Genesis 46
46
Jacob’s [Israel’s] Seventh Encounter with God
1Israel moved with all he had. When he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2God spoke to Israel in a vision that night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
3“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make you a great nation there. 4I will go with you to Egypt, and I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes ⌞when you die⌟.”
5So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons put their father Jacob, their children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to bring him back. 6They also took their livestock and the possessions they had accumulated in Canaan.
Jacob and all his family arrived in Egypt. 7He had brought his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters—his entire family.
Jacob’s [Israel’s] Descendants
(Exodus 6:14–16; 1 Chronicles 2:3–5)
8These are the names of Israel’s descendants (Jacob and his descendants) who arrived in Egypt.
Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn.
9The sons of Reuben were
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10The sons of Simeon were
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
11The sons of Levi were
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12The sons of Judah were
Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan had died in Canaan.)
The sons of Perez were
Hezron and Hamul.
13The sons of Issachar were
Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
14The sons of Zebulun were
Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15These were the descendants of the sons Leah gave to Jacob in Paddan Aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of these sons and daughters was 33.
16The sons of Gad were
Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17The sons of Asher were
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.
The sons of Beriah were
Heber and Malchiel.
18These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was 16.
19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were
Joseph and Benjamin.
20In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On.
21The sons of Benjamin were
Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22These were the descendants of Rachel who were born to Jacob. The total was 14.
23The son of Dan was
Hushim.
24The sons of Naphtali were
Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She gave birth to these sons for Jacob. The total was 7.
26The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was 66. This didn’t include the wives of Jacob’s sons. 27Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. The grand total of people in Jacob’s household who went to Egypt was 70.
Joseph and Jacob [Israel] Reunited
28Israel sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Israel’s family arrived in the region of Goshen, 29Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel. As soon as he saw his father, he threw his arms around him and cried on his shoulder a long time.
30Israel said to Joseph, “Now that I’ve seen for myself that you’re still alive, I’m ready to die.”
31Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s family, “I’m going to Pharaoh to tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in Canaan, have come to me. 32The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They’ve brought their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33Now, when Pharaoh calls for you and asks, ‘What kind of work do you do?’ 34you must answer, ‘We have taken care of herds all our lives, as our ancestors have done.’ ⌞You must say this⌟ so that you may live in the region of Goshen, because all shepherds are disgusting to Egyptians.”
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Genesis 46
46
God Assures Israel
1So Israel began his trip to Egypt. First he went to Beersheba. There he worshiped God, the God of his father Isaac. He offered sacrifices. 2During the night God spoke to Israel in a dream and said, “Jacob, Jacob.”
Israel answered, “Here I am.”
3Then God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt. In Egypt I will make you a great nation. 4I will go to Egypt with you, and I will bring you out of Egypt again. You will die there, but Joseph will be with you. His own hands will close your eyes when you die.”
Israel Goes to Egypt
5Then Jacob left Beersheba and traveled to Egypt. His sons, the sons of Israel, brought their father, their wives, and all their children to Egypt. They traveled in the wagons the Pharaoh had sent. 6They also had their cattle and everything they owned in the land of Canaan. So Israel went to Egypt with all his children and his family. 7With him were his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters. All of his family went with him.
The Family of Jacob (Israel)
8These are the names of Israel’s sons and family who went to Egypt with him:
Reuben was Jacob’s first son. 9Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10Simeon’s sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, and Zohar. There was also Shaul. (Shaul was born from a Canaanite woman.)
11Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12Judah’s sons were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan died while still in Canaan.) Perez’s sons were Hezron and Hamul.
13Issachar’s sons were Tola, Puah, Job, and Shimron.
14Zebulun’s sons were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun were Jacob’s sons from his wife Leah. Leah had these sons in Paddan Aram. She also had a daughter named Dinah. There were 33 people in this family.
16Gad’s sons were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17Asher’s sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. Also there were Beriah’s sons, Heber and Malkiel.
18All these were Jacob’s sons from his wife’s servant, Zilpah. (Zilpah was the maid that Laban had given to his daughter Leah.) There were 16 people in this family.
19Benjamin was also with Jacob. Benjamin was Jacob and Rachel’s son. (Joseph was also Rachel’s son, but he was already in Egypt.)
20In Egypt, Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. (Joseph’s wife was Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest in the city of On.)
21Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22These were the sons of Jacob from his wife Rachel. There were 14 people in this family.
23Dan’s son was Hushim.
24Naphtali’s sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25These were the sons of Jacob and Bilhah. (Bilhah was the maid that Laban had given to his daughter Rachel.) There were seven people in this family.
26The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was 66 people. (The wives of Jacob’s sons were not counted in this number.) 27Also, Joseph had two sons in Egypt. With these two grandsons, Jacob’s family in Egypt numbered 70 people in all.
Israel Arrives in Egypt
28Jacob sent Judah ahead to speak to Joseph. Judah went to Joseph in the land of Goshen. Then Jacob and his people followed into the land. 29Joseph learned that his father was coming. So he prepared his chariot and went out to meet his father, Israel, in Goshen. When Joseph saw his father, he hugged his neck and cried for a long time.
30Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die in peace. I have seen your face, and I know that you are still alive.”
31Joseph said to his brothers and to the rest of his father’s family, “I will go and tell Pharaoh that you are here. I will say to Pharaoh, ‘My brothers and the rest of my father’s family have left the land of Canaan and have come here to me. 32They are a family of shepherds. They have always kept sheep and cattle. They have brought all their animals and everything they own with them.’ 33When Pharaoh calls you, he will ask, ‘What work do you do?’ 34You tell him, ‘We are shepherds. All our lives we have been shepherds, and our ancestors were shepherds before us.’ Then Pharaoh will allow you to live in the land of Goshen. Egyptians don’t like shepherds, so it is better that you stay in Goshen.”
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International