Genesis 46
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 46
Jacob Goes to Egypt.[a] 1 Israel set out with all that he had and arrived at Beer-sheba where he offered a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac.
2 God appeared to Israel in a vision during the night saying, “Jacob, Jacob.” He answered, “Here I am.”
3 He continued, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to go down into Egypt, for down there I will make a great people of you. 4 I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will surely make you return. Joseph will close your eyes.”
5 Jacob left Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father, their children, and their wives into the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 6 They took with them their animals and all the possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Thus, Jacob and all his descendants went to Egypt. 7 He brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, and all his descendants with him into Egypt.
8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered Egypt: Jacob and his sons.
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.
9 The sons of Reuben:
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon:
Nemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
11 The sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah:
Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah, (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).
The sons of Perez:
Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar:
Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun:
Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were the sons whom Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with their daughter Dinah. The total number of her sons and daughters was thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad:
Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arod, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher:
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.
The sons of Beriah:
Heber and Malchiel.
18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah. She bore them to Jacob: sixteen in all.
19 The sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob:
Joseph and Benjamin. 20 Ephraim and Manasseh were born to Joseph in Egypt. They were the sons of Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.[b]
21 The sons of Benjamin:
Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ahiram, Shupham, Hupham, and Ard.
22 These were the sons Rachel bore to Jacob—fourteen in all.
23 The son of Dan:
Hushim.
24 The sons of Naphtali:
Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore them to Jacob: seven in all.
26 All those who entered with Jacob into Egypt were his offspring. Not counting the wives of the sons of Jacob there were sixty-six in all. 27 Two sons were born to Joseph in Egypt. The members of the family of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.
28 Joseph and Pharaoh Welcome Jacob.[c] Jacob sent Judah to Joseph ahead of the rest so that he might give instructions in Goshen before his arrival. When they arrived in the land of Goshen, 29 Joseph made his chariot ready and went up into Goshen to greet Israel, his father. As soon as he saw him, he threw himself around his neck and wept for a long time holding on to his neck.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “Let me die, now that I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”
31 Joseph said to his brothers and to the family of his father, “I am going to inform Pharaoh and to tell him, ‘My brothers and the family of my father, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to be with me. 32 These men were shepherds of flocks and they tended herds. They have brought their flocks, their herds, and all their possessions.’ 33 When Pharaoh summons you and asks you what you do for a living, 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have been men who care for cattle from their youth until now, just as our fathers did.’ This is so that you can dwell in the land of Goshen.” For all shepherds of flocks are an abomination to the Egyptians.
Footnotes
- Genesis 46:1 One last time, the Lord manifests himself and renews his promise to the Patriarchs: the sojourn into Egypt is only a stage; already we get a glimpse of the Exodus, the birth of the people of Israel. This account invites all believers to discover the plan of God in a most astounding history and in their own lives.
- Genesis 46:20 On: i.e., Heliopolis.
- Genesis 46:28 With the favor of the sovereign of Egypt cleverly orchestrated by Joseph, the children of Israel can establish themselves in the region to the east of the Nile delta without mingling with the Egyptians (46:34), not far from the frontier. They can then start out more easily at the time of the Exodus! By the play of circumstances, Providence has provided for everything.
Genesis 46
New English Translation
The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt
46 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had.[a] When he came to Beer Sheba[b] he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night[c] and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!” 3 He said, “I am God,[d] the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there.[e] Joseph will close your eyes.”[f]
5 Then Jacob started out[g] from Beer Sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little children, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent along to transport him. 6 Jacob and all his descendants took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they went to Egypt.[h] 7 He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons,[i] his daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.
8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt—Jacob and his sons: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.
9 The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman).
11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah,[j] Jashub,[k] and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters numbered thirty-three in all.[l]
16 The sons of Gad: Zephon,[m] Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister.
The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.
18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.
19 The sons of Rachel the wife of Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,[n] bore them to him.
21 The sons of Benjamin:[o] Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.
23 The son of Dan: Hushim.[p]
24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.
26 All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons.)[q] 27 Counting the two sons[r] of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy.[s]
28 Jacob[t] sent Judah before him to Joseph to accompany him to Goshen.[u] So they came to the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. When he met him,[v] he hugged his neck and wept on his neck for quite some time.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”[w] 31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh,[x] ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds;[y] they take care of livestock.[z] They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 Pharaoh will summon you and say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle[aa] from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen,[ab] for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting[ac] to the Egyptians.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 46:1 tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”
- Genesis 46:1 sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.
- Genesis 46:2 tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.
- Genesis 46:3 tn Heb “the God.”
- Genesis 46:4 tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”
- Genesis 46:4 tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.
- Genesis 46:5 tn Heb “arose.”
- Genesis 46:6 tn Heb “and they took their livestock and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 46:7 tn The Hebrew text adds “with him” here. This is omitted in the translation because it is redundant in English style (note the same phrase earlier in the verse).
- Genesis 46:13 tc The MT reads “Puvah” (cf. Num 26:23); Smr and Syriac read “Puah” (cf. 1 Chr 7:1).
- Genesis 46:13 tc The MT reads יוֹב (yov, “Job,”) but Smr, supported by the LXX, reads יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “Jashub”) (see Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1).
- Genesis 46:15 tn Heb “all the lives of his sons and his daughters, thirty-three.”
- Genesis 46:16 tc The MT reads “Ziphion,” but see Num 26:15, Smr and the LXX, all of which read “Zephon.”
- Genesis 46:20 sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
- Genesis 46:21 sn The sons of Benjamin. It is questionable whether youthful Benjamin had ten sons by the time he went into Egypt, but it is not impossible. If Benjamin was born when Joseph was six or seven, he was ten when Joseph was sold into Egypt, and would have been thirty-two at this point. Some suggest that the list originally served another purpose and included the names of all who were in the immediate family of the sons, whether born in Canaan or later in Egypt.
- Genesis 46:23 tn This name appears as “Shuham” in Num 26:42. The LXX reads “Hashum” here.
- Genesis 46:26 tn Heb “All the people who went with Jacob to Egypt, the ones who came out of his body, apart from the wives of the sons of Jacob, all the people were sixty-six.”sn The number sixty-six includes the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah) listed in vv. 8-25 minus Er and Onan (deceased), and Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim (already in Egypt).
- Genesis 46:27 tn The LXX reads “nine sons,” probably counting the grandsons of Joseph born to Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 1 Chr 7:14-20).
- Genesis 46:27 tn Heb “And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two people; all the people belonging to the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.”sn The number seventy includes Jacob himself and the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim) listed in vv. 8-25, minus Er and Onan (deceased). The LXX gives the number as “seventy-five” (cf. Acts 7:14).
- Genesis 46:28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 46:28 tn Heb “to direct before him to Goshen.”
- Genesis 46:29 tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”
- Genesis 46:30 tn Heb “after my seeing your face that you are still alive.”
- Genesis 46:31 tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”
- Genesis 46:32 tn Heb “feeders of sheep.”
- Genesis 46:32 tn Heb “for men of livestock they are.”
- Genesis 46:34 tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”
- Genesis 46:34 sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.
- Genesis 46:34 tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (toʿevah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.