New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 46
1
So Israel started out with everything that belonged to him. When he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 28:10
Genesis 21:31
Genesis 21:14
References God
Genesis 21:33
Genesis 28:13
Genesis 31:42
2
God spoke to Israel in a vision at night. "Jacob! Jacob!" he said. "Here I am," Jacob replied.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 15:1
Acts 9:4
Acts 9:10
Acts 16:9
Job 4:13
Genesis 15:13
Genesis 22:11
References God
Acts 10:3
Genesis 31:11
Genesis 22:1
3
"I am God. I am the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. There I will make you into a great nation.
Reference
4
I will go down to Egypt with you. You can be sure that I will bring you back again. And when you die, Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand."
Reference
5
Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel's sons put their father Jacob and their families in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to carry them.
Reference
6
So Jacob and his whole family went to Egypt. They took their livestock with them. And they took everything they had gotten in Canaan.
Reference
7
Jacob took his sons and grandsons with him to Egypt. He also took his daughters and granddaughters. He took all of his children and grandchildren with him.
8
Here are the names of Israel's children and grandchildren who went to Egypt. Jacob and all of his children and grandchildren are included. Reuben was Jacob's oldest son.
10
The sons of Simeon were 'QF'Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul. Shaul was the son of a woman from Canaan.
Reference
People
11
The sons of Levi were 'QF'Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Genesis 29:34
12
The sons of Judah were 'QF'Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah. But Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
Reference
People
13
The sons of Issachar were 'QF'Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
1 Chronicles 12:32
15
Those were the sons and grandsons who were born to Jacob and Leah in Paddan Aram. Leah also had a daughter by Jacob. Her name was Dinah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Leah was 33.
16
The sons of Gad were 'QF'Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Genesis 30:11
17
The sons of Asher were 'QF'Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.
Reference
People
18
Those were the children and grandchildren who were born to Jacob and Zilpah. Laban had given Zilpah to his daughter Leah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Zilpah was 16.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 29:24
19
The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were 'QF'Joseph and Benjamin.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 44:27
20
In Egypt, Asenath had Manasseh and Ephraim by Joseph. Asenath was the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On.
Reference
References Egypt
Genesis 41:45
21
The sons of Benjamin were 'QF'Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
People
22
Those were the sons and grandsons who were born to Jacob and Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Rachel was 14.
24
The sons of Naphtali were 'QF'Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
1 Chronicles 7:13
25
Those were the sons and grandsons who were born to Jacob and Bilhah. Laban had given Bilhah to his daughter Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Bilhah was seven.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 29:29
26
The total number of those who went to Egypt with Jacob was 66. That number includes only his own children and grandchildren. It doesn't include his sons' wives or his grandsons' wives.
Reference
References Egypt
Exodus 1:5
27
The total number of the members of Jacob's family who went to Egypt was 70. That includes the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt.
Reference
28
Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph. He sent him to get directions to Goshen. And so they arrived in the area of Goshen.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 45:10
29
Then Joseph had his servants get his chariot ready. He went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he came to his father, Joseph threw his arms around him. Then Joseph sobbed for a long time.
Reference
30
Israel said to Joseph, "I have seen for myself that you are still alive. Now I'm ready to die."
Reference
References Israel
Genesis 45:28
31
Then Joseph spoke to his brothers and to the rest of his father's family. He said, "I will go up and speak to Pharaoh. I'll say to him, 'My brothers and the rest of my father's family have come to me. They were living in the land of Canaan.
32
The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They've brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.'
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 47:3
33
"Pharaoh will send for you. He'll ask, 'What do you do for a living?'
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 46:32
Chapter Summary
Genesis forty-six finds Jacob on his way down to Egypt and is a chapter full of genuine emotional reunion but also some careful record-keeping, showing the importance of the move to the family's future.
The chapter opens with Israel setting out with all his belongings. He stops at Beersheba to make sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. This is an important place, the same one where God appeared to Isaac and Jacob before and now on the edge of leaving the promised land, Jacob pauses here to pray and ask for God's blessing to cross into unknown territory before.
God appears to Jacob in a dream and promises him that he will not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for he will make him a great nation there. God promises to go down to Egypt with him and assure him that he will also bring him back, and Joseph's hand will close his eyes. This is a gentle promise that Joseph, who he thought to have been lost forever, will be there with him till his death and take care of him until the very end.
Jacob then leaves Beersheba with his sons carrying him, plus the children and wives of his sons, in the carts sent by Pharaoh, taking all the property of livestock and belongings they had accumulated in Canaan with them. Jacob arrives at Egypt with all his offspring, daughters, and sons, an extended family uprooting themselves in a new territory.
The next section is a set of records of the sons and grandsons of Jacob that accompany him to Egypt, organized by mother, first the sons of Leah, then those of Zilpah, followed by Rachel, including Joseph, already in Egypt, and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and lastly the sons of Bilhah. The chapter tallies a total of sixty-six belonging to Jacob who went to Egypt, not including the sons' wives, plus Joseph and his two sons and Jacob himself, a total of seventy people. This number has symbolic weight in the Scripture, serving as a reminder that at the moment the covenant family was tiny compared to what it would become.
As he arrives, Jacob sends Judah ahead to Joseph to Goshen to get directions. It is noteworthy that the same Judah who suggested that Joseph be sold instead of killed and later offered to his father to take his place as a slave would now be the one to lead the way to his father's reunion with his son.
At Goshen, Joseph has his chariot prepared and meets his father Israel, throwing his arms around his neck and sobbing for a long time. This is a moment of deep emotion and a long-awaited reunion, which has been building since chapter thirty-seven of Genesis. Israel (Jacob) tells Joseph, "Now I may consider that I have seen for myself that thou art in truth still alive." This is a fitting end to the grief that Jacob had for the presumed dead Joseph, as he could now put an end to the suffering after so many years and see him with his own eyes safe and sound.
Joseph, being a man of pragmatism, proceeds to brief his brothers and father's household about what to tell Pharaoh when they met him and the manner of their arrival. He told them that he would go and notify Pharaoh of their arrival and the manner in which they traveled. He would tell Pharaoh they were shepherds tending their flocks and herds, and further instruct them to say to the Pharaoh that since their arrival, they had been tending their animals, and they had brought them with them as signs of their occupation because shepherds were not welcome in Egypt. Joseph's reason for choosing Goshen and this strategy has to do with the fact that they would not be spread out in the land of Egypt but gathered together as a family, in the region of Goshen, preserving their identity as a people different from the local people. It is a clever plan that Joseph devises to guarantee the comfort and security of his family and preserve their unique customs, lifestyles, and traditions, which would have been difficult if they were to settle in Goshen.
Overall, chapter forty-six is a chapter of transition, signifying the end of one phase of the covenant family's history in Canaan and the beginning of a new one in Egypt. It is a mix of tenderness and planning as God comforts Jacob in his fears at Beersheba and shows his care to have guided Joseph to prepare for his family's arrival. It is the same God who promised to assure Jacob that he would not be alone in Egypt as he dies but that Joseph would be with him till the very end. This chapter sets the stage for the unfolding history of the covenant family, showing how far the family had come and how tiny it still was to what it would become. It is a chapter that is rich with significance in Scripture as it is the point from which the covenant family would grow into a nation and eventually have to leave Egypt, its homeland.
The chapter opens with Israel setting out with all his belongings. He stops at Beersheba to make sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. This is an important place, the same one where God appeared to Isaac and Jacob before and now on the edge of leaving the promised land, Jacob pauses here to pray and ask for God's blessing to cross into unknown territory before.
God appears to Jacob in a dream and promises him that he will not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for he will make him a great nation there. God promises to go down to Egypt with him and assure him that he will also bring him back, and Joseph's hand will close his eyes. This is a gentle promise that Joseph, who he thought to have been lost forever, will be there with him till his death and take care of him until the very end.
Jacob then leaves Beersheba with his sons carrying him, plus the children and wives of his sons, in the carts sent by Pharaoh, taking all the property of livestock and belongings they had accumulated in Canaan with them. Jacob arrives at Egypt with all his offspring, daughters, and sons, an extended family uprooting themselves in a new territory.
The next section is a set of records of the sons and grandsons of Jacob that accompany him to Egypt, organized by mother, first the sons of Leah, then those of Zilpah, followed by Rachel, including Joseph, already in Egypt, and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and lastly the sons of Bilhah. The chapter tallies a total of sixty-six belonging to Jacob who went to Egypt, not including the sons' wives, plus Joseph and his two sons and Jacob himself, a total of seventy people. This number has symbolic weight in the Scripture, serving as a reminder that at the moment the covenant family was tiny compared to what it would become.
As he arrives, Jacob sends Judah ahead to Joseph to Goshen to get directions. It is noteworthy that the same Judah who suggested that Joseph be sold instead of killed and later offered to his father to take his place as a slave would now be the one to lead the way to his father's reunion with his son.
At Goshen, Joseph has his chariot prepared and meets his father Israel, throwing his arms around his neck and sobbing for a long time. This is a moment of deep emotion and a long-awaited reunion, which has been building since chapter thirty-seven of Genesis. Israel (Jacob) tells Joseph, "Now I may consider that I have seen for myself that thou art in truth still alive." This is a fitting end to the grief that Jacob had for the presumed dead Joseph, as he could now put an end to the suffering after so many years and see him with his own eyes safe and sound.
Joseph, being a man of pragmatism, proceeds to brief his brothers and father's household about what to tell Pharaoh when they met him and the manner of their arrival. He told them that he would go and notify Pharaoh of their arrival and the manner in which they traveled. He would tell Pharaoh they were shepherds tending their flocks and herds, and further instruct them to say to the Pharaoh that since their arrival, they had been tending their animals, and they had brought them with them as signs of their occupation because shepherds were not welcome in Egypt. Joseph's reason for choosing Goshen and this strategy has to do with the fact that they would not be spread out in the land of Egypt but gathered together as a family, in the region of Goshen, preserving their identity as a people different from the local people. It is a clever plan that Joseph devises to guarantee the comfort and security of his family and preserve their unique customs, lifestyles, and traditions, which would have been difficult if they were to settle in Goshen.
Overall, chapter forty-six is a chapter of transition, signifying the end of one phase of the covenant family's history in Canaan and the beginning of a new one in Egypt. It is a mix of tenderness and planning as God comforts Jacob in his fears at Beersheba and shows his care to have guided Joseph to prepare for his family's arrival. It is the same God who promised to assure Jacob that he would not be alone in Egypt as he dies but that Joseph would be with him till the very end. This chapter sets the stage for the unfolding history of the covenant family, showing how far the family had come and how tiny it still was to what it would become. It is a chapter that is rich with significance in Scripture as it is the point from which the covenant family would grow into a nation and eventually have to leave Egypt, its homeland.