Genesis 46:8-34

Those Who Came to Egypt

8 Now these are the ¹names 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 ²sons 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 ³sons 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 ⁴sons of Gad: Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli.

17 The ⁵sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah and their sister Serah. And the ⁶sons 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 ⁷Now 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 ⁸sons 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 ⁹sons of Bilhah, whom ¹⁰Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob; there were seven persons in all.

26 ¹¹All 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; ¹²all 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 ¹³Goshen; 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 ¹⁴wept 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, "¹⁵I 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, '¹⁶What is your occupation?'

34 you shall say, 'Your servants have been ¹⁷keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' that you may live in the land of ¹⁸Goshen; for every shepherd is ¹⁹loathsome to the Egyptians."

Genesis 46:8-34 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. Exodus 1:1-4; Numbers 26:4, 5; 1 Chronicles 2:1f
• 2. Exodus 6:15
• 3. 1 Chronicles 2:5
• 4. Numbers 26:15-18
• 5. 1 Chronicles 7:30
• 6. 1 Chronicles 7:31
• 7. Genesis 41:50-52
• 8. 1 Chronicles 7:6
• 9. Genesis 30:5, 7
• 10. Genesis 29:29
• 11. Exodus 1:5
• 12. Exodus 1:5; Deuteronomy 10:22; Acts 7:14
• 13. Genesis 45:10
• 14. Genesis 45:14, 15
• 15. Genesis 47:1
• 16. Genesis 47:2, 3
• 17. Genesis 13:7, 8; Genesis 26:20; Genesis 37:2
• 18. Genesis 45:10, 18; Genesis 47:6, 11
• 19. Genesis 43:32; Exodus 8:26

Footnotes

• [a]. In Num 26:12 and 1 Chr 4:24, "Nemuel"
• [b]. In 1 Chr 4:24, "Jarib"
• [c]. In Num 26:13 and 1 Chr 4:24, "Zerah"
• [d]. In 1 Chr 6:16, "Gershom"
• [e]. In Num 26:23, "Puvah;" in 1 Chr 7:1, "Puah"
• [f]. In Num 26:24 and 1 Chr 7:1, "Jashub"
• [g]. Lit "all the souls of"
• [h]. In Num 26:15, "Zephon"
• [i]. In Num 26:16, "Ozni"
• [j]. In Num 26:17, "Arod"
• [k]. In Num 26:38, "Ahiram"
• [l]. In Num 26:39, "Shephupham;" in 1 Chr 7:12, "Shuppim"
• [m]. In Num 26:39, "Hupham"
• [n]. In Num 26:42, "Shuham"
• [o]. In 1 Chr 7:13, "Jahziel"
• [p]. In 1 Chr 7:13, "Shallum"
• [q]. Lit "who came out of his loins"
• [r]. Lit "two souls"
• [s]. Lit "tied, harnessed"
• [t]. Lit "to"
• [u]. Lit "men"
• [v]. Lit "men"
• [w]. Lit "dwell"
• [x]. Lit "an abomination"