Genesis 46

Jacob and His Offspring Go to Egypt

1So Israel journeyed with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 2And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3Then he said, “I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. 4I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will also bring you up. And Joseph will place his hand over your eyes.” 5So Jacob arose from Beersheba. And the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6And they took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan. And they came to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, 7his sons and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters and his daughters’ daughters with him, into Egypt.

8Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob 9and the sons of Reuben: Enoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12The 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. 13The sons of Issachar: Tolah, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron. 14The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15These are the sons of Leah that she bore to Jacob in Paddan-Aram, and Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters were thirty-three persons in all. 16The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serah. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel. 18There are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob—sixteen persons. 19The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. 20And Ephraim and Manasseh, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On bore to him, were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. 21The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. 23The sons of Dan: Hushim. 24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob—seven persons in all. 26All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt who were his descendants,#Literally “those going out of his loins” not including the wives of the sons of Jacob were sixty-six persons in all. 27And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.

28He#That is, Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to appear before him#That is, Jacob in Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 29Then Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell upon his neck and wept upon his neck a long time. 30Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face, for you are still alive.” 31Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and report to Pharaoh, and I will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 32And the men are shepherds, for they are men of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their cattle and all that they have.’ 33And it shall be that when Pharaoh calls you he will say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34Then you must say, ‘You servants are men of livestock from our childhood until now, both we and also our ancestors,’#Or “fathers” so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is a detestable thing to Egyptians.”

2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software

Learn More About Lexham English Bible

Genesis 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.”

Learn More About GOD'S WORD