3 And he said, I am God, the God of your father: go down to Egypt without fear, for I will make a great nation of you there:
And these are the words which you will say before the Lord your God: My father was a wandering Aramaean, and he went down with a small number of people into Egypt; there he became a great and strong nation:
And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing:
The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number.
Saying, Have no fear, Paul, for you will come before Caesar, and God has given to you all those who are sailing with you.
And Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to them and their men, saying, Have no fear of the servants of the Chaldaeans: go on living in the land, and become the servants of the king of Babylon, and all will be well.
But now, says the Lord your Maker, O Jacob, and your life-giver, O Israel: have no fear, for I have taken up your cause; naming you by your name, I have made you mine. When you go through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not go over you: when you go through the fire, you will not be burned; and the flame will have no power over you.
Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you like the stars of heaven in number.
For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your seed for ever. And I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if the dust of the earth may be numbered, then will your children be numbered.
And the children of Israel were fertile, increasing very greatly in numbers and in power; and the land was full of them. Now a new king came to power in Egypt, who had no knowledge of Joseph. And he said to his people, See, the people of Israel are greater in number and in power than we are: Let us take care for fear that their numbers may become even greater, and if there is a war, they may be joined with those who are against us, and make an attack on us, and go up out of the land.
And so Israel was living among the Egyptians in the land of Goshen; and they got property there, and became very great in numbers and in wealth.
And he saw the Lord by his side, saying, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: I will give to you and to your seed this land on which you are sleeping. Your seed will be like the dust of the earth, covering all the land to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south: you and your seed will be a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.
And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge: Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham;
That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them;
Seeing that Abraham will certainly become a great and strong nation, and his name will be used by all the nations of the earth as a blessing?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 46
Commentary on Genesis 46 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 46
Jacob is here removing to Egypt in his old age, forced thither by a famine, and invited thither by a son. Here,
Gen 46:1-4
The divine precept is, In all thy ways acknowledge God; and the promise annexed to it is, He shall direct thy paths. Jacob has here a very great concern before him, not only a journey, but a removal, to settle in another country, a change which was very surprising to him (for he never had any other thoughts than to live and die in Canaan), and which would be of great consequence to his family for a long time to come. Now here we are told,
Gen 46:5-27
Old Jacob is here flitting. Little did he think of ever leaving Canaan; he expected, no doubt, to die in his nest, and to leave his seed in actual possession of the promised land: but Providence orders it otherwise. Note, Those that think themselves well settled may yet be unsettled in a little time. Even old people, who think of no other removal than that to the grave (which Jacob had much upon his heart, ch. 37:35; 42:38), sometimes live to see great changes in their family. It is good to be ready, not only for the grave, but for whatever may happen betwixt us and the grave. Observe,
Gen 46:28-34
We have here,