19 Sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin.
And they journey from Bethel, and there is yet a kibrath of land before entering Ephratha, and Rachel beareth, and is sharply pained in her bearing; and it cometh to pass, in her being sharply pained in her bearing, that the midwife saith to her, `Fear not, for this also `is' a son for thee.' And it cometh to pass in the going out of her soul (for she died), that she calleth his name Ben-Oni; and his father called him Benjamin;
And Jacob dwelleth in the land of his father's sojournings -- in the land of Canaan. These `are' births of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, hath been enjoying himself with his brethren among the flock, (and he `is' a youth,) with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph bringeth in an account of their evil unto their father. And Israel hath loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he `is' a son of his old age, and hath made for him a long coat; and his brethren see that their father hath loved him more than any of his brethren, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak `to' him peaceably. And Joseph dreameth a dream, and declareth to his brethren, and they add still more to hate him. And he saith unto them, `Hear ye, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: that, lo, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and lo, my bundle hath arisen, and hath also stood up, and lo, your bundles are round about, and bow themselves to my bundle.' And his brethren say to him, `Dost thou certainly reign over us? dost thou certainly rule over us?' and they add still more to hate him, for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreameth yet another dream, and recounteth it to his brethren, and saith, `Lo, I have dreamed a dream again, and lo, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, are bowing themselves to me.' And he recounteth unto his father, and unto his brethren; and his father pusheth against him, and saith to him, `What `is' this dream which thou hast dreamt? do we certainly come -- I, and thy mother, and thy brethren -- to bow ourselves to thee, to the earth?' and his brethren are zealous against him, and his father hath watched the matter. And his brethren go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem, and Israel saith unto Joseph, `Are not thy brethren feeding in Shechem? come, and I send thee unto them;' and he saith to him, `Here `am' I;' and he saith to him, `Go, I pray thee, see the peace of thy brethren, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word;' and he sendeth him from the valley of Hebron, and he cometh to Shechem. And a man findeth him, and lo, he is wandering in the field, and the man asketh him, saying, `What seekest thou?' and he saith, `My brethren I am seeking, declare to me, I pray thee, where they are feeding?' And the man saith, `They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,' and Joseph goeth after his brethren, and findeth them in Dothan. And they see him from afar, even before he draweth near unto them, and they conspire against him to put him to death. And they say one unto another, `Lo, this man of the dreams cometh; and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast hath devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.' And Reuben heareth, and delivereth him out of their hand, and saith, `Let us not smite the life;' and Reuben saith unto them, `Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which `is' in the wilderness, and put not forth a hand upon him,' -- in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back unto his father. And it cometh to pass, when Joseph hath come unto his brethren, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which `is' upon him, and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit `is' empty, there is no water in it. And they sit down to eat bread, and they lift up their eyes, and look, and lo, a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take `them' down to Egypt. And Judah saith unto his brethren, `What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed his blood? Come, and we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he `is' our brother -- our flesh;' and his brethren hearken. And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt. And Reuben returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth his garments, and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, `The lad is not, and I -- whither am I going?' And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood, and send the long coat, and they bring `it' in unto their father, and say, `This have we found; discern, we pray thee, whether it `is' thy son's coat or not?' And he discerneth it, and saith, `My son's coat! an evil beast hath devoured him; torn -- torn is Joseph!' And Jacob rendeth his raiment, and putteth sackcloth on his loins, and becometh a mourner for his son many days, and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuseth to comfort himself, and saith, `For -- I go down mourning unto my son, to Sheol,' and his father weepeth for him. And the Medanites have sold him unto Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.
And Joseph cometh, and declareth to Pharaoh, and saith, `My father, and my brethren, and their flock, and their herd, and all they have, have come from the land of Canaan, and lo, they `are' in the land of Goshen.' And out of his brethren he hath taken five men, and setteth them before Pharaoh; and Pharaoh saith unto his brethren, `What `are' your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thy servants `are' feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;' and they say unto Pharaoh, `To sojourn in the land we have come, for there is no pasture for the flock which thy servants have, for grievous `is' the famine in the land of Canaan; and now, let thy servants, we pray thee, dwell in the land of Goshen.' And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph, saying, `Thy father and thy brethren have come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land cause thy father and thy brethren to dwell -- they dwell in the land of Goshen, and if thou hast known, and there are among them men of ability, then thou hast set them heads over the cattle I have.' And Joseph bringeth in Jacob his father, and causeth him to stand before Pharaoh; and Jacob blesseth Pharaoh. And Pharaoh saith unto Jacob, `How many `are' the days of the years of thy life?' And Jacob saith unto Pharaoh, `The days of the years of my sojournings `are' an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their sojournings.' And Jacob blesseth Pharaoh, and goeth out from before Pharaoh. And Joseph settleth his father and his brethren, and giveth to them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh commanded; and Joseph nourisheth his father, and his brethren, and all the house of his father `with' bread, according to the mouth of the infants. And there is no bread in all the land, for the famine `is' very grievous, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan are feeble because of the famine; and Joseph gathereth all the silver that is found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn that they are buying, and Joseph bringeth the silver into the house of Pharaoh. And the silver is consumed out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Canaan, and all the Egyptians come in unto Joseph, saying, `Give to us bread -- why do we die before thee, though the money hath ceased?' and Joseph saith, `Give your cattle; and I give to you for your cattle, if the money hath ceased.' And they bring in their cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph giveth to them bread, for the horses, and for the cattle of the flock, and for the cattle of the herd, and for the asses; and he tendeth them with bread, for all their cattle, during that year. And that year is finished, and they come in unto him on the second year, and say to him, `We do not hide from my lord, that since the money hath been finished, and possession of the cattle `is' unto my lord, there hath not been left before my lord save our bodies, and our ground; why do we die before thine eyes, both we and our ground? buy us and our ground for bread, and we and our ground are servants to Pharaoh; and give seed, and we live, and die not, and the ground is not desolate.' And Joseph buyeth all the ground of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians have sold each his field, for the famine hath been severe upon them, and the land becometh Pharaoh's; as to the people he hath removed them to cities from the `one' end of the border of Egypt even unto its `other' end. Only the ground of the priests he hath not bought, for the priests have a portion from Pharaoh, and they have eaten their portion which Pharaoh hath given to them, therefore they have not sold their ground. And Joseph saith unto the people, `Lo, I have bought you to-day and your ground for Pharaoh; lo, seed for you, and ye have sown the ground, and it hath come to pass in the increases, that ye have given a fifth to Pharaoh, and four of the parts are for yourselves, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for those who `are' in your houses, and for food for your infants.' And they say, `Thou hast revived us; we find grace in the eyes of my lord, and have been servants to Pharaoh;' and Joseph setteth it for a statute unto this day, concerning the ground of Egypt, `that' Pharaoh hath a fifth; only the ground of the priests alone hath not become Pharaoh's. And Israel dwelleth in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they have possession in it, and are fruitful, and multiply exceedingly; and Jacob liveth in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, are an hundred and forty and seven years. And the days of Israel are near to die, and he calleth for his son, for Joseph, and saith to him, `If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and thou hast done with me kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt, and I have lain with my fathers, and thou hast borne me out of Egypt, and buried me in their burying-place.' And he saith, `I -- I do according to thy word;' and he saith, `Swear to me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.
Joseph `is' a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall; And embitter him -- yea, they have striven, Yea, hate him do archers; And his bow abideth in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, Whence is a shepherd, a son of Israel. By the God of thy father who helpeth thee, And the Mighty One who blesseth thee, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb; -- Thy father's blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, Unto the limit of the heights age-during They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate `from' his brethren. Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'
And Joseph falleth on his father's face, and weepeth over him, and kisseth him; and Joseph commandeth his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalm Israel; and they fulfil for him forty days, for so they fulfil the days of the embalmed, and the Egyptians weep for him seventy days. And the days of his weeping pass away, and Joseph speaketh unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, `If, I pray you, I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father caused me to swear, saying, Lo, I am dying; in my burying-place which I have prepared for myself in the land of Canaan, there dost thou bury me; and now, let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and return;' and Pharaoh saith, `Go up and bury thy father, as he caused thee to swear.' And Joseph goeth up to bury his father, and go up with him do all the servants of Pharaoh, elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and the house of his father; only their infants, and their flock, and their herd, have they left in the land of Goshen; and there go up with him both chariot and horsemen, and the camp is very great. And they come unto the threshing-floor of Atad, which `is' beyond the Jordan, and they lament there, a lamentation great and very grievous; and he maketh for his father a mourning seven days, and the inhabitant of the land, the Canaanite, see the mourning in the threshing-floor of Atad, and say, `A grievous mourning `is' this to the Egyptians;' therefore hath `one' called its name `The mourning of the Egyptians,' which `is' beyond the Jordan. And his sons do to him so as he commanded them, and his sons bear him away to the land of Canaan, and bury him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place, from Ephron the Hittite, on the front of Mamre. And Joseph turneth back to Egypt, he and his brethren, and all who are going up with him to bury his father, after his burying his father.
Of the sons of Benjamin -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Benjamin, `are' five and thirty thousand and four hundred.
Sons of Benjamin by their families: of Bela `is' the family of the Belaite; of Ashbel the family of the Ashbelite; of Ahiram the family of the Ahiramite; of Shupham the family of the Shuphamite; of Hupham the family of the Huphamite. And sons of Bela are Ard and Naaman: `of Ard is' the family of the Ardite: of Naaman the family of the Naamite. These `are' sons of Benjamin by their families, and their numbered ones `are' five and forty thousand and six hundred.
Of Benjamin he said: -- The beloved of Jehovah doth tabernacle confidently by him, Covering him over all the day; Yea, between his shoulders He doth tabernacle. And of Joseph he said: -- Blessed of Jehovah `is' his land, By precious things of the heavens, By dew, and by the deep crouching beneath, And by precious things -- fruits of the sun, And by precious things -- cast forth by the moons, And by chief things -- of the ancient mountains, And by precious things -- of the age-during heights, And by precious things -- of earth and its fulness, And the good pleasure Of Him who is dwelling in the bush, -- Let it come for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of him Who is separate from his brethren. His honour `is' a firstling of his ox, And his horns `are' horns of a reem; By them peoples he doth push together To the ends of earth; And they `are' the myriads of Ephraim, And they `are' the thousands of Manasseh.
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Commentary on Genesis 46 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 46
Ge 46:1-4. Sacrifice at Beer-sheba.
1. Israel took his journey with all that he had—that is, his household; for in compliance with Pharaoh's recommendation, he left his heavy furniture behind. In contemplating a step so important as that of leaving Canaan, which at his time of life he might never revisit, so pious a patriarch would ask the guidance and counsel of God. With all his anxiety to see Joseph, he would rather have died in Canaan without that highest of earthly gratifications than leave it without the consciousness of carrying the divine blessing along with him.
came to Beer-sheba—That place, which was in his direct route to Egypt, had been a favorite encampment of Abraham (Ge 21:33) and Isaac (Ge 26:25), and was memorable for their experience of the divine goodness; and Jacob seems to have deferred his public devotions till he had reached a spot so consecrated by covenant to his own God and the God of his fathers.
2. God spake unto Israel—Here is a virtual renewal of the covenant and an assurance of its blessings. Moreover, here is an answer on the chief subject of Jacob's prayer and a removal of any doubt as to the course he was meditating. At first the prospect of paying a personal visit to Joseph had been viewed with unmingled joy. But, on calmer consideration, many difficulties appeared to lie in the way. He may have remembered the prophecy to Abraham that his posterity was to be afflicted in Egypt and also that his father had been expressly told not to go [Ge 15:13; 26:2]; he may have feared the contamination of idolatry to his family and their forgetfulness of the land of promise. These doubts were removed by the answer of the oracle, and an assurance given him of great and increasing prosperity.
3. I will there make of thee a great nation—How truly this promise was fulfilled, appears in the fact that the seventy souls who went down into Egypt increased [Ex 1:5-7], in the space of two hundred fifteen years, to one hundred eighty thousand.
4. I will also surely bring thee up again—As Jacob could not expect to live till the former promise was realized, he must have seen that the latter was to be accomplished only to his posterity. To himself it was literally verified in the removal of his remains to Canaan; but, in the large and liberal sense of the words, it was made good only on the establishment of Israel in the land of promise.
Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes—shall perform the last office of filial piety; and this implied that he should henceforth enjoy, without interruption, the society of that favorite son.
Ge 46:5-27. Immigration to Egypt.
5. And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba—to cross the border and settle in Egypt. However refreshed and invigorated in spirit by the religious services at Beer-sheba, he was now borne down by the infirmities of advanced age; and, therefore, his sons undertook all the trouble and toil of the arrangements, while the enfeebled old patriarch, with the wives and children, was conveyed by slow and leisurely stages in the Egyptian vehicles sent for their accommodation.
6. goods, which they had gotten in the land—not furniture, but substance—precious things.
7. daughters—As Dinah was his only daughter, this must mean daughters-in-law.
all his seed brought he with him—Though disabled by age from active superintendence, yet, as the venerable sheik of the tribe, he was looked upon as their common head and consulted in every step.
8-27. all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten—Strictly speaking, there were only sixty-six went to Egypt; but to these add Joseph and his two sons, and Jacob the head of the clan, and the whole number amounts to seventy. In the speech of Stephen (Ac 7:14) the number is stated to be seventy-five; but as that estimate includes five sons of Ephraim and Manasseh (1Ch 7:14-20), born in Egypt, the two accounts coincide.
Ge 46:28-34. Arrival in Egypt.
28. he sent Judah before him unto Joseph—This precautionary measure was obviously proper for apprising the king of the entrance of so large a company within his territories; moreover, it was necessary in order to receive instruction from Joseph as to the locale of their future settlement.
29, 30. Joseph made ready his chariot—The difference between chariot and wagon was not only in the lighter and more elegant construction of the former, but in the one being drawn by horses and the other by oxen. Being a public man in Egypt, Joseph was required to appear everywhere in an equipage suitable to his dignity; and, therefore, it was not owing either to pride or ostentatious parade that he drove his carriage, while his father's family were accommodated only in rude and humble wagons.
presented himself unto him—in an attitude of filial reverence (compare Ex 22:17). The interview was a most affecting one—the happiness of the delighted father was now at its height; and life having no higher charms, he could, in the very spirit of the aged Simeon, have departed in peace [Lu 2:25, 29].
31-34. Joseph said, … I will go up, and show Pharaoh—It was a tribute of respect due to the king to inform him of their arrival. And the instructions which he gave them were worthy of his character alike as an affectionate brother and a religious man.