Genesis 46:3

New Century Version

Then God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make your descendants a great nation there.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go down into Mitzrayim; for there I will make of you a great nation.

King James Version
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Lexham English Bible
Then he said, "I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

New English Translation
He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Amplified Bible
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.

New American Standard Bible
Then He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then hee sayde, I am God, the God of thy father, feare not to goe downe into Egypt: for I will there make of thee a great nation.

Legacy Standard Bible
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 a great nation there.

Contemporary English Version
God said, "I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation.

Complete Jewish Bible
He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go down to Egypt. It is there that I will make you into a great nation.

Darby Translation
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. In Egypt I will make you a great nation.

English Standard Version
Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.

George Lamsa Translation
Then he said to him. I am El, the God of your father; fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great people;

Good News Translation
"I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go to Egypt; I will make your descendants a great nation there.

Christian Standard Bible®
God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Literal Translation
And He said, I am God, the God of your fathers. Do not fear to go down into Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he saide: I am ye mightie God of thy father, be not afrayed to go into Egipte, for there wyl I make a greate people of the.

American Standard Version
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Bible in Basic English
And he said, I am God, the God of your father: go down to Egypt without fear, for I will make a great nation of you there:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he sayde: I am God, the God of thy father, feare not to go downe into Egypt: for I wyll there make of thee a great people.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And He said: 'I am God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation.

King James Version (1611)
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father, feare not to goe downe into Egypt: for I will there make of thee a great nation.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he says to him, I am the God of thy fathers; fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will make thee there a great nation.

English Revised Version
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Berean Standard Bible
"I am God," He said, "the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
God seide to hym, Y am the strongeste God of thi fadir; nyle thou drede, go doun in to Egipt, for Y schal make thee there in to a greet folk;

Young's Literal Translation
And He saith, `I [am] God, God of thy father, be not afraid of going down to Egypt, for for a great nation I set thee there;

Update Bible Version
And he said, I am God, the God of your father: don't be afraid to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation:

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, I [am] God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

World English Bible
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.

New King James Version
So He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

New Living Translation
"I am God, the God of your father," the voice said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation.

New Life Bible
He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. For I will make you a great nation there.

New Revised Standard
Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said - Behold me! And he said: I, am GOD himself, the God of thy father, - Be not afraid of going down to Egypt, seeing that for a great nation, will I plant thee there.

Douay-Rheims Bible
God said to him: I am the most mighty God of thy father; fear not, go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of thee there.

Revised Standard Version
Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation.

THE MESSAGE
God said, "I am the God of your father. Don't be afraid of going down to Egypt. I'm going to make you a great nation there. I'll go with you down to Egypt; I'll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he'll close your eyes."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

Contextual Overview

¹ So Israel took all he had and started his trip. He went to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² During the night God spoke to Israel in a vision and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And Jacob answered, "Here I am." ³ Then God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make your descendants a great nation there. ⁴ I will go to Egypt with you, and I will bring you out of Egypt again. Joseph's own hands will close your eyes when you die."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the God: Genesis 28:13

fear not: Genesis 15:1, Genesis 15:13, Genesis 26:2, Genesis 26:3, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 43:2, Jeremiah 40:9, Acts 27:24

I will: Genesis 12:2, Genesis 13:15, Genesis 13:16, Genesis 18:18, Genesis 22:17, Genesis 28:14, Genesis 35:11, Genesis 47:27, Exodus 1:7-10, Deuteronomy 1:10, Deuteronomy 10:22, Deuteronomy 26:5, Acts 7:17

Reciprocal: Genesis 12:10 - went Genesis 21:17 - fear Genesis 31:3 - Return Genesis 32:12 - I will Genesis 35:9 - General Genesis 48:4 - Behold I Exodus 12:37 - six hundred Numbers 1:46 - General Judges 7:9 - the same 1 Kings 18:36 - Lord God 1 Chronicles 16:20 - they went Psalms 105:24 - And he Isaiah 44:8 - have declared Matthew 1:20 - fear not Acts 7:15 - Jacob

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

Genesis 15:1
After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision: "Abram, don't be afraid. I will defend you, and I will give you a great reward."

Genesis 15:13
Then the Lord said to Abram, "You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers and travel in a land they don't own. The people there will make them slaves and be cruel to them for four hundred years.

Genesis 18:18
Abraham's children will certainly become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.

Genesis 22:17
I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and they will capture the cities of their enemies.

Genesis 35:11
God said to him, "I am God Almighty. Have many children and grow in number as a nation. You will be the ancestor of many nations and kings.

Genesis 46:1
So Israel took all he had and started his trip. He went to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

Genesis 46:2
During the night God spoke to Israel in a vision and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And Jacob answered, "Here I am."

Genesis 46:3
Then God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make your descendants a great nation there.

Genesis 46:7
his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters. He took all his family to Egypt with him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said, I [am] God, the God of thy father,.... His father Isaac, who was now dead, and who is the rather mentioned, because in him Abraham's seed was to be called, and in his line the promise both of the land of Canaan, and of the Messiah, ran, and from him Jacob received the blessing; and this might be a confirmation of it to him, in that Jehovah calls himself his God; he first declares himself to be his God, and so able to perform whatever he should promise him, and his father's God, who would show him favour, as he had to him:

fear not to go down into Egypt; Jacob might have many fears arise in his mind about this journey, as interpreters generally observe; as lest it should not be agreeable to the will of God, since his father Isaac was forbidden to go into Egypt, when in like circumstances with him,

Genesis 26:1; as well as he, might fear it would be too great a journey for him in his old age, some evil would befall him, or he die by the way and not see his son; or lest going with his family thither, and there continuing for some time, they might be tempted with the pleasantness and fruitfulness of the land, and settle there, and forget and neglect the promised land of Canaan; and especially lest they should be drawn into the idolatry of the Egyptians, and forsake the worship of the true God; and very probably he might call to mind the prophecy delivered to Abraham, of his seed being strangers and servants, and afflicted in a land not theirs for the space of four hundred years, Genesis 15:13; and Jacob might fear this step he was now taking would bring on, as indeed it did, the completion of this prediction, by which his offspring would be oppressed and diminished. The Targum of Jonathan makes this to be Jacob's principal fear;

"fear not to go down into Egypt, because of the business of the servitude decreed with Abraham;''

as also he might fear his going thither might seem to be a giving up his title to, and expectation of the promised land: to remove which fears the following is said,

for I will there make of thee a great nation: as he did; for though in process of time his seed were greatly afflicted here, yet the more they were afflicted, the more they multiplied; and their increase in Egypt was vastly greater than it had been in a like space of time before; for in the space of two hundred fifteen years before their descent into Egypt, they were become no more than seventy persons, whereas in the like number of years in Egypt, they became 600,000, besides children; see Genesis 46:27 Exodus 12:37.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob Goes Down to Egypt

9. פלוּא pallû', Pallu, “distinguished.” חצרן chetsrôn, Chetsron, of the “court,” or “village.” כרמי karmı̂y, Karmi, “vine-dresser.”

10. ימוּאל y^emû'êl, Jemuel, “day of El.” ימין yâmı̂yn, Jamin, “right hand.” אהד 'ôhad, Ohad, “joining together.” יכין yâkı̂yn, Jakin, “he shall establish.” צחר tsôchar, Tsochar, “whiteness.”

11. גרשׁון gêr^eshôn, Gereshon, “expelling.” קהת q^ehâth, Qehath, “assembly.” מררי m^erârı̂y, Merari, “flowing, bitter.”

12. חמוּל châmûl, Chamul, “pitied, treated with mercy.”

13. תולע tôlâ‛, Tola‘, “worm, scarlet.” פוּה pû'âh, Puvvah, “mouth?” יוב yôb, Job, “enemy?” שׂמרן śı̂mrôn, Shimron, “watch.”

14. סרד sered, Sered, “fear.” אלון 'êlôn, Elon, “oak.” יחלאל yachl^e'êl, Jachleel, “El shall sicken or inspire with hope.”

16. צפיון tsı̂phyôn, Tsiphjon, “watcher.” חגי chaggı̂y, Chaggi, “festive.” שׁוּני shûnı̂y, Shuni, “quiet.” אצבון 'etsbôn, Etsbon, “toiling?” ערי ‛êrı̂y, ‘Eri, “watcher.” ארודי 'ǎrôdı̂y, Arodi, rover? אראלי 'ar'êlı̂y, Areli, “lion of El?”

17. ימנה yı̂mnâh, Jimnah, “prosperity.” ישׁוה yı̂shvâh, Jishvah, ישׁוי yı̂shvı̂y, Jishvi, “even, level.” בריעה berı̂y‛âh, Beri‘ah, “in evil.” שׂרח śerach, Serach, “overflow.” חבר cheber, Cheber, “fellowship.” מלכיאל malkı̂y'êl Malkiel, “king of EL”

21. בלע bela‛, Bela‘, “devouring.” בכר beker, Beker, “a young camel.” אשׁבל 'ashbêl Ashbel, “short?” גרא gêrâ', Gerah, “a grain.” <נעמן na‛ămân, Na‘aman, “pleasant.” אחי 'êchı̂y Echi, “brotherly?” ראשׁ rô'sh, Rosh, “head.” מפים mûppı̂ym, Muppim, חפים chûppı̂ym, Chuppim, “covering.” ארד 'ard, Ard, “fugitive, rover.”

23. צשׁים chûshı̂ym, Chushim, “haste.”

24. יחצאל yachts^e'êl, Jachtseel, “El will divide.” גוּני gûnı̂y, Guni, “dyed.” יצר yêtser, Jetser, “form.” שׂלם śı̂llêm, Shillem, “retribution.”

The second dream of Joseph is now to receive its fulfillment. His father is to bow down before him. His mother is dead. It is probable that also Leah is deceased. The figure, by which the dream shadows forth the reality, is fulfilled, when the spirit of it receives its accomplishment.

Genesis 46:1-4

Jacob arriving at Beer-sheba is encouraged by a revelation from God. Beer-sheba may be regarded as the fourth scene of Abraham’s abode in the land of promise. “Offered sacrifices.” He had gathered from the words of the Lord to Abraham Genesis 15:13, and the way in which the dreams of Joseph were realized in the events of Providence, that his family were to descend into Egypt. He felt therefore, that in taking this step he was obeying the will of Heaven. Hence, he approaches God in sacrifices at an old abode of Abraham and Isaac, before he crosses the border to pass into Egypt. On this solemn occasion God appears to him in the visions of the night. He designates himself EL the Mighty, and the God of his father. The former name cheers him with the thought of an all-sufficient Protector. The latter identifies the speaker with the God of his father, and therefore, with the God of eternity, of creation, and of covenant. “Fear not to go down into Mizraim.” This implies both that it was the will of God that he should go down to Egypt, and that he would be protected there. “A great nation.”

Jacob had now a numerous family, of whom no longer one was selected, but all were included in the chosen seed. He had received the special blessing and injunction to be fruitful and multiply Genesis 28:3; Genesis 35:11. The chosen family is to be the beginning of the chosen nation. “I will go down with thee.” The “I” is here emphatic, as it is also in the assurance that he will bring him up in the fullness of time from Egypt. If Israel in the process of growth from a family to a nation had remained among the Kenaanites, he would have been amalgamated with the nation by intermarriage, and conformed to its vices. By his removal to Egypt he is kept apart from the demoralizing influence of a nation, whose iniquity became so great as to demand a judicial extirpation Genesis 15:16. He is also kept from sinking into an Egyptian by the fact that a shepherd, as he was, is an abomination to Egypt; by his location in the comparatively high land of Goshen, which is a border land, not naturally, but only politically, belonging to Egypt; and by the reduction of his race to a body of serfs, with whom that nation would not condescend to intermingle. “Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.” His long-lost son shall be present to perform the last offices to him when deceased.

Genesis 46:5-7

The descent into Egypt is now described. “His daughters, and his sons’ daughters.” In the following list only one daughter of Jacob is mentioned, Dinah, and only one son’s daughter, Serah. It is possible, but not probable, that there were more daughters than these at the time in his family. But even if there were no others, the plural is adopted in order to correspond with the general form of classification, from which the one daughter and the one granddaughter are merely accidental deviations. The same principle applies to the sons of Dan Genesis 46:23, and to other instances in Scripture 1Ch 2:8, 1 Chronicles 2:42.

Verse 8-27

The list given here of the family of Jacob as it came down into Egypt is not to be identified with a list of their descendants two hundred and fifty years after, contained in Numbers 26:0, or with another list constructed after the captivity, and referring to certain of their descendants in and after the times of the monarchy. Nor is this the place to mark out or investigate the grounds of the diversities from the present which these later lists exhibit. Our proper business here is to examine into the nature and import of this ancient and original list of the family of Jacob. It purports to be a list of the names of the sons of Israel, “who went into Mizraim.” This phrase implies that the sons of Israel actually went down into Egypt; and this is accordingly historically true of all his immediate sons, Joseph having gone thither about twenty-two years before the others. And the word “sons” is to be understood here in its strict sense, as we find it in the immediate context Genesis 46:7 distinguished from sons’ sons and other descendants.

“Jacob and his sons.” From this expression we perceive the progenitor is to be included with the sons among those who descended to Egypt. This also is historically exact. For the sake of clearness it is proper here to state the approximate ages of these heads of Israel at the time of the descent. Jacob himself was 130 years of age Genesis 47:9. Joseph was in his thirtieth year when he stood before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams and receive his commission as governor-general of Egypt, Genesis 41:46. At the end of the second year of the famine nine full years were added to his life. He was therefore, we may suppose, 39 years old when Jacob arrived in Egypt, and born when his father was 91. As we conceive that he was born in the fifteenth year of Jacob’s sojourn in Padan-aram, and Reuben in the eighth, we infer that Reuben was at the time of the descent into Egypt seven years older than Joseph, or 46, Simon 45, Levi 44, Judah 43, Dan about 43, Naphtali about 42, Gad about 42, Asher about 41, Issakar about 41, Zebulun about 40, Dinah about 39, Benjamin about 26. “Jacob’s first-born Reuben.” This refers to the order of nature, without implying that the rights of first-birth were to be secured to Reuben 1 Chronicles 5:1-2.

Genesis 46:9-15

The sons of Leah and their descendants are here enumerated. Reuben has four sons, who appear without variation in the other two lists Num 26:5-6; 1 Chronicles 5:3. Of the six sons of Simon, Ohad appears in the other lists, and Nemuel and Zerah appear as colloquial variations of Jemuel and Zohar. Such diversities in oral language are usual to this day in the East and elsewhere. “Son of a Kenaanitess.” This implies that intermarriage with the Kenaanites was the exception to the rule in the family of Jacob. Wives might have been obtained from Hebrew, Aramaic, or at all events Shemite tribes who were living in their vicinity. The three sons of Levi are common to all the lists, with the slight variation of Gershom for Gershon. The sons of Judah are also unvaried. We are here reminded that Er and Onon died in the land of Kenaan Genesis 46:12, and of course did not come down into Egypt. The extraordinary circumstances of Judah’s family are recorded in Genesis 38:0: In order that Hezron and Hamul may have been born at the arrival of Jacob’s household in Egypt, Judah’s and Perez’s first sons must have been born in the fourteenth year of their respective fathers. For the discussion of this matter see the remarks on that chapter. The four sons of Issakar occur in the other lists, with the variation of Jashub for Job. The three sons of Zebulun recur in the book of Numbers; but in the list of Chronicles no mention is made of his posterity. Dinah does not appear in the other lists. The descendants of Leah are in all thirty-two; six sons, one daughter, twenty-three grandsons, and two great grandsons. “All the souls, his sons and his daughters, were thirty and three.” Here “all the souls” include Jacob himself, and “his sons and his daughters” are to be understood as a specification of what is included besides himself.

Genesis 46:16-18

Next are enumerated the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid. The seven sons of Gad recur in Numbers 26:0, with the variants Zephon, Ozni, and Arod, for Ziphion, Ezbon, and Arodi; but they do not occur in Chronicles. Of Asher’s five children, Jishuah is omitted in Numbers, but appears in Chronicles. This seems to arise from circumstances that the list in Numbers was drawn up at the time of the facts recorded, and that in Chronicles is extracted partly from Genesis. The other names are really the same in all the lists. The descendants of Zilpah are sixteen - two sons, eleven grandsons, one granddaughter, and two great-grandsons.

Genesis 46:19-22

The sons of Rachel. It is remarkable that she alone is called the wife of Jacob, because she was the wife of his choice. Yet the children of the beloved, we perceive, are not placed before those of the less loved Deuteronomy 21:15-16. Joseph’s two sons are the same in all lists. Of the ten sons of Benjamin only five appear in Numbers Numbers 26:38-41, Bela and Ashbel being the same, and Ahiram, Shupham, and Hupham, being variants of Ehi, Muppim, and Huppim. In two hundred and fifty years the other five have become extinct. Naaman and Ard seem to have died early, as two sons of Bela, named after them, take their places as heads of families or clans. In Chronicles 1 Chronicles 7:6-12 we have two lists of his descendants which do not seem to be primary, as they do not agree with either of the former lists, or with one another, though some of the names recur. The descendants of Rachel are fourteen - two sons and twelve grandsons.

Genesis 46:23-25

The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid, come last. Hushim, the son of Dan, appears in Numbers Numbers 26:42 as Shuham, and perhaps in Chronicles 1 Chronicles 7:12 in an obscure connection. The four sons of Naphtali occur in all the lists, Shallum being the variant in Chronicles 1 Chronicles 7:13 for Shillem. The descendants of Bilhah are seven - two sons and five grandsons.

Genesis 46:26-27

All the souls that went with Jacob into Egypt, “that came out of his loins,” were eleven sons, one daughter, fifty grandchildren, and four great-grandsons; in all, sixty-six. Jacob, Joseph and his two sons, are four; and thus, all the souls belonging to the family of Jacob which went into Egypt were seventy. This account, with its somewhat intricate details, is expressed with remarkable brevity and simplicity.

The Septuagint gives seventy-five as the sum-total, which is made out by inserting Makir the son, and Gilead the grandson of Menasseh, Shuthelah and Tahan, sons, and Edom or Eran, a grandson of Ephraim Numbers 26:0. This version has also the incorrect statement that the sons of Joseph born to him in Egypt were nine; whereas by its own showing they were seven, and Jacob and Joseph are to be added to make up the nine. Some suppose that Stephen’s statement - ἀποστείλας δὲ Ιωσὴφ μετεκαλέσατο τὸν πατέρα αὑτοῦ Ιακὼβ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν συγγένειαν ἐν ψυχαῖς ἐβδομήκοντα πέντε aposteilas de Iōsēph ton patera autou Iakōb kai tēn sungeneian en psuchais hebdomēkonta pente - is founded on this version. If Stephen here quoted the Septuagint as a well-known version, he was accountable only for the correctness of his quotation, and not for the error which had crept into his authority. This was immaterial to his present purpose, and it was not the manner of the sacred speakers to turn aside from their grand task to the pedantry of criticism. But it is much more likely that the text of the Septuagint has here been conformed in a bungling way to the number given by Stephen. For it is to be observed that his number refers, according to the text, to Jacob and all his kindred, “exclusive of Joseph and his sons.” They could not therefore, amount to seventy-five, but only to sixty-seven, if we count merely Jacob and his proper descendants. It is probable, therefore, that in the idea of Stephen the “kindred” of Jacob included the eight or nine surviving wives that accompanied the children of Israel. Judah’s wife was dead, and it is probable that Reuben’s was also deceased before he committed incest with Bilhah. If there were two or three more widowers the number of surviving wives would be eight or nine.

The number of the children of Israel is very particularly noted. But the Scripture lays no stress upon the number itself, and makes no particular application of it. It stands forth, therefore, on the record merely as a historical fact. It is remarkable that it is the product of seven, the number of holiness; and ten, the number of completeness. It is still more remarkable that it is the number of the names of those who are the heads of the primitive nations. This is in accordance with the fact that the church is the counterpart of the world, not only in diversity of character and destiny, but also in the adaptation of the former to work out the restitution of all things to God in the latter. The covenant with Abraham is a special means by which the seed may come, who is to give legal and vital effect to the old and general covenant with Noah the representative of the nations. The church of God in the world is to be the instrument by which the kingdom of the world is to become the kingdom of Christ. “When the Most High bestowed the inheritance on the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel” Deuteronomy 32:8. This curious sentence may have an immediate reference to the providential distribution of the human family over the habitable parts of the earth, according to the number of his church, and of his dispensation of grace; but at all events it conveys the great and obvious principle that all things whatsoever in the affairs of men are antecedently adapted with the most perfect exactitude to the benign reign of grace already realized in the children of God, and yet to be extended to all the sons and daughters of Adam.

Genesis 46:28-34

The settlement in Goshen is now narrated. “Judah he sent before him.” We have already seen why the three older sons of Jacob were disqualified for taking the lead in important matters relating to the family. “To lead the way before him into Goshen” - to get the requisite directions from Joseph, and then conduct the immigrants to their destined resting-place. “And went up.” Egypt was the valley of the Nile, and therefore, a low country. Goshen was comparatively high, and therefore, at some distance from the Nile and the sea. “And he appeared unto him.” A phrase usually applied to the appearance of God to men, and intended to intimate the unexpectedness of the sight, which now came before the eyes of Jacob. “I will go up.” In a courtly sense, to approach the residence of the sovereign is to go up. Joseph intends to make the “occupation” of his kindred a prominent part of his communication to Pharaoh, in order to secure their settlement in Goshen. This he considers desirable, on two grounds: first, because Goshen was best suited for pasture; and secondly, because the chosen family would thus be comparatively isolated from Egyptian society.

The two nations were in some important respects mutually repulsive. The idolatrous and superstitious customs of the Egyptians were abhorrent to a worshipper of the true God; and “every shepherd was the abomination of Egypt.” The expression here employed is very strong, and rises even to a religious aversion. Herodotus makes the cowherds the third of the seven classes into which the Egyptians were divided (Herodotus ii. 164). Others include them in the lowest class of the community. This, however, is not sufficient to account for the national antipathy. About seventeen or eighteen centuries before the Christian era it is probable that the Hyksos, or shepherd kings, were masters of the southern part of the country, while a native dynasty still prevailed in lower Egypt. The religion of these shepherd intruders was different from that of the Egyptians which they treated with disrespect. They were addicted to the barbarities which are usually incident to a foreign rule. It is not surprising, therefore, that the shepherd became the abomination of Egypt.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 46:3. Fear not to go down into Egypt — It appears that there had been some doubts in the patriarch's mind relative to the propriety of this journey; he found, from the confession of his own sons, how little they were to be trusted. But every doubt is dispelled by this Divine manifestation.

1. He may go down confidently, no evil shall befall him.

2. Even in Egypt the covenant shall be fulfilled, God will make of him there a great nation.

3. God himself will accompany him on his journey, be with him in the strange land, and even bring back his bones to rest with those of his fathers.

4. He shall see Joseph, and this same beloved son shall be with him in his last hours, and do the last kind office for him.

Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. It is not likely that Jacob would have at all attempted to go down to Egypt, had he not received these assurances from God; and it is very likely that he offered his sacrifice merely to obtain this information. It was now a time of famine in Egypt, and God had forbidden his father Isaac to go down to Egypt when there was a famine there, Genesis 26:1-3; besides, he may have had some general intimation of the prophecy delivered to his grandfather Abraham, that his seed should be afflicted in Egypt, Genesis 15:13-14; and he also knew that Canaan, not Egypt, was to be the inheritance of his family, Genesis 12:1; Genesis 12:6-7, &c. On all these accounts it was necessary to have the most explicit directions from God, before he should take such a journey.