The big picture
Jacob, also called Israel, has learned that Joseph is alive. Joseph is his son, now a high official under Pharaoh, Egypt’s king. A famine has struck Canaan, the family’s homeland, but Egypt still has food. Joseph has invited the whole household to come south. Jacob leaves with his children, grandchildren, animals, and goods. He stops at Beer-sheba, a place in southern Canaan tied to his father Isaac. The chapter records God’s reassurance, the family list, and Jacob’s reunion with Joseph in Goshen, the area where they will live.
In this chapter
- God Reassures Jacob About Egypt Genesis 46:1-7
Jacob leaves with all he owns and stops at Beer-sheba.
- The Family Roster Is Counted Genesis 46:8-27
Genesis lists the members of Jacob’s family tied to the move into Egypt.
- Jacob and Joseph Meet Again Genesis 46:28-34
Jacob sends Judah ahead to Joseph so the family can be guided into Goshen.
Central truth
Jacob takes his whole household into Egypt after God reassures him, and the family arrives together under Joseph’s care.
Scripture beside the summary
Genesis · King James Version · 34Genesis 46:1-7
God Reassures Jacob About Egypt
Jacob leaves with all he owns and stops at Beer-sheba. There he offers sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God speaks to Jacob in a night vision and calls him by name. He tells Jacob not to fear going to Egypt. God promises to make his family into a great nation there. He also says he will go with Jacob and later bring him up again. Joseph will be with Jacob when he dies. Jacob then leaves Beer-sheba in the wagons Pharaoh sent. His sons carry him, their wives, and their children. The family brings its livestock and goods from Canaan into Egypt.
In everyday life
A retired widower packs his apartment and moves across the country near his adult son. He visits the old family house where his father raised him. The move feels large and final. A trusted promise gives him courage to finish it with the whole family. Jacob’s case is different because Genesis says God speaks in a night vision.
Notice
Genesis 46:3 God tells Jacob not to fear Egypt, though the family is leaving Canaan. The move is part of God’s plan, not an end to the land promise.
Genesis 46:1-7
King James Version1And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
2And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
3And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
4I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
5And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
6And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:
7His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
Genesis 46:8-27
The Family Roster Is Counted
Genesis lists the members of Jacob’s family tied to the move into Egypt. The names are grouped through Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, the four women who bore Jacob’s children. Sons, grandsons, a daughter, and other descendants are named. Joseph and his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, already live in Egypt. The chapter counts sixty-six direct descendants who came with Jacob, not counting his sons’ wives. It then gives seventy as the full house of Jacob in Egypt, including Joseph’s branch already there. The list fixes the size and shape of the family before later generations become much larger.
In everyday life
A family historian spreads old records across a kitchen table. She writes down everyone who moved during one major relocation. Some relatives travel together, while two already live at the destination. The list preserves who belonged to the household at that moment. Genesis gives a family count, not a legal file with passports and case numbers.
Notice
Genesis 46:27 The final count is seventy people in Jacob’s house. That total includes Joseph and his two sons, who were already living in Egypt before Jacob arrived.
Genesis 46:8-27
King James Version8And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
9And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
11And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
13And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
14And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
15These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
16And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
20And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him.
21And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
22These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
23And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
24And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.
26All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
27And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
Genesis 46:28-34
Jacob and Joseph Meet Again
Jacob sends Judah ahead to Joseph so the family can be guided into Goshen. Joseph gets his chariot ready and goes there to meet his father. He falls on Jacob’s neck and weeps for a long time. Jacob says he can now die content because he has seen Joseph alive. Joseph then turns to the practical matter of settlement. He tells his brothers and the household that he will report their arrival to Pharaoh. He will also explain that they have always worked with livestock. Joseph tells them to say the same when Pharaoh asks about their work. This helps them remain in Goshen, since Egyptians look down on shepherds.
In everyday life
An elderly father steps off a bus and sees the son he thought was dead. They hold each other and cry before talking about housing or work. Later, the son explains how the family should describe its trade to local officials. That helps them settle where their animals belong. A modern reunion cannot match Joseph’s power in Egypt or Jacob’s long grief.
Notice
Genesis 46:34 Joseph uses the family’s livestock work as part of the settlement plan. Their occupation helps them live together in Goshen instead of blending into Egyptian society.
Genesis 46:28-34
King James Version28And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
29And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
30And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
31And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;
32And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
33And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
34That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Genesis 46:1 begins with “And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.”
Where the chapter turns
Genesis 46:33 forms a natural hinge: “And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?”
The final note
Genesis 46:34 leaves the reader with “That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words sons, Jacob, Egypt, Joseph, souls, Israel help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- seed
- Descendants or offspring; here it means Jacob’s family line.
- loins
- A bodily expression for direct descent; here it means Jacob’s own descendants.
- threescore
- Sixty; a score is twenty, so threescore and six means sixty-six.
- trade
- Occupation or line of work; Joseph’s brothers earn their living by tending livestock.
- shew
- Show or tell; Joseph plans to report his family’s arrival to Pharaoh.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
