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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Genesis 46:1
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Yisra'el took his journey with all that he had, and came to Be'er-Sheva, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Yitzchak.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
So Israel journeyed with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
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.
So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. When he came to Beer Sheba he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
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.
So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Then Israel tooke his iourney with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifice vnto the God of his father Izhak.
So Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped.
Isra'el took everything he owned with him on his journey. He arrived at Be'er-Sheva and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Yitz'chak.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba; and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
So Israel began his trip to Egypt. First he went to Beersheba. There he worshiped God, the God of his father Isaac. He offered sacrifices.
So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
AND Israel journeyed with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Jacob packed up all he had and went to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel and all which were to him departed, and he came to Beer-sheba. And he sacrificed sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Israel toke his iourney with all that he had. And whan he came to Berseba, he offred offerynges vnto ye God of his father Isaac.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel went on his journey with all he had, and came to Beer-sheba, where he made offerings to the God of his father Isaac.
Israel toke his iourney with all that he had, and came to Beer seba, and offred offeringes vnto the God of his father Isahac.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel tooke his iourney with all that hee had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices vnto the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel departed, he and all that he had, and came to the well of the oath; and he offered sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel yede forth with alle thingis that he hadde, and he cam to the pit of ooth; and whanne sacrifices weren slayn there to God of his fadir Isaac,
And Israel journeyeth, and all that he hath, and cometh in to Beer-Sheba, and sacrificeth sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac;
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
Exodus 6:14-25">[xr] So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
So Israel traveled with all he had to Beersheba. There he gave gifts to the God of his father Isaac.
When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
And Israel taking his journey, with all that he had, came to the well of the oath, and killing victims there to the God of his father Isaac,
So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
So Israel set out on the journey with everything he owned. He arrived at Beersheba and worshiped, offering sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
am 2298, bc 1706
Beersheba: Genesis 21:14, Genesis 21:31, Genesis 21:33, Genesis 26:22, Genesis 26:23, Genesis 28:10, 1 Samuel 3:20
and offered: Genesis 4:4, Genesis 8:20, Genesis 12:8, Genesis 22:13, Genesis 33:20, Genesis 35:3, Genesis 35:7, Job 1:5, Job 42:8
unto: Genesis 21:33, Genesis 26:23, Genesis 26:25, Genesis 28:13, Genesis 31:42, Genesis 31:53
Reciprocal: Genesis 15:14 - that Genesis 17:21 - my Deuteronomy 26:5 - he went down Joshua 24:4 - Jacob Amos 7:9 - the high
Cross-References
Abel, also, even, he, brought in of the firstlings of his sheep, and of their fat, and Yahweh approved of Abel and of his present;
And Noah builded an altar to Yahweh, - and took of all the clean beasts and of all the clean birds, and caused ascending Sacrifices to go up on the altar.
And he moved on from thence towards the hill country, on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, - with Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east, and bulk there an altar to Yahweh, and called on the name of Yahweh.
So Abraham rose up early in the morning - and took bread and a skin of water and gave unto hagar, - putting them on her shoulder and the child, and sent her forth, - so she went her way and wandered, in the desert of Beer-sheba.
On this account, was the name of that place called Beer-sheba, - because there, had they two sworn.
Then planted he a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, - and called there on the name of Yahweh the age-abiding GOD.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo! a ram, behind, caught in a thicket by his horns, and Abraham went, and took the ram, and caused him to ascend as an ascending-sacrifice instead of his son.
So Jacob went forth from Beer-sheba, and journeyed towards Haran.
and lo! Yahweh, standing by him, - and he said, I, am Yahweh, God of Abraham thy father and God of Isaac, - The land whereon, thou, art lying, to thee, will I give it and to thy seed;
But that the God of my father - The God of Abraham, and the Dread of Isaac - Proved to he mine, Surely even now, empty, hadst thou let me go? My humiliation and the wearying toil of my hands, God had seen, And therefore gave sentence last night!
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Israel took his journey with all that he had,.... Set forward in it immediately, as soon as possible after he had resolved to take it, and with him he took all his children and grandchildren, and all his cattle and goods; which shows that he took his journey not only to see his son Joseph, but to continue in Egypt, at least during the years of famine, as his son desired he would, otherwise there would have been no occasion of taking all along with him:
and came to Beersheba: where he and his ancestors Abraham and Isaac had formerly lived; a place where sacrifices had often been offered up, and the worship of God performed, and much communion enjoyed with him. This is said to be sixteen miles from Hebron n, where Jacob dwelt, and according to Musculus was six German miles from it:
and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac; which were attended with prayer and praise; with praise for hearing that his son Joseph was alive, and with prayer that he might have a good, safe, and prosperous journey.
n Bunting's Travels, p. 72.
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 yemû'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 gêreshôn, Gereshon, “expelling.” קהת qehâth, Qehath, “assembly.” מררי merârı̂y, 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 yachle'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 yachtse'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
CHAPTER XLVI
Jacob begins his journey to Egypt, comes to Beer-sheba, and
offers sacrifices to God, 1.
God appears to him in a vision, gives him gracious promises,
and assures him of his protection, 2-4.
He proceeds, with his family and their cattle, on his journey
towards Egypt, 5-7.
A genealogical enumeration of the seventy persons who
went down to Egypt, 8, c.
The posterity of Jacob by LEAH. Reuben and his sons, 9.
Simeon and his sons, 10.
Levi and his sons, 11.
Judah and his sons, 12.
Issachar and his sons, 13.
And Zebulun and his sons, 14.
All the posterity of Jacob by LEAH, thirty and three, 15.
The posterity of Jacob by ZILPAH. Gad and his sons, 16.
Asher and his sons, 17.
All the posterity of Jacob by ZILPAH, sixteen, 18.
The posterity of Jacob by RACHEL. Joseph and his sons,
19, 20.
Benjamin and his sons, 21.
All the posterity of Jacob by RACHEL, fourteen, 22.
The posterity of Jacob by BILHAH. Dan and his sons, 23.
Naphtali and his sons, 24.
All the posterity of Jacob by BILHAH, seven, 25.
All the immediate descendants of Jacob by his four wives,
threescore and six, 26
and all the descendants of the house of Jacob, seventy souls, 27.
Judah is sent before to inform Joseph of his father's coming, 28.
Joseph goes to Goshen to meet Jacob, 29.
Their affecting interview, 30.
Joseph proposes to return to Pharaoh, and inform him of the
arrival of his family, 31,
and of their occupation, as keepers of cattle, 32.
Instructs them what to say when called before Pharaoh, and
questioned by him, that they might be permitted to dwell
unmolested in the land of Goshen, 33, 34.
NOTES ON CHAP. XLVI
Verse Genesis 46:1. And came to Beer-sheba — This place appears to be mentioned, not only because it was the way from Hebron, where Jacob resided, to Egypt, whither he was going, but because it was a consecrated place, a place where God had appeared to Abraham, Genesis 21:33, and to Isaac, Genesis 26:23, and where Jacob is encouraged to expect a manifestation of the same goodness: he chooses therefore to begin his journey with a visit to God's house; and as he was going into a strange land, he feels it right to renew his covenant with God by sacrifice. There is an old proverb which applies strongly to this case: "Prayers and provender never hinder any man's journey. He who would travel safely must take God with him.
