Genesis 46:1-27

Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt

1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to ¹Beersheba, and offered sacrifices ²to the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God spoke to Israel ³in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here am I."

3 Then he said, "I am God, ⁴the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will ⁵make you into a great nation.

4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also ⁶bring you up again, and ⁷Joseph's hand shall close your eyes."

5 Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons ⁸that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

6 They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and ⁹came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him,

7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

8 ¹⁰Now ¹¹these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. ¹²Reuben, Jacob's firstborn,

9 and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

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

11 The sons of ¹³Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12 The sons of ¹⁴Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but ¹⁵Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of ¹⁶Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

13 ¹⁷The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron.

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

15 These are the sons of Leah, ¹⁸whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

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

17 ¹⁹The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

18 ²⁰These are the sons of Zilpah, ²¹whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob--sixteen persons.

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

20 And ²²to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of ²³On, bore to him.

21 And ²⁴the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

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

23 The sons of Dan: Hushim.

24 ²⁵The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25 ²⁶These are the sons of Bilhah, ²⁷whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob--seven persons in all.

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

27 And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. ²⁸All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.

Genesis 46:1-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 46

In this chapter we are told, that Jacob with all his family and substance took a journey to Egypt to see his son Joseph, as he determined, in which he was encouraged to proceed by a vision from God, Ge 46:1-7; and an account is given of all his sons, his sons' sons and daughters that went thither with him, Ge 46:8-27; when he came near to Egypt he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to acquaint him of his coming, who met him at Goshen, where there was a most affectionate interview between them, Ge 46:28-30; and when he gave directions and instructions what answers to give to Pharaoh's questions, when they should appear before him, to whom he proposed to go and inform him of their being come into Egypt, Ge 46:31-34.

Cross References

• 1. Genesis 21:31, 33; Genesis 26:33; Genesis 28:10
• 2. Genesis 26:24, 25; Genesis 28:13; Genesis 31:42
• 3. Genesis 15:1; Job 33:14, 15
• 4. Genesis 28:13
• 5. Genesis 35:11; [Genesis 12:2; Exodus 1:7, 9; Deuteronomy 26:5]
• 6. Genesis 15:16; Genesis 28:15; Genesis 48:21; Genesis 50:24; Exodus 3:8
• 7. Genesis 50:1
• 8. Genesis 45:19, 21, 27
• 9. Joshua 24:4; Psalms 105:23; Isaiah 52:4; Acts 7:14, 15
• 10. For ver. 8-11, see Exodus 6:14-16
• 11. Exodus 1:1-5
• 12. Numbers 26:5; 1 Chronicles 5:1-3
• 13. 1 Chronicles 6:1
• 14. 1 Chronicles 2:3; 1 Chronicles 4:21
• 15. Genesis 38:3, 7, 10
• 16. Genesis 38:29; 1 Chronicles 2:5
• 17. 1 Chronicles 7:1
• 18. See Genesis 29:32-35; Genesis 30:1-21
• 19. 1 Chronicles 7:30
• 20. See Genesis 30:10-13
• 21. Genesis 29:24
• 22. Genesis 41:50-52
• 23. Genesis 41:45
• 24. See Numbers 26:38-40; 1 Chronicles 7:6-12; 1 Chronicles 8:1
• 25. 1 Chronicles 7:13
• 26. See Genesis 30:5-8
• 27. Genesis 29:29
• 28. Exodus 1:5; Deuteronomy 10:22; [Acts 7:14]