Genesis 46-47
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jacob’s [Israel’s] Seventh Encounter with God
46 Israel moved with all he had. When he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2 God spoke to Israel in a vision that night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make you a great nation there. 4 I will go with you to Egypt, and I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes ⌞when you die⌟.”
5 So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons put their father Jacob, their children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to bring him back. 6 They also took their livestock and the possessions they had accumulated in Canaan.
Jacob and all his family arrived in Egypt. 7 He had brought his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters—his entire family.
Jacob’s [Israel’s] Descendants(A)
8 These are the names of Israel’s descendants (Jacob and his descendants) who arrived in Egypt.
Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn.
9 The sons of Reuben were
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon were
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
11 The sons of Levi were
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah were
Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan had died in Canaan.)
The sons of Perez were
Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar were
Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun were
Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were the descendants of the sons Leah gave to Jacob in Paddan Aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of these sons and daughters was 33.
16 The sons of Gad were
Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher were
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.
The sons of Beriah were
Heber and Malchiel.
18 These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was 16.
19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were
Joseph and Benjamin.
20 In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On.
21 The sons of Benjamin were
Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22 These were the descendants of Rachel who were born to Jacob. The total was 14.
23 The son of Dan was
Hushim.
24 The sons of Naphtali were
Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She gave birth to these sons for Jacob. The total was 7.
26 The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was 66. This didn’t include the wives of Jacob’s sons. 27 Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. The grand total of people in Jacob’s household who went to Egypt was 70.
Joseph and Jacob [Israel] Reunited
28 Israel sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Israel’s family arrived in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel. As soon as he saw his father, he threw his arms around him and cried on his shoulder a long time.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now that I’ve seen for myself that you’re still alive, I’m ready to die.”
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s family, “I’m going to Pharaoh to tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They’ve brought their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33 Now, when Pharaoh calls for you and asks, ‘What kind of work do you do?’ 34 you must answer, ‘We have taken care of herds all our lives, as our ancestors have done.’ ⌞You must say this⌟ so that you may live in the region of Goshen, because all shepherds are disgusting to Egyptians.”
Jacob [Israel] Meets Pharaoh
47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks, herds, and everything they have. Now they are in Goshen.” 2 Since he had taken five of his brothers with him, he presented them to Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What kind of work do you do?”
They answered Pharaoh, “We are shepherds, as were our ancestors. 4 We have come to live in this land for a while. The famine is so severe in Canaan that there’s no pasture for our flocks. So please let us live in Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 All of Egypt is available to you. Have your father and your brothers live in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. If they are qualified, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and had him stand in front of Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”
9 Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.
11 As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph had his father and his brothers live in the best part of Egypt, the region of Rameses. He gave them property there. 12 Joseph also provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food based on the number of children they had.
Joseph Acquires All the Land in Egypt for Pharaoh
13 The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. Neither Egypt nor Canaan were producing crops because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in Egypt and in Canaan as payment for the grain people bought. Then he took it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Give us food,” they said. “Do you want us to die right in front of you? We don’t have any more money!”
16 Joseph replied, “If you don’t have any more money, give me your livestock, and I’ll give you food [a] in exchange.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. During that year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year. “Sir,” they said to him, “you know that our money is gone, and you have all our livestock. There’s nothing left to bring you except our bodies and our land. 19 Do you want us to die right in front of you? Do you want the land to be ruined? Take us and our land in exchange for food. Then we will be Pharaoh’s slaves and our land will be his property. But give us seed so that we won’t starve to death and the ground won’t become a desert.”
20 Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his fields because the famine was so severe. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21 All over Egypt Joseph moved the people to the cities. 22 But he didn’t buy the priests’ land because the priests received an income from Pharaoh, and they lived on that income. That’s why they didn’t sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Plant crops in the land. 24 Every time you harvest, give one-fifth of the produce to Pharaoh. Four-fifths will be yours to use as seed for your fields and as food for your households.”
25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “Please, sir, we are willing to be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26 Joseph made a law concerning the land in Egypt which is still in force today: One-fifth ⌞of the produce⌟ belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests didn’t belong to Pharaoh.
Jacob’s [Israel’s] Last Days in Egypt
27 So the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and had many children.
28 Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, so he lived a total of 147 years. 29 Israel was about to die. He called for his son Joseph and said to him, “I want you to swear that you love me and are faithful to me. Please don’t bury me here. 30 I want to rest with my ancestors. Take me out of Egypt, and bury me in their tomb.”
“I will do as you say,” Joseph answered.
31 “Swear to me,” he said. So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down in prayer with his face at the head of his bed.
Footnotes
- 47:16 Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek, Targum; Masoretic Text “I’ll give to you.”
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