Genesis 46
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jacob Brings His Whole Family to Egypt
46 When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.(A) 2 God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”(B) 3 Then he said, “I am God,[a] the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.(C) 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s own hand shall close your eyes.”(D)
5 Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.(E) 6 They also took their livestock and the goods that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him,(F) 7 his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters; all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.
8 Now these are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his offspring, who came to Egypt. Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn,(G) 9 and the children of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The children of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.(H) 11 The children of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.(I) 12 The children of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan), and the children of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.(J) 13 The children of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Jashub,[b] and Shimron. 14 The children of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These are the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; in all, his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. 16 The children of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The children of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.(K) 18 These are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons.(L) 19 The children of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.(M) 20 To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.(N) 21 The children of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.(O) 22 These are the children of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. 23 The children of Dan: Hashum.[c](P) 24 The children of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.(Q) 25 These are the children of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all.(R) 26 All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt who were his own offspring, not including the wives of his sons, were sixty-six persons in all.(S) 27 The children of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.(T)
Jacob Settles in Goshen
28 Israel[d] sent Judah ahead to Joseph to lead the way before him into Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen,(U) 29 Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. He presented himself to him, fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.(V) 30 Israel said to Joseph, “I can die now, having seen for myself that you are still alive.” 31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.(W) 32 The men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’(X) 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our ancestors,’ in order that you may settle in the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians.”(Y)
Genesis 46
New Living Translation
Jacob’s Journey to Egypt
46 So Jacob[a] set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 2 During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called.
“Here I am,” Jacob replied.
3 “I am God,[b] the God of your father,” the voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. 4 I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.”
5 So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt. They carried him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them. 6 They also took all their livestock and all the personal belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. So Jacob and his entire family went to Egypt— 7 sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.
8 These are the names of the descendants of Israel—the sons of Jacob—who went to Egypt:
Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul’s mother was a Canaanite woman.)
11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (though Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah,[c] Jashub,[d] and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were the sons of Leah and Jacob who were born in Paddan-aram, in addition to their daughter, Dinah. The number of Jacob’s descendants (male and female) through Leah was thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad were Zephon,[e] Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malkiel.
18 These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant given to Leah by her father, Laban. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Zilpah was sixteen.
19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Joseph’s sons, born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim. Their mother was Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.[f]
21 Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22 These were the sons of Rachel and Jacob. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Rachel was fourteen.
23 The son of Dan was Hushim.
24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the sons of Bilhah, the servant given to Rachel by her father, Laban. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Bilhah was seven.
26 The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons’ wives, was sixty-six. 27 In addition, Joseph had two sons[g] who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy[h] members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt.
Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen
28 As they neared their destination, Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen. And when they finally arrived there, 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time. 30 Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive.”
31 And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s entire family, “I will go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s entire family have come to me from the land of Canaan. 32 These men are shepherds, and they raise livestock. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’”
33 Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation, 34 you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise shepherds.”
Footnotes
- 46:1 Hebrew Israel; also in 46:29, 30. See note on 35:21.
- 46:3 Hebrew I am El.
- 46:13a As in Syriac version and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also 1 Chr 7:1); Hebrew reads Puvah.
- 46:13b As in some Greek manuscripts and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1); Hebrew reads Iob.
- 46:16 As in Greek version and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Num 26:15); Hebrew reads Ziphion.
- 46:20 Greek version reads of Heliopolis.
- 46:27a Greek version reads nine sons, probably including Joseph’s grandsons through Ephraim and Manasseh (see 1 Chr 7:14-20).
- 46:27b Greek version reads seventy-five; see note on Exod 1:5.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
