Genesis 45:1-46:9
New English Translation
The Reconciliation of the Brothers
45 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants,[a] so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained[b] with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 He wept loudly;[c] the Egyptians heard it and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.[d]
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him because they were dumbfounded before him. 4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here,[e] for God sent me[f] ahead of you to preserve life! 6 For these past two years there has been famine in[g] the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God sent me[h] ahead of you to preserve you[i] on the earth and to save your lives[j] by a great deliverance. 8 So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser[k] to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Now go up to my father quickly[l] and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay! 10 You will live[m] in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. 11 I will provide you with food[n] there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor—you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’ 12 You and my brother Benjamin can certainly see with your own eyes that I really am the one who speaks to you.[o] 13 So tell[p] my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!”[q]
14 Then he threw himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After this his brothers talked with him.
16 Now it was reported[r] in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased[s] Pharaoh and his servants. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go[t] to the land of Canaan! 18 Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you[u] the best land in Egypt and you will eat[v] the best[w] of the land.’ 19 You are also commanded to say,[x] ‘Do this: Take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come. 20 Don’t worry[y] about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt will be yours.’”
21 So the sons of Israel did as he said.[z] Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed,[aa] and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave sets of clothes to each one of them,[ab] but to Benjamin he gave 300 pieces of silver and five sets of clothes.[ac] 23 To his father he sent the following:[ad] ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father’s journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers on their way and they left. He said to them, “As you travel don’t be overcome with fear.”[ae]
25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.[af] 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned,[ag] for he did not believe them. 27 But when they related to him everything Joseph had said to them,[ah] and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived. 28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”
The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt
46 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had.[ai] When he came to Beer Sheba[aj] he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night[ak] and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!” 3 He said, “I am God,[al] 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.[am] Joseph will close your eyes.”[an]
5 Then Jacob started out[ao] 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.[ap] 7 He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons,[aq] 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.
Footnotes
- Genesis 45:1 tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”
- Genesis 45:1 tn Heb “stood.”
- Genesis 45:2 tn Heb “and he gave his voice in weeping,” meaning that Joseph could not restrain himself and wept out loud.
- Genesis 45:2 tn Heb “and the Egyptians heard and the household of Pharaoh heard.” Presumably in the latter case this was by means of a report.
- Genesis 45:5 tn Heb “let there not be anger in your eyes.”
- Genesis 45:5 sn You sold me here, for God sent me. The tension remains as to how the brothers’ wickedness and God’s intentions work together. Clearly God is able to transform the actions of wickedness to bring about some gracious end. But this is saying more than that; it is saying that from the beginning it was God who sent Joseph here. Although harmonization of these ideas remains humanly impossible, the divine intention is what should be the focus. Only that will enable reconciliation.
- Genesis 45:6 tn Heb “the famine [has been] in the midst of.”
- Genesis 45:7 sn God sent me. The repetition of this theme that God sent Joseph is reminiscent of commission narratives in which the leader could announce that God sent him (e.g., Exod 3:15).
- Genesis 45:7 tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition ל (lamed), means “to make.”
- Genesis 45:7 tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.
- Genesis 45:8 tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.
- Genesis 45:9 tn Heb “hurry and go up.”
- Genesis 45:10 tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive here expresses instruction.
- Genesis 45:11 tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”
- Genesis 45:12 tn Heb “And, look, your eyes see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that my mouth is the one speaking to you.”
- Genesis 45:13 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.
- Genesis 45:13 tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”
- Genesis 45:16 tn Heb “and the sound was heard.”
- Genesis 45:16 tn Heb “was good in the eyes of.”
- Genesis 45:17 tn Heb “and go! Enter!”
- Genesis 45:18 tn After the imperatives in vv. 17-18a, the cohortative with vav indicates result.
- Genesis 45:18 tn After the cohortative the imperative with vav states the ultimate goal.
- Genesis 45:18 tn Heb “fat.”
- Genesis 45:19 tn The words “to say” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 45:20 tn Heb “let not your eye regard.”
- Genesis 45:21 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel did so.”
- Genesis 45:21 tn Heb “according to the mouth of Pharaoh.”
- Genesis 45:22 tn Heb “to all of them he gave, to each one, changes of outer garments.”
- Genesis 45:22 tn Heb “changes of outer garments.”
- Genesis 45:23 tn Heb “according to this.”
- Genesis 45:24 tn Heb “do not be stirred up in the way.” The verb means “stir up.” Some understand the Hebrew verb רָגָז (ragaz, “to stir up”) as a reference to quarreling (see Prov 29:9, where it has this connotation), but in Exod 15:14 and other passages it means “to fear.” This might refer to a fear of robbers, but more likely it is an assuring word that they need not be fearful about returning to Egypt. They might have thought that once Jacob was in Egypt, Joseph would take his revenge on them.
- Genesis 45:25 tn Heb “and they entered the land of Canaan to their father.”
- Genesis 45:26 tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.
- Genesis 45:27 tn Heb “and they spoke to him all the words of Joseph which he had spoke to them.”
- 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).
1 Chronicles 5:1-6
New English Translation
Reuben’s Descendants
5 The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn—
(Now he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s bed,[a] his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph, Israel’s son. So Reuben is not listed as firstborn in the genealogical records.[b] 2 Though Judah was the strongest among his brothers and a leader descended from him,[c] the right of the firstborn belonged to Joseph.)
3 The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4 The descendants of Joel: his son Shemaiah, his son Gog, his son Shimei, 5 his son Micah, his son Reaiah, his son Baal, 6 and his son Beerah, whom King Tiglath-Pileser[d] of Assyria carried into exile. Beerah[e] was the tribal leader of Reuben.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Chronicles 5:1 sn The phrase when he defiled his father’s bed refers to Reuben having sexual relations with his father Jacob’s concubine Bilhah. This incident is recorded in Gen 35:22.
- 1 Chronicles 5:1 tn Heb “and not to be listed in the genealogical records as (having) the right of the firstborn.”
- 1 Chronicles 5:2 tn Heb “and [one] for a leader [was] from him.” This probably refers to the Davidic king.
- 1 Chronicles 5:6 tn Heb “Tilgath-Pilneser,” a variant spelling of Tiglath-Pileser (also in v. 26).
- 1 Chronicles 5:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Beerah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Genesis 46:10-12
New English Translation
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.
1 Chronicles 2:18-55
New English Translation
Caleb’s Descendants
18 Caleb son of Hezron fathered sons by his wife Azubah (also known as Jerioth).[a] Her sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19 When Azubah died, Caleb married[b] Ephrath, who bore him Hur. 20 Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri was the father of Bezalel.
21 Later[c] Hezron slept with[d] the daughter of Makir, the father of Gilead. (He had married[e] her when he was sixty years old.) She bore him Segub. 22 Segub was the father of Jair, who owned twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 23 (Geshur and Aram captured the towns of Jair,[f] along with Kenath and its sixty surrounding towns.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.
24 After Hezron’s death, Caleb slept with Ephrath, his father Hezron’s widow, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.[g]
Jerahmeel’s Descendants
25 The sons of Jerahmeel, Hezron’s firstborn, were Ram, the firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had another wife named Atarah; she was Onam’s mother.
27 The sons of Ram, Jerahmeel’s firstborn, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.
28 The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada.
The sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur.
29 Abishur’s wife was Abihail, who bore him Ahban and Molid. 30 The sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim. (Seled died without having sons.)
31 The son[h] of Appaim: Ishi.
The son of Ishi: Sheshan.
The son of Sheshan: Ahlai.
32 The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother: Jether and Jonathan. (Jether died without having sons.)
33 The sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza.
These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.
34 Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. Sheshan had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave his daughter to his servant Jarha as a wife; she bore him Attai.
36 Attai was the father of Nathan, and Nathan was the father of Zabad. 37 Zabad was the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal was the father of Obed. 38 Obed was the father of Jehu, and Jehu was the father of Azariah. 39 Azariah was the father of Helez, and Helez was the father of Eleasah. 40 Eleasah was the father of Sismai, and Sismai was the father of Shallum. 41 Shallum was the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.
More of Caleb’s Descendants
42 The sons of Caleb, Jerahmeel’s brother: His firstborn Mesha, the father of Ziph, and his second son Mareshah,[i] the father of Hebron.
43 The sons of Hebron: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema.
44 Shema was the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. 45 Shammai’s son was Maon, who was the father of Beth Zur.
46 Caleb’s concubine[j] Ephah bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.
47 The sons of Jahdai: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.
48 Caleb’s concubine Maacah bore Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah and Sheva the father of Machbenah and Gibea. Caleb’s daughter was Achsah.
50 These were the descendants of Caleb.
The sons[k] of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrath:[l] Shobal, the father of Kiriath Jearim, 51 Salma, the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph, the father of Beth Gader.
52 The sons of Shobal, the father of Kiriath Jearim, were Haroeh, half the Manahathites,[m] 53 the clans of Kiriath Jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. (The Zorathites and Eshtaolites descended from these groups.)[n]
54 The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites, 55 and the clans of the scribes[o] who lived in Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who descended[p] from Hammath, the father of Beth Rechab.[q]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “and Caleb son of Hezron fathered [children] with Azubah, a wife, and with Jerioth.” Jerioth could be viewed as a second wife (so NLT; cf. also NASB, NIV, NRSV), but the following context mentions only “her [presumably Azubah’s] sons.” Another option, the one chosen in the translation, is that Jerioth is another name for Azubah.
- 1 Chronicles 2:19 tn Heb “took for himself.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:21 sn This means “later” in relation to the births of the three sons (Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb) mentioned in v. 9.
- 1 Chronicles 2:21 tn The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
- 1 Chronicles 2:21 tn Heb “he took,” referring to taking in marriage.
- 1 Chronicles 2:23 tn Or “Havvoth Jair” (NIV, NRSV). Some translations do not translate the phrase (“havvoth” = “the towns of”), but treat it as part of the place name.
- 1 Chronicles 2:24 tc Heb “And after the death of Hezron in Caleb Ephrathah, and the wife of Hezron, Abijah, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.” The translations assumes three diferences from the MT. 1) Where the MT preserves only the preposition ב (bet, “in”), the NET agrees with the text behind the LXX and Vulgate in reading בָּא ב (baʾ b-, “went to”). Caleb is thus the subject of the verb rather than an otherwise unattested place name, and Ephrath(a) is a reference to his wife (see vv. 19 and 50). A directional he on the end of Ephratha would be unusual on a personal name but the he also appears in v. 50 where it cannot be a directional he. Also the phrase בָּא ב is viewed as a euphemism for sexual relations, rather than a description of entering the town of Ephrath (or Bethlehem). 2) The ו (vav, “and”) is not read before “wife of Hezron.” 3) A ו (vav) is restored after אֲבִיָּה (ʾaviyyah, “Abijah”) to make אָבִיהוּ (ʾavihu, “his father”). This less common form of the noun with the suffix also occurs in 1 Chron 26:10 and 2 Chron 3:1. Thus “the wife of Hezron his father” is a descriptor of Caleb’s second wife, Ephrath. Some translations follow the MT on the first point to make Abijah the subject of the following verb as in “after Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Abijah, Hezron’s wife, bore to him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the preterite verb form cannot properly be preceded by its subject in this fashion. One would need to suppose that the phrase “and the wife of Hezron, Abijah” is not appositional but rather a parenthetic clause “and the wife of Hezron was Abijah.” R. Braun (1 Samuel [WBC], 40) is favorable to the idea that “the name of Hezron’s wife represents a misplaced gloss on v 21” (citing Williamson, JBL 98, 355). In the reading adopted here, this would mean that Caleb’s second wife, Ephrath, had actually been his late father’s wife (probably Caleb’s stepmother). Perhaps the text was subsequently altered because Caleb’s actions appeared improper in light of the injunctions in Lev 18:8; 20:11; Deut 22:30; 27:20 (which probably refer, however, to a son having sexual relations with his stepmother while his father is still alive).
- 1 Chronicles 2:31 tn Heb “sons.” The Hebrew text has the plural “sons” in all three instances in this verse, even though the following lists have only one name each.
- 1 Chronicles 2:42 tc Heb “and the sons of Mareshah,” but this does not fit contextually. Perhaps the text originally had וּבְנוֹ מִשְׁנֶה מָרֵשָׁה (uveno mishneh mareshah, “and his second son, Mareshah”), with מִשְׁנֶה (“second”) later accidentally falling out by homoioteleuton (cf. the note in BHS here).
- 1 Chronicles 2:46 sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 1:32.
- 1 Chronicles 2:50 tn Heb “son.” The Hebrew text has the singular, but the following list contains more than one name.
- 1 Chronicles 2:50 tn The Hebrew text reads “Ephrathah” here, but see v. 19, which mentions “Ephrath” as the wife of Caleb and mother of Hur.
- 1 Chronicles 2:52 tn The Hebrew text has “Menuchites” here, but v. 54 has “Manachathites.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:53 tn Heb “from these went forth the Zorathites and Eshtaolites.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:55 tn Or perhaps “the Sopherim.” The NAB transliterates this term and treats it as a proper name.
- 1 Chronicles 2:55 tn Heb “came.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:55 tn Or (if בֵּית [beth] is translated as “house” rather than considered to be part of the name) “the father of the house [i.e., family] of Rechab.”
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