Bereshis 46:29

29 And Yosef made ready his merkavah, and went up to meet Yisroel Aviv, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a long time.

Bereshis 46:29 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 46:29

And Joseph made ready his chariot
Or "bound" ^F25 it, fastened the horses to it, harnessed them, and put them to; this he did not himself, as Jarchi thinks, for the honour of his father; but rather, as Aben Ezra, by ordering his servants to do it:

and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen;
that being higher than the other part of Egypt, as it must be, if it was in Thebes, or upper Egypt, as some Jewish writers say ^F26; and Fium, supposed to be the place the Israelites dwelt in, see ( Genesis 47:11 ) , stood very high ^F1:

and presented himself unto him;
alighted from his chariot, and came up to his father, and stood before him, and showed himself to him, declaring who he was:

and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while:
either Jacob fell on the neck of Joseph, and wept over him a good while before he could speak to him, as the father of the prodigal son fell on his neck and kissed him, ( Luke 15:20 ) ; or, as Jarchi, Joseph fell on his father's neck, as he had done upon his brethren before, but wept over him longer; their embraces were no doubt mutual and extremely affectionate, that for a while they were not able to speak a word to each other.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (roayw) "et ligavit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "tum alligavit", Schmidt.
F26 Hieron. Quaestion. in Genesim, fol. 72. M. tom. 3.
F1 Leo. African. Descriptio Africae, l. 8. p. 722.

Bereshis 46:29 In-Context

27 And the Bnei Yosef, which were born to him in Mitzrayim, were two nefesh; kol hanefesh of Bais Ya’akov, which came into Mitzrayim, were shivim (seventy).

28 And he sent Yehudah before him unto Yosef, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into Eretz Goshen.

29 And Yosef made ready his merkavah, and went up to meet Yisroel Aviv, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a long time.

30 And Yisroel said unto Yosef, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

31 And Yosef said unto his achim, and unto Bais Aviv, I will go up, and speak to Pharaoh, and say unto him, My achim and Bais Avi, which were in Eretz Kena’an, are come unto me;