96 | Genesis 46:26
26 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob— those who were his direct descendants, not count ing his sons’ wives— num bered sixty-six per sons. e
27 With the two sons a who had been born to Jo seph in Egypt, the mem bers of Ja cob’ s fam ily, which went to Egypt, were seventy b in all. f
28 Now Ja cob sent Ju dah ahead of him to Jo seph to get di rec tions to Go shen. g When they ar rived in the re gion of Go shen, 29 Jo seph had his char iot made ready and went to Go shen to meet his fa ther Is rael. As soon as Jo seph ap peared be fore him, he threw his arms around his father c and wept for a long time. h 30 Is rael 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. i 32 The men are shep herds; they tend live stock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and ev ery thing they own.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks,‘ What is your oc cu pa tion?’ j 34 you should an swer,‘ Your ser vants have tended 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, k for all shep herds are de test able to the Egyp tians. l” Jo seph went and told Phar aoh,“ My fa ther and broth ers, with their flocks and herds
47 and ev ery thing they own, have come from the land of Ca naan and are now in Goshen.” m 2 He chose five of his broth ers and pre sented them be fore Phar aoh.
3 Pharaoh asked the brothers,“ What is your occupation?” n
“ 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, o be cause the fam ine is se vere in Canaan p and your ser vants’ flocks have no pas ture. So now, please let your ser vants set tle in Goshen.” q
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 in the best part of the land. r Let them live in Go shen. And if you know of any among them with spe cial abil ity, s put them in charge of my own live stock.”
7 Then Jo seph brought his fa ther Ja cob in and pre sented him be fore Phar aoh. Af ter Jacob blessed d
Pharaoh, t
8 Phar aoh asked him,“ How old are you?”
9 And Ja cob said to Phar aoh,“ The years of my pil grim age are a hun dred and thirty. u My years have been few and dif fi cult, v and they do not equal the years of the pil grim age of my fathers. w” 10 Then Jacob blessed e
Pharaoh x and went out from his pres ence.
11 So Jo seph set tled his fa ther and his broth ers in Egypt and gave them prop erty in the best part of the land, the dis trict of Ram e ses, y as Phar aoh di rected. 12 Joseph also provided his fa ther and his broth ers and all his fa ther’ s house hold with food, ac cord ing to the number of their children. z
a 27 Hebrew; Septuagint the nine children b 27 Hebrew( see also Exodus 1:5 and note); Septuagint( see also Acts 7:14) seventy-five c 29 Hebrew around him d 7 Or greeted e 10 Or said farewell to
46:26 e ver 5-7; Ex 1:5; Dt 10:22
46:27 f Ac 7:14 46:28 g Ge 45:10
46:29 h Ge 45:14-15; Lk 15:20
46:31 i Ge 47:1 46:33 j Ge 47:3
46:34 k Ge 45:10 l Ge 43:32; Ex 8:26
47:1 m Ge 46:31 47:3 n Ge 46:33
47:4 o Ge 15:13; Dt 26:5 p Ge 43:1 q Ge 46:34
47:6 r Ge 45:18 s Ex 18:21, 25
47:7 t ver 10; 2Sa 14:22
47:9 u Ge 25:7 v Heb 11:9, 13
w Ge 35:28
47:10 x ver 7 47:11 y Ex 1:11; 12:37 47:12 z Ge 45:11
46:26 – 27 This summary concludes the list of names in vv. 8 – 25. 46:26 sixty-six. This total, which excludes Jacob’ s sons’ wives, who were not“ his direct descendants,” does not tally exactly with the totals in vv. 8 – 25( i. e., 33 + 16 + 14 + 7 = 70). Nothing obvious explains how this was calculated to give the total 66. The second total of“ seventy”( v. 27) is probably based on 66 plus Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’ s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. To add to the complexity of these figures, the earliest Greek translation of Genesis records the number of Joseph’ s sons as nine( see first NIV text note on v. 27), giving a total of 75( see second NIV text note on v. 27; see also Acts 7:14) rather than 70. In the process of copying manuscripts, mistakes occasionally can arise with numbers. Something like this may have occurred at an early stage in the transmission of the text of Genesis. 46:28 Joseph had already advised Jacob that the region of Goshen would be the most suitable location for Jacob’ s family( 45:10), so Jacob entrusts Judah with getting directions from Joseph. In the later part of his life, Judah stands apart from his brothers as a trustworthy son. The exceptional blessing that Jacob later gives
Judah reflects his faith in Judah( 49:8 – 12). 46:32 – 34 In spite of knowing how the Egyptians detest shepherds( see note on v. 34), Joseph instructs his brothers to declare before Phar aoh that their occupation is tending flocks and herds. This will ensure that they will be located in the region of Goshen. By retaining their traditional way of life, the Israelites will remain apart from mainstream Egyptian society. 46:34 all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians. The precise reason for this dislike is not clear. Differing religious practices may have motivated it( see Exod 8:26). The refusal of Egyptians to share a meal with Hebrews possibly reflects it( 43:32).
47:1 – 6 Through tactful diplomacy Joseph gains permission from Phar aoh for his family to settle in Goshen. Phar aoh’ s willingness to entrust his own livestock to Joseph’ s brothers shows Joseph’ s good standing in the Egyptian court. 47:7 – 10 This brief scene begins and ends with Jacob blessing Phar aoh. Although these blessings may be merely part of the formalities of meeting and parting, they take on a greater significance when set against the background of the blessing Isaac bestowed on Jacob( 27:29), which in turn echoes God’ s promise to Abraham in 12:3. The developing Genesis narrative closely ties God’ s blessing to the unique family line that descends from Abraham. Jacob blesses Phar aoh for showing respect to Abraham’ s descendants. 47:9 My years have been few and difficult. According to the chronological information in Genesis, Jacob is now 130 years old. While this is exceptional by modern standards, Abraham and Isaac lived to be 175 and 180 years old, respectively. They viewed such lengthy years as a sign of God’ s blessing. Jacob, however, alludes to the difficulties that have marked his life( e. g., his forced exile to Paddan Aram; his loss of Joseph as a much loved son). the pilgrimage of my fathers. Jacob refers to the seminomadic lifestyle of Abraham and Isaac, which meant that they had no permanent residence. The patriarchs deliberately adopt ed this lifestyle because they anticipated a city God designed and built( Heb 11:9 – 16). Jacob identifies with his immediate forefathers by speaking of his own pilgrimage. 47:11 district of Rameses. Probably a prime location within the larger region of Goshen