Worthy.Bible » STRONG » Genesis » Chapter 46 » Verse 1-34

Genesis 46:1-34 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 And Israel H3478 took his journey H5265 with all that he had, and came H935 to Beersheba, H884 and offered H2076 sacrifices H2077 unto the God H430 of his father H1 Isaac. H3327

2 And God H430 spake H559 unto Israel H3478 in the visions H4759 of the night, H3915 and said, H559 Jacob, H3290 Jacob. H3290 And he said, H559 Here am I.

3 And he said, H559 I am God, H410 the God H430 of thy father: H1 fear H3372 not to go down H3381 into Egypt; H4714 for I will there make H7760 of thee a great H1419 nation: H1471

4 I will go down H3381 with thee into Egypt; H4714 and I will also surely H5927 bring thee up H5927 again: and Joseph H3130 shall put H7896 his hand H3027 upon thine eyes. H5869

5 And Jacob H3290 rose up H6965 from Beersheba: H884 and the sons H1121 of Israel H3478 carried H5375 Jacob H3290 their father, H1 and their little ones, H2945 and their wives, H802 in the wagons H5699 which Pharaoh H6547 had sent H7971 to carry H5375 him.

6 And they took H3947 their cattle, H4735 and their goods, H7399 which they had gotten H7408 in the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 and came H935 into Egypt, H4714 Jacob, H3290 and all his seed H2233 with him:

7 His sons, H1121 and his sons' H1121 sons H1121 with him, his daughters, H1323 and his sons' H1121 daughters, H1323 and all his seed H2233 brought he H935 with him into Egypt. H4714

8 And these are the names H8034 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 which came H935 into Egypt, H4714 Jacob H3290 and his sons: H1121 Reuben, H7205 Jacob's H3290 firstborn. H1060

9 And the sons H1121 of Reuben; H7205 Hanoch, H2585 and Phallu, H6396 and Hezron, H2696 and Carmi. H3756

10 And the sons H1121 of Simeon; H8095 Jemuel, H3223 and Jamin, H3226 and Ohad, H161 and Jachin, H3199 and Zohar, H6714 and Shaul H7586 the son H1121 of a Canaanitish H3669 woman.

11 And the sons H1121 of Levi; H3878 Gershon, H1648 Kohath, H6955 and Merari. H4847

12 And the sons H1121 of Judah; H3063 Er, H6147 and Onan, H209 and Shelah, H7956 and Pharez, H6557 and Zerah: H2226 but Er H6147 and Onan H209 died H4191 in the land H776 of Canaan. H3667 And the sons H1121 of Pharez H6557 were Hezron H2696 and Hamul. H2538

13 And the sons H1121 of Issachar; H3485 Tola, H8439 and Phuvah, H6312 and Job, H3102 and Shimron. H8110

14 And the sons H1121 of Zebulun; H2074 Sered, H5624 and Elon, H356 and Jahleel. H3177

15 These be the sons H1121 of Leah, H3812 which she bare H3205 unto Jacob H3290 in Padanaram, H6307 with his daughter H1323 Dinah: H1783 all the souls H5315 of his sons H1121 and his daughters H1323 were thirty H7970 and three. H7969

16 And the sons H1121 of Gad; H1410 Ziphion, H6837 and Haggi, H2291 Shuni, H7764 and Ezbon, H675 Eri, H6179 and Arodi, H722 and Areli. H692

17 And the sons H1121 of Asher; H836 Jimnah, H3232 and Ishuah, H3438 and Isui, H3440 and Beriah, H1283 and Serah H8294 their sister: H269 and the sons H1121 of Beriah; H1283 Heber, H2268 and Malchiel. H4439

18 These are the sons H1121 of Zilpah, H2153 whom Laban H3837 gave H5414 to Leah H3812 his daughter, H1323 and these she bare H3205 unto Jacob, H3290 even sixteen H6240 H8337 souls. H5315

19 The sons H1121 of Rachel H7354 Jacob's H3290 wife; H802 Joseph, H3130 and Benjamin. H1144

20 And unto Joseph H3130 in the land H776 of Egypt H4714 were born H3205 Manasseh H4519 and Ephraim, H669 which Asenath H621 the daughter H1323 of Potipherah H6319 priest H3548 of On H204 bare H3205 unto him.

21 And the sons H1121 of Benjamin H1144 were Belah, H1106 and Becher, H1071 and Ashbel, H788 Gera, H1617 and Naaman, H5283 Ehi, H278 and Rosh, H7220 Muppim, H4649 and Huppim, H2650 and Ard. H714

22 These are the sons H1121 of Rachel, H7354 which were born H3205 to Jacob: H3290 all the souls H5315 were fourteen. H702 H6240

23 And the sons H1121 of Dan; H1835 Hushim. H2366

24 And the sons H1121 of Naphtali; H5321 Jahzeel, H3183 and Guni, H1476 and Jezer, H3337 and Shillem. H8006

25 These are the sons H1121 of Bilhah, H1090 which Laban H3837 gave H5414 unto Rachel H7354 his daughter, H1323 and she bare H3205 these unto Jacob: H3290 all the souls H5315 were seven. H7651

26 All the souls H5315 that came H935 with Jacob H3290 into Egypt, H4714 which came out H3318 of his loins, H3409 besides Jacob's H3290 sons' H1121 wives, H802 all the souls H5315 were threescore H8346 and six; H8337

27 And the sons H1121 of Joseph, H3130 which were born H3205 him in Egypt, H4714 were two H8147 souls: H5315 all the souls H5315 of the house H1004 of Jacob, H3290 which came H935 into Egypt, H4714 were threescore and ten. H7657

28 And he sent H7971 Judah H3063 before him H6440 unto Joseph, H3130 to direct H3384 his face H6440 unto Goshen; H1657 and they came H935 into the land H776 of Goshen. H1657

29 And Joseph H3130 made ready H631 his chariot, H4818 and went up H5927 to meet H7125 Israel H3478 his father, H1 to Goshen, H1657 and presented H7200 himself unto him; and he fell H5307 on his neck, H6677 and wept H1058 on his neck H6677 a good while. H5750

30 And Israel H3478 said H559 unto Joseph, H3130 Now H6471 let me die, H4191 since H310 I have seen H7200 thy face, H6440 because thou art yet H5750 alive. H2416

31 And Joseph H3130 said H559 unto his brethren, H251 and unto his father's H1 house, H1004 I will go up, H5927 and shew H5046 Pharaoh, H6547 and say H559 unto him, My brethren, H251 and my father's H1 house, H1004 which were in the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 are come H935 unto me;

32 And the men H582 are shepherds, H7462 H6629 for their trade hath been to feed cattle; H4735 and they have brought H935 their flocks, H6629 and their herds, H1241 and all that they have.

33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh H6547 shall call H7121 you, and shall say, H559 What is your occupation? H4639

34 That ye shall say, H559 Thy servants' H5650 trade H582 hath been about cattle H4735 from our youth H5271 even until now, both we, and also our fathers: H1 that ye may dwell H3427 in the land H776 of Goshen; H1657 for every shepherd H7462 H6629 is an abomination H8441 unto the Egyptians. H4714

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 46

Commentary on Genesis 46 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Verses 1-7

So Israel took his journey (from Hebron, Genesis 37:14) with all who belonged to him, and came to Beersheba .” There, on the border of Canaan, where Abraham and Isaac had called upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 21:33; Genesis 26:25), he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac, ut sibi firmum et ratum esse testetur faedus, quod Deus ipse cum Patribus pepigerat ( Calvin ). Even though Jacob might see the ways of God in the wonderful course of his son Joseph, and discern in the friendly invitation of Joseph and Pharaoh, combined with the famine prevailing in Canaan, a divine direction to go into Egypt; yet this departure from the land of promise, in which his fathers had lived as pilgrims, was a step which necessarily excited serious thoughts in his mind as to his own future and that of his family, and led him to commend himself and his followers to the care of the faithful covenant God, whether in so doing he thought of the revelation which Abram had received (Genesis 15:13-16), or not.

Genesis 46:2-4

Here God appeared to him in a vision of the night ( מראת , an intensive plural), and gave him, as once before on his flight from Canaan (Genesis 28:12.), the comforting promise, “ I am האל (the Mighty One), the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt ( מרדה for מרדת , as in Exodus 2:4 דּעה for דּעת , cf. Ges. §69, 3, Anm. 1); for I will there make thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I - bring thee up again also will I, and Joseph shall close thine eyes .” גּם־עלה an inf. abs . appended emphatically (as in Genesis 31:15); according to Ges. inf. Kal .

Genesis 46:5-7

Strengthened by this promise, Jacob went into Egypt with children and children's children, his sons driving their aged father together with their wives and children in the carriages sent by Pharaoh, and taking their flocks with all the possessions that they had acquired in Canaan.

(Note: Such a scene as this, with the emigrants taking their goods laden upon asses, and even two children in panniers upon an ass's back, may be seen depicted upon a tomb at Beni Hassan , which might represent the immigration of Israel, although it cannot be directly connected with it. (See the particulars in Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses .))


Verses 8-27

The size of Jacob's family, which was to grow into a great nation, is given here, with evident allusion to the fulfilment of the divine promise with which he went into Egypt. The list of names includes not merely the “sons of Israel” in the stricter sense; but, as is added immediately afterwards, “ Jacob and his sons, ” or, as the closing formula expresses it (Genesis 46:27), “ all the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt ” ( הבּאה for בּאה אשׁר , Ges. §109), including the patriarch himself, and Joseph with his two sons, who were born before Jacob's arrival in Egypt. If we reckon these, the house of Jacob consisted of 70 souls; and apart from these, of 66, besides his sons' wives. The sons are arranged according to the four mothers. Of Leah there are given 6 sons, 23 grandsons, 2 great-grandsons (sons of Pharez, whereas Er and Onan, the sons of Judah who died in Canaan, are not reckoned), and 1 daughter, Dinah, who remained unmarried, and was therefore an independent member of the house of Jacob; in all, therefore, 6 + 23 + 2 + 1 = 32, or with Jacob, 33 souls. Of Zilpah , Leah's handmaid, there are mentioned 2 sons, 11 grandsons, 2 great-grandsons, and 1 daughter (who is reckoned like Dinah, both here and Numbers 26:46, for some special reason, which is not particularly described); in all, 2 + 11 + 2 + 1 = 16 souls. Of Rachel , “Jacob's (favourite) wife,” 2 sons and 12 grandsons are named, of whom, according to Numbers 26:40, two were great-grandsons, = 14 souls; and of Rachel's maid Bilhah, 2 sons and 5 grandsons = 7 souls. The whole number therefore was 33 + 16 + 14 + 7 = 70.

(Note: Instead of the number 70 given here, Exodus 1:5, and Deuteronomy 10:22, Stephen speaks of 75 (Acts 7:14), according to the lxx, which has the number 75 both here and Exodus 1:5, on account of the words which follow the names of Manasseh and Ephraim in Genesis 46:20 : ἐγένοντο δὲ οἱοὶ Μανασσῆ , οὓς ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ ἡ παλλακῆ ἡ Σύρα , τοὺ Μαχίρ· Μαχὶρ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Γαλαάδ , υίοὶ δὲ Ἐφραΐ́μ ἀδελφοῦ Μανασσῆ. Σουταλαὰμ καὶ Ταάμ . υίοὶ δὲ Σουταλαάμ . Ἐδώμ : and which are interpolated by conjecture from Genesis 1:23, and Numbers 26:29, Numbers 26:35, and Numbers 26:36 (33, 39, and 40), these three grandsons and two great-grandsons of Joseph being reckoned in.)

The wives of Jacob's sons are neither mentioned by name nor reckoned, because the families of Israel were not founded by them, but by their husbands alone. Nor is their parentage given either here or anywhere else. It is merely casually that one of the sons of Simeon is called the son of a Canaanitish woman (Genesis 46:10); from which it may be inferred that it was quite an exceptional thing for the sons of Jacob to take their wives from among the Canaanites, and that as a rule they were chosen from their paternal relations in Mesopotamia; besides whom, there were also their other relations, the families of Ishmael, Keturah, and Edom. Of the “daughters of Jacob” also, and the “daughters of his sons,” none are mentioned except Dinah and Serah the daughter of Asher, because they were not the founders of separate houses.

If we look more closely into the list itself, the first thing which strikes us is that Pharez, one of the twin-sons of Judah, who were not born till after the sale of Joseph, should already have had two sons. Supposing that Judah's marriage to the daughter of Shuah the Canaanite occurred, notwithstanding the reasons advanced to the contrary in Gen 38, before the sale of Joseph, and shortly after the return of Jacob to Canaan, during the time of his sojourn at Shechem (Genesis 33:18), it cannot have taken place more than five, or at the most six, years before Joseph was sold; for Judah was only three years older than Joseph, and was not more than 20 years old, therefore, at the time of his sale. But even then there would not be more than 28 years between Judah's marriage and Jacob's removal to Egypt; so that Pharez would only be about 11 years old, since he could not have been born till about 17 years after Judah's marriage, and at that age he could not have had two sons. Judah, again, could not have taken four sons with him into Egypt, since he had at the most only two sons a year before their removal (Genesis 42:37); unless indeed we adopt the extremely improbable hypothesis, that two other sons were born within the space of 11 or 12 months, either as twins, or one after the other. Still less could Benjamin, who was only 23 or 24 years old at the time (vid., pp. 200f. and 204f.), have had 10 sons already, or, as Numbers 26:38-40 shows, eight sons and two grandsons. From all this it necessarily follows, that in the list before us grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob are named who were born afterwards in Egypt, and who, therefore, according to a view which we frequently meet with in the Old Testament, though strange to our modes of thought, came into Egypt in lumbis patrum . That the list is really intended to be so understood, is undoubtedly evident from a comparison of the “sons of Israel” (Genesis 46:8), whose names it gives, with the description given in Num 26 of the whole community of the sons of Israel according to their fathers' houses, or their tribes and families. In the account of the families of Israel at the time of Moses, which is given there, we find, with slight deviations, all the grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob whose names occur in this chapter, mentioned as the founders of the families, into which the twelve tribes of Israel were subdivided in Moses' days. The deviations are partly in form, partly in substance. To the former belong the differences in particular names, which are sometimes only different forms of the same name; e.g., Jemuel and Zohar (Genesis 46:10), for Nemuel and Zerah (Numbers 26:12-13); Ziphion and Arodi (Genesis 46:16), for Zephon and Arod (Numbers 26:15 and Numbers 26:17); Huppim (Genesis 46:21) for Hupham (Numbers 26:39); Ehi (Genesis 46:21), an abbreviation of Ahiram (Numbers 26:38); sometimes different names of the same person; viz., Ezbon (Genesis 46:16) and Ozni (Numbers 26:16); Muppim (Genesis 46:21) and Shupham (Numbers 26:39); Hushim (Genesis 46:23) and Shuham (Numbers 26:42). Among the differences in substance, the first to be noticed is the fact, that in Num 26 Simeon's son Ohad, Asher's son Ishuah, and three of Benjamin's sons, Becher, Gera, and Rosh, are missing from the founders of families, probably for no other reason than that they either died childless, or did not leave a sufficient number of children to form independent families. With the exception of these, according to Num 26, all the grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob mentioned in this chapter were founders of families in existence in Moses' time. From this it is obvious that our list is intended to contain, not merely the sons and grandsons of Jacob, who were already born when he went down to Egypt, but in addition to the sons, who were the heads of the twelve tribes of the nation, all the grandsons and great-grandsons who became the founders of mishpachoth , i.e., of independent families, and who on that account took the place or were advanced into the position of the grandsons of Jacob, so far as the national organization was concerned.

On no other hypothesis can we explain the fact, that in the time of Moses there was not one of the twelve tribes, except the double tribe of Joseph, in which there were families existing, that had descended from either grandsons or great-grandsons of Jacob who are not already mentioned in this list. As it is quite inconceivable that no more sons should have been born to Jacob's sons after their removal into Egypt, so is it equally inconceivable, that all the sons born in Egypt either died childless, or founded no families. The rule by which the nation descending from the sons of Jacob was divided into tribes and families ( mishpachoth ) according to the order of birth was this, that as the twelve sons founded the twelve tribes, so their sons, i.e., Jacob's grandsons, were the founders of the families into which the tribes were subdivided, unless these grandsons died without leaving children, or did not leave a sufficient number of male descendants to form independent families, or the natural rule for the formation of tribes and families was set aside by other events or causes. On this hypothesis we can also explain the other real differences between this list and Num 26; viz., the fact that, according to Numbers 26:40, two of the sons of Benjamin mentioned in Genesis 46:21, Naaman and Ard, were his grandsons, sons of Belah; and also the circumstance, that in Genesis 46:20 only the two sons of Joseph, who were already born when Jacob arrived in Egypt, are mentioned, viz., Manasseh and Ephraim, and none of the sons who were born to him afterwards (Genesis 48:6). The two grandsons of Benjamin could be reckoned among his sons in our list, because they founded independent families just like the sons. And of the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim alone could be admitted into our list, because they were elevated above the sons born to Joseph afterwards, by the fact that shortly before Jacob's death he adopted them as his own sons and thus raised them to the rank of heads of tribes; so that wherever Joseph's descendants are reckoned as one tribe (e.g., Joshua 16:1, Joshua 16:4), Manasseh and Ephraim form the main divisions, or leading families of the tribe of Joseph, the subdivisions of which were founded partly by their brothers who were born afterwards, and partly by their sons and grandsons. Consequently the omission of the sons born afterwards, and the grandsons of Joseph, from whom the families of the two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who were elevated into tribes, descended, forms only an apparent and not a real exception to the general rule, that this list mentions all the grandsons of Jacob who founded the families of the twelve tribes, without regard to the question whether they were born before or after the removal of Jacob's house to Egypt, since this distinction was of no importance to the main purpose of our list. That this was the design of our list, is still further confirmed by a comparison of Exodus 1:5 and Deuteronomy 10:22, where the seventy souls of the house of Jacob which went into Egypt are said to constitute the seed which, under the blessing of the Lord, had grown into the numerous people that Moses led out of Egypt, to take possession of the land of promise. From this point of view it was a natural thing to describe the seed of the nation, which grew up in tribes and families, in such a way as to give the germs and roots of all the tribes and families of the whole nation; i.e., not merely the grandsons who were born before the migration, but also the grandsons and great-grandsons who were born in Egypt, and became founders of independent families. By thus embracing all the founders of tribes and families, the significant number 70 was obtained, in which the number 7 (formed of the divine number 3, and the world number 4, as the seal of the covenant relation between God and Israel) is multiplied by the number 10, as the seal of completeness, so as to express the fact that these 70 souls comprehended the whole of the nation of God.

(Note: This was the manner in which the earlier theologians solved the actual difficulties connected with our list; and this solution has been adopted and defended against the objections offered to it by Hengstenberg ( Dissertations ) and Kurtz (History of the Old Covenant).)


Verses 28-34

This list of the house of Jacob is followed by an account of the arrival in Egypt.

Genesis 46:28

Jacob sent his son Judah before him to Joseph, “to show ( להורת ) before him to Goshen;” i.e., to obtain from Joseph the necessary instructions as to the place of their settlement, and then to act as guide to Goshen.

Genesis 46:29

As soon as they had arrived, Joseph had his chariot made ready to go up to Goshen and meet his father ( ויּעל applied to a journey from the interior to the desert or Canaan), and “ showed himself to him there (lit., he appeared to him; נראה , which is generally used only of the appearance of God, is selected here to indicate the glory in which Joseph came to meet his father); and fell upon his neck, continuing ( עוד ) upon his neck (i.e., in his embrace) weeping .”

Genesis 46:30

Then Israel said to Joseph: “Now ( הפּעם lit., this time) will I die, after I have seen thy face, that thou (art) still alive.”

Genesis 46:31-32

But Joseph told his brethren and his father's house (his family) that he would to up to Pharaoh ( עלה here used of going to the court, as an ideal ascent), to announce the arrival of his relations, who were מקנה אנשׁי “keepers of flocks,” and had brought their sheep and oxen and all their possessions with them.

Genesis 46:33-34

At the same time Joseph gave these instructions to his brethren, in case Pharaoh should send for them and inquire about their occupation: “Say, Thy servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, we like our fathers; that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination of the Egyptians.” This last remark formed part of Joseph's words, and contained the reason why his brethren should describe themselves to Pharaoh as shepherds from of old, namely, that they might receive Goshen as their dwelling-place, and that their national and religion independence might not be endangered by too close an intercourse with the Egyptians. The dislike of the Egyptians to shepherds arose from the fact, that the more completely the foundations of the Egyptian state rested upon agriculture with its perfect organization, the more did the Egyptians associate the idea of rudeness and barbarism with the very name of a shepherd. This is not only attested in various ways by the monuments, on which shepherds are constantly depicted as lanky, withered, distorted, emaciated, and sometimes almost ghostly figures (Graul, Reise 2 , p. 171), but is confirmed by ancient testimony. According to Herodotus (2, 47), the swine-herds were the most despised; but they were associated with the cow-herds ( βουκόλοι ) in the seven castes of the Egyptians (Herod. 2, 164), so that Diodorus Siculus (1, 74) includes all herdsmen in one caste; according to which the word βουκόλοι in Herodotus not only denotes cow-herds, but a potiori all herdsmen, just as we find in the herds depicted upon the monuments, sheep, goats, and rams introduced by thousands, along with asses and horned cattle.