Genesis 46:1-34

Jacob Goes to Egypt

 

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46:1 So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

 

2 God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am."

 

3 He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

 

4 "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes."

 

5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

 

6 They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him:

 

7 his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

 

Those Who Came to Egypt

 

8 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.

 

9 The sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi.

 

10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

 

11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

 

12 The sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

 

13 The sons of Issachar: Tola and Puvvah and Iob and Shimron.

 

14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel.

 

15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

 

16 The sons of Gad: Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli.

 

17 The sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah and their sister Serah And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

 

18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.

 

19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

 

20 Now to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.

 

21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard.

 

22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; there were fourteen persons in all.

 

23 The sons of Dan: Hushim.

 

24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel and Guni and Jezer and Shillem.

 

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob; there were seven persons in all.

 

26 All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob's sons, were sixty-six persons in all,

 

27 and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.

 

28 Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

 

29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.

 

30 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive."

 

31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me;

 

32 and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.'

 

33 "When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?'

 

34 you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians."

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This is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change the way that we think, and the way that we live.

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Commentary by Bob Pardue

Jacob (Israel) Moves His Family to Egypt

Picking up everything you own and traveling to another country would be scary. Yet, when God asked Jacob to go - he went.

Jacob trusted God when He promised protection. Do we have that faith in God when He asks us to go places or to do tasks for Him? Well, it's easy to do the "little" things but what about the great opportunities when they arise?

Travel to Egypt

Moving to Egypt was no easy effort. You can see by the numbers of family members listed above this was the exodus of a whole tribe - a people who were very comfortable right where they were.

Fear

I'm sure such a move for an old man caused fear and uncertainty. But, the trust Jacob had in God helped him to overcome that anxiety and allowed him to fulfill his destiny to creating the nation of Israel.

Fear is a natural part of the human experience so all of us feel it at one time or another. It is a normal behavior and can be a defence mechanism when we are in danger. But, the gripping type of fear - the kind that leaves us unable to move shows that we might question what God has planned and His ability to protect and take care of us.

We can accomplish the "big" projects for God if we can only develop that "mustard seed" portion of faith that He can do it.

Love in Christ

- Bob

Genesis 42:1-38 - The Brothers meet Joseph in Egypt