Genesis 46:1-47:12

Amplified Bible

Jacob Moves to Egypt

46 So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba [where both his father and grandfather had worshiped God], and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.^{(A) 2} And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” ³ And He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you (your descendants) a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you (your people) up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes [to close them at the time of your death].”

⁵ So Jacob set out from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ And they took their livestock and the possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. ⁷ His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

Those Who Came to Egypt

⁸ Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. 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. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ¹³ The sons of Issachar: Tola, ^[a]Puvah, ^[b]Job, 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 of his sons and daughters numbered 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. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. ¹⁸ These are the sons of Zilpah, [the maid] whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter [when she married Jacob]; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons [two sons and fourteen grandchildren]. ¹⁹ The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ Now to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (Heliopolis in Egypt), bore to him. ²¹ And the sons of ^[c]Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. ²² These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; [there were] fourteen persons in all [two sons and twelve grandchildren]. ²³ The son of Dan: Hushim. ²⁴ The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵ These are the sons of Bilhah, [the maid] whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter [when she married Jacob]. And she bore these to Jacob; [there were] seven persons in all [two sons and five grandchildren]. ²⁶ All the persons who came with Jacob into Egypt—who were his direct descendants, not counting the wives of [Jacob or] Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all, ²⁷ and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob [including Jacob, and ^[d]Joseph and his sons], who came into Egypt, were seventy.

²⁸ Now Jacob (Israel) sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. ²⁹ Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen; as soon as he presented himself before him (authenticating his identity), he fell on his [father’s] neck and wept on his neck a [very] long time. ³⁰ And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die [in peace], since I have seen your face [and know] that you are still alive.” ³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and 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 And it shall be that when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our fathers [before us],’ in order that you may live [separately and securely] in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is repulsive to the Egyptians.”

Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen

47 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan, and they are in the land of Goshen.” ² He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. ³ And Pharaoh said to his brothers [as Joseph expected], “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers [before us].” ⁴ Moreover, they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live temporarily (sojourn) in the land [of Egypt], for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants [in our land], for the famine is very severe in Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” ⁵ Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know of any men of ability among them, ^[e]put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought Jacob (Israel) his father and presented him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ And Pharaoh asked Jacob, ^[f]“How old are you?” ⁹ Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The ^[g]years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, and they have ^[h]not reached the years that my fathers lived during the days of their pilgrimage.” ¹⁰ And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and departed from his presence. ¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and brothers and gave them a possession in Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses (Goshen), as Pharaoh commanded. ¹² Joseph provided and supplied his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to [the needs of] their children.