am.” 3Then he said: I am God,#I am God: more precisely according to the Hebrew text, “I am El.” “El” is here a divine name, not the common noun “god.” the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. 4I will go down to Egypt with you and I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes.
5So Jacob departed from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father and their wives and children on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6They took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. So Jacob and all his descendants came to Egypt.#Ex 1:1; Jos 24:4; Jdt 5:10; Acts 7:15. 7His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters—all his descendants—he took with him to Egypt.
8These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his children, who came to Egypt.
Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn,#Ex 1:2. 9#This genealogical list is based on the clan lists (Nm 26:5–50) from the Mosaic period. and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.#Ex 6:14; Nm 26:5; 1 Chr 5:3. 10The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, son of a Canaanite woman.#Ex 6:15; Nm 26:12; 1 Chr 4:24. 11The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.#Ex 6:16; Nm 3:17; 26:57; 1 Chr 6:1. 12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah—but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan; and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.#Gn 38:3–10, 29–30; Nm 26:19; Ru 4:12; 1 Chr 2:5. 13The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.#Nm 26:23–24; 1 Chr 7:1. 14The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.#Nm 26:26. 15These were the sons whom Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, along with his daughter Dinah—thirty-three persons in all, sons and daughters.
16The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arod, and Areli.#Nm 26:15–16. 17The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, with their sister Serah; and the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.#Nm 26:44; 1 Chr 7:30–31. 18These are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah; these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons in all.
19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 20In the land of Egypt Joseph became the father of Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him.#Gn 41:50; Nm 26:28, 35. 21The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ahiram, Shupham, Hupham, and Ard.#Nm 26:38; 1 Chr 7:6; 8:1–4. 22These are the sons whom Rachel bore to Jacob—fourteen persons in all.
23The sons of Dan: Hushim.#Nm 26:42. 24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.#Nm 26:48–49; 1 Chr 7:13. 25These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel; these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all.
26Jacob’s people who came to Egypt—his direct descendants, not counting the wives of Jacob’s sons—numbered sixty-six persons in all.#Ex 1:5. 27Together with Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt—two persons—all the people comprising the household of Jacob who had come to Egypt amounted to seventy persons#Seventy persons: it is difficult to get this exact number by adding up the persons mentioned in the preceding genealogies. One might assume it refers to Jacob and sixty-nine descendants, excluding Er and Onan but including Dinah. Ex 1:5 repeats the number but excludes Jacob. Dt 10:22 refers to seventy persons descending to Egypt. The best solution is to take the number as expressing totality. Since there are seventy nations in chap. 10, it is likely that the text is drawing a parallel between the two entities and suggesting that Israel “represents” the nations before God. in all.#Ex 1:5; Dt 10:22; Acts 7:14.
28Israel had sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that he might meet him in Goshen. On his arrival in the region of Goshen, 29Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Israel made his appearance, Joseph threw his arms around him and wept a long time on his shoulder. 30And Israel said to Joseph, “At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”
31Joseph then said to his brothers and his father’s household: “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him: ‘My brothers and my father’s household, whose home is in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32The men are shepherds, having been owners of livestock;#Owners of livestock: the phrase occurs only here and in v. 34. The difference between this term and “shepherds” is not clear, for the brothers do not mention it to Pharaoh in 47:3. and they have brought with them their flocks and herds, as well as everything else they own.’ 33So when Pharaoh summons you and asks what your occupation is, 34you must answer, ‘We your servants, like our ancestors, have been owners of livestock from our youth until now,’ in order that you may stay in the region of Goshen, since all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians.”
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc