< Genesis 46 >

1 Israel traveled with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
So Jacob left [Canaan], taking with him all his family and possessions. When they arrived at Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to God, the one whom his father Isaac worshiped.
2 God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.”
That night, God called to Jacob in a vision, saying, “Jacob! Jacob!” He replied, “I am here!”
3 He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation.
God said, “I am God, the one your father worshiped. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, because I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation there.
4 I will go down with you into Egypt. I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”
I will go down to Egypt with you, and later I will bring [your descendants] back to Canaan again. And Joseph will be with you [MTY] when you die.” [IDM]
5 Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took their father, their wives, and their children, in the carts that the king had sent for them to travel in.
6 They took their livestock, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt—Jacob, and all his offspring with him,
So Jacob and all his family went to Egypt. They took with them the livestock and all the other possessions that they had acquired in Canaan.
7 his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and he brought all his offspring with him into Egypt.
Jacob went to Egypt with all his sons and his daughters and grandsons and granddaughters—his whole family.
8 These are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
(Here is/I will now give you) a list of the names of the members of Jacob’s family who went with him to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son; Reuben’s sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; Simeon and his sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, who was the son of a Canaan people-group woman; Levi and his sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; Judah and his sons, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (his other sons, Er, and Onan, had died in Canaan); Perez and his two sons Hezron and Hamul; Issachar and his sons Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron; Zebulon and his sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel; (Those were the sons of Jacob and Leah, and their daughter Dinah, who were born in Paddan-Aram/Mesopotamia: There were 33 of them, altogether.) They had Gad and his sons Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli; Asher and his sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; and their sister Serah; Beriah’s sons Heber and Malkiel; (Those were the children and grandchildren of Jacob and Zilpah, the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah: There were 16 of them, altogether.) Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel; (Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s two sons. [They did not go down to Egypt] because they were already in Egypt. They were sons of Asenath, the daughter of On, who was the priest in the temple in On [city].) Benjamin and his sons Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard; (Those were the sons and grandsons of Rachel and Jacob: There were 14 people altogether.) Dan and his son Hushim; Naphtali and his sons Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. (Those were the sons and grandsons of Jacob and Bilhah, the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel: There were seven people altogether.)
9 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 Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.
18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin.
20 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 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: all the souls were fourteen.
23 The son of Dan: Hushim.
24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were seven.
26 All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct offspring, in addition to Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were sixty-six.
Altogether there were 66 people who were Jacob’s descendants who went to Egypt with him. That number does not include his sons’ wives.
27 The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy.
Including Jacob and Joseph and Joseph’s two sons who were born in Egypt, there were 70 members of Jacob’s family when they were all there in Egypt.
28 Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.
Jacob sent Judah to go ahead of the rest of them to talk with Joseph and ask for directions on how to travel to Goshen. Then [Judah returned to the rest of his family and] they all traveled to the Goshen region. When they arrived there,
29 Joseph prepared his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
Joseph got his chariot ready and went to Goshen to meet his father. When Joseph arrived, he threw his arms around his father’s neck and cried a long time.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”
Jacob said to Joseph, “I have seen you and I know that you are still alive! So now I am ready to die.”
31 Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father’s house, “I will go up, and speak with Pharaoh, and will tell him, ‘My brothers, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.
Then Joseph said to his [older] brothers [and younger brother] and to the rest of his father’s family, “I will go to the king and say to him, ‘My [older] brothers [and younger brother] and my father and the rest of his family, who were living in Canaan land, have all come to me.
32 These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.’
The men are all shepherds. They take care of their livestock, and they have brought with them their sheep and goats and cattle, and everything else that they own.’
33 It will happen, when Pharaoh summons you, and will say, ‘What is your occupation?’
When the king summons you and asks, ‘What work do you do?’
34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
answer him by saying, ‘From the time when we were young, we have taken care of livestock, just as our ancestors did.’ If you tell him that, he will let you live in the Goshen region.” Joseph told them to say that because the people of Egypt despised all shepherds.

< Genesis 46 >