Jacob’s Journey to Egypt(A)

46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to (B)Beersheba, and offered sacrifices (C)to the God of his father Isaac. Then God spoke to Israel (D)in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

So He said, “I am God, (E)the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will (F)make of you a great nation there. (G)I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely (H)bring you up again; and (I)Joseph [a]will put his hand on your eyes.”

Then (J)Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the [b]carts (K)which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, (L)Jacob and all his descendants with him. His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

Now (M)these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: (N)Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. The (O)sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 (P)The sons of Simeon were [c]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, [d]Jachin, [e]Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of (Q)Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of (R)Judah were (S)Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). (T)The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, [f]Puvah, [g]Job, and Shimron. 14 The (U)sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the (V)sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.

16 The sons of Gad were [h]Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, [i]Ezbon, Eri, [j]Arodi, and Areli. 17 (W)The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 (X)These were the sons of Zilpah, (Y)whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

19 The (Z)sons of Rachel, (AA)Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 (AB)And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 (AC)The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, (AD)Ehi, Rosh, (AE)Muppim, [k]Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.

23 The son of Dan was [l]Hushim. 24 (AF)The sons of Naphtali were [m]Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and [n]Shillem. 25 (AG)These were the sons of Bilhah, (AH)whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.

26 (AI)All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, (AJ)besides 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 persons. (AK)All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

Jacob Settles in Goshen

28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, (AL)to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came (AM)to the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his (AN)chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and (AO)fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

30 And Israel said to Joseph, (AP)“Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, (AQ)“I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are (AR)shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, (AS)‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ (AT)occupation has been with livestock (AU)from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is (AV)an[o] abomination to the Egyptians.”

Joseph Is Governor of Egypt

47 Then Joseph (AW)went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in (AX)the land of Goshen.” And he took five men from among his brothers and (AY)presented them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, (AZ)“What is your occupation?”

And they said to Pharaoh, (BA)“Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” And they said to Pharaoh, (BB)“We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, (BC)for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants (BD)dwell in the land of Goshen.”

Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. (BE)The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell (BF)in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob (BG)blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, (BH)“The days of the years of my [p]pilgrimage are (BI)one hundred and thirty years; (BJ)few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and (BK)they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 So Jacob (BL)blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of (BM)Rameses, (BN)as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided (BO)his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.

Joseph Deals with the Famine

13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, (BP)so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 (BQ)And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for (BR)why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he [q]fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may (BS)live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

20 Then Joseph (BT)bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he [r]moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 (BU)Only the land of the (BV)priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

25 So they said, “You have saved (BW)our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, (BX)except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

Joseph’s Vow to Jacob

27 So Israel (BY)dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and (BZ)grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time (CA)drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please (CB)put your hand under my thigh, and (CC)deal kindly and truly with me. (CD)Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but (CE)let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and (CF)bury me in their burial place.”

And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So (CG)Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons(CH)

48 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, (CI)Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel [s]strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God (CJ)Almighty appeared to me at (CK)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will (CL)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and (CM)give this land to your descendants after you (CN)as an everlasting possession.’ And now your (CO)two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your [t]offspring [u]whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. But as for me, when I came from Padan, (CP)Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and (CQ)I will bless them.” 10 Now (CR)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he (CS)kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, (CT)“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and (CU)laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, (CV)guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the (CW)firstborn. 15 And (CX)he blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, (CY)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel (CZ)who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let (DA)my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them (DB)grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

17 Now when Joseph saw that his father (DC)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, (DD)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly (DE)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

20 So he blessed them that day, saying, (DF)“By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but (DG)God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover (DH)I have given to you one [v]portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand (DI)of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

49 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may (DJ)tell you what shall befall you (DK)in the last days:

“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
And listen to Israel your father.

“Reuben, you are (DL)my firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you (DM)went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it
He went up to my couch.

“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Instruments of [w]cruelty are in their dwelling place.
(DN)Let not my soul enter their council;
Let not my honor be united (DO)to their assembly;
(DP)For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they [x]hamstrung an ox.
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel!
(DQ)I will divide them in Jacob
And scatter them in Israel.

“Judah,(DR) you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
(DS)Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(DT)Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
Judah is (DU)a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(DV)He [y]bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 (DW)The [z]scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor (DX)a lawgiver from between his feet,
(DY)Until Shiloh comes;
(DZ)And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun(EA) shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall (EB)adjoin Sidon.

14 “Issachar(EC) is a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;
15 He saw that rest was good,
And that the land was pleasant;
He bowed (ED)his shoulder to bear a burden,
And became a band of slaves.

16 “Dan(EE) shall judge his people
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 (EF)Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that its rider shall fall backward.
18 (EG)I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!

19 “Gad,(EH)[aa] a troop shall [ab]tramp upon him,
But he shall triumph at last.

20 “Bread from (EI)Asher shall be rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.

21 “Naphtali(EJ) is a deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have (EK)bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.
24 But his (EL)bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were [ac]made strong
By the hands of (EM)the Mighty God of Jacob
(EN)(From there (EO)is the Shepherd, (EP)the Stone of Israel),
25 (EQ)By the God of your father who will help you,
(ER)And by the Almighty (ES)who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
(ET)Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
(EU)They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a (EV)ravenous wolf;
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
(EW)And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

29 Then he charged them and said to them: “I (EX)am to be gathered to my people; (EY)bury me with my fathers (EZ)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, (FA)which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31 (FB)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, (FC)there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 46:4 Will close your eyes when you die
  2. Genesis 46:5 wagons
  3. Genesis 46:10 Nemuel, 1 Chr. 4:24
  4. Genesis 46:10 Jarib, 1 Chr. 4:24
  5. Genesis 46:10 Zerah, 1 Chr. 4:24
  6. Genesis 46:13 Puah, Num. 26:23; 1 Chr. 7:1
  7. Genesis 46:13 Jashub, Num. 26:24; 1 Chr. 7:1
  8. Genesis 46:16 Sam., LXX Zephon and Num. 26:15
  9. Genesis 46:16 Ozni, Num. 26:16
  10. Genesis 46:16 Arod, Num. 26:17
  11. Genesis 46:21 Hupham, Num. 26:39
  12. Genesis 46:23 Shuham, Num. 26:42
  13. Genesis 46:24 Jahziel, 1 Chr. 7:13
  14. Genesis 46:24 Shallum, 1 Chr. 7:13
  15. Genesis 46:34 loathsome
  16. Genesis 47:9 Lit. sojourning
  17. Genesis 47:17 supplied
  18. Genesis 47:21 So with MT, Tg.; Sam., LXX, Vg. made the people virtual slaves
  19. Genesis 48:2 Collected his strength
  20. Genesis 48:6 children
  21. Genesis 48:6 Who are born to you
  22. Genesis 48:22 Lit. shoulder
  23. Genesis 49:5 violence
  24. Genesis 49:6 lamed
  25. Genesis 49:9 couches
  26. Genesis 49:10 A symbol of kingship
  27. Genesis 49:19 Lit. Troop
  28. Genesis 49:19 Lit. raid
  29. Genesis 49:24 Or supple

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