88 | Genesis 46:14
14
The sons of Zeb u lun : Se red , Elon and Jah le el .
15
These were the sons Leah bore to Ja cob in Pad dan Aram , a be sides his daugh ter Di nah . These sons and daugh ters of his were thir ty three in all .
16
The sons of Gad : Ze phon , b Hag gi , Shu ni , Ez bon , Eri , Ar o di and Are li .
17
The sons of Ash er : Im nah , Ish vah , Ish vi and Be ri ah . Their sis ter was Se rah . The sons of Be ri ah :
He ber and Mal ki el .
18
These were the chil dren born to Ja cob by Zil pah , whom La ban had giv en to his daugh ter Leah — six teen in all .
19
The sons of Ja cob ’ s wife Ra chel : Jo seph and Ben ja min . 20 In Egypt , Ma nas seh and Ephra im were born to Jo seph by As e nath daugh ter of Po tiph era , priest of On . c
21
The sons of Ben ja min : Bela , Be ker , Ash bel , Gera , Na a man , Ehi , Rosh , Mup pim , Hup pim and Ard .
22
These were the sons of Ra chel who were born to Ja cob — four teen in all .
23
The son of Dan : Hu shim .
24
The sons of Naph ta li : Jah zi el , Guni , Je zer and Shil lem .
25
These were the sons born to Ja cob by Bil hah , whom La ban had giv en to his daugh ter Ra chel — sev en in all .
26
All those who went to Egypt with Ja cob — those who were his di rect de scen dants , not counting his sons ’ wives — num bered six ty-six per sons .
27
With the two sons d who had been born to Jo seph in Egypt , the mem bers of Ja cob ’ s fam i ly , which went to Egypt , were sev en ty e in all .
28
Now Ja cob sent Ju dah ahead of him to Jo seph to get di rec tions to Go shen . When they ar rived in the re gion of Go shen , 29 Jo seph had his char i ot made ready and went to Go shen to meet his fa ther Is ra el . As soon as Jo seph ap peared be fore him , he threw his arms around his fa ther f and wept for a long time .
30
Is ra el said to Jo seph , “ Now I am ready to die , since I have seen for my self that you are still alive .”
31
Then Jo seph said to his broth ers and to his fa ther ’ s house hold , “ I will go up and speak to Phar aoh and will say to him , ‘ My broth ers and my fa ther ’ s house hold , who were liv ing in the land of Ca naan , have come to me . 32 The men are shep herds ; they tend live stock , and they have brought along their flocks and herds and ev erything they own .’ 33 When Phar aoh calls you in and asks , ‘ What is your oc cu pa tion ?’ 34 you should answer , ‘ Your ser vants have tend ed live stock from our boy hood on , just as our fa thers did .’ Then you will be al lowed to set tle in the re gion of Go shen , for all shep herds are de test able to the Egyp tians .”
47
Jo seph went and told Phar aoh , “ My fa ther and broth ers , with their flocks and herds and ev ery thing they own , have come from the land of Ca naan and are now in Go shen .” 2 He chose five of his broth ers and pre sent ed them be fore Phar aoh .
3
Phar aoh asked the broth ers , “ What is your oc cu pa tion ?”
“ Your ser vants are shep herds ,” they re plied to Phar aoh , “ just as our fa thers were .” 4 They also said to him , “ We have come to live here for a while , be cause the fam ine is se vere in Ca naan and your ser vants ’ flocks have no pas ture . So now , please let your ser vants set tle in Go shen .”
5
Phar aoh said to Jo seph , “ Your fa ther and your broth ers have come to you , 6 and the land of Egypt is be fore you ; set tle your fa ther and your broth ers
a
15 That is , Northwest Mesopotamia b
16 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint ( see also Num . 26:15 ); Masoretic Text Ziphion c
20 That is , Heliopolis d
27 Hebrew ; Septuagint the nine children e
27 Hebrew ( see also Exodus 1:5 and note ); Septuagint ( see also Acts 7:14 ) seventy-five f
29 Hebrew around him
46:26 sixty-six The total descendants of Israel ( Jacob ) given in v . 27 is 70 . This can be explained by the figure 66 referring just to those who came to Egypt . Er and Onan did not come to Egypt but died in Canaan before the journey was made ( 38:1 – 10 ). Joseph ’ s two sons , Ephraim and Manasseh , were born in Egypt and could also be subtracted . The figure 66 could also involve adding Dinah and subtracting Joseph . 46:27 seventy This figure may be arrived at by counting the people listed in this genealogy and then adding Joseph , his two sons , and Jacob or Dinah . Compare note on 46:26 .
46:28 – 34 Jacob and Joseph are finally reunited after the nearly two decades since Joseph was sold into slavery . After spending time with his father , Joseph prepares the family for their audience with Pharaoh . He tells them what to say to ensure that they are given Egypt ’ s fertile pastureland to the north .
46:34 detestable to the Egyptians It is unclear why shepherds were held in low social esteem by the Egyptians . The Egyptians may have considered foreign herdsmen competition for resources , which may reflect a general disdain for foreigners from Canaan — called “ Asiatics ” in Egyptian texts ( compare 43:32 and note ).
47:1 – 12 The first part of this chapter focuses on the meeting of Joseph ’ s family ’ s with Pharaoh . Pharaoh meets first with a representative group of Joseph ’ s brothers and gives them the pasturelands of Goshen ( vv . 1 – 6 ). Then Pharaoh meets Jacob , and Jacob blesses him ( vv . 7 – 10 ). The section ends by noting the gracious and benevolent way in which Joseph provides for his family ( vv . 11 – 12 ), which contrasts sharply with the section that follows ( vv . 13 – 31 ).
47:1 Goshen See note on 45:10 . 47:6 in charge of my own livestock The offer to oversee the king ’ s cattle would result in an elevated status for the foreigners , with all the associated legal advantages .