Jacob Goes to Egypt
46 Israel traveled with all that he had until he came to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God called to Israel in a vision at night, “Jacob, Jacob!”
Jacob said, “I am here.”
3 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. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will certainly bring you back again. And Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”
5 Jacob set out from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel transported Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6 They took their livestock and their property that they had acquired in the land of Canaan and came into Egypt—Jacob, and all his offspring with him, 7 his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters. So he brought all his offspring with him into Egypt.
8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt, that is, Jacob and his sons:
Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch,
Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and
Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah, but Er
and Onan had died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were
Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Iob,[a] and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahle’el.
15 Those are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan
Aram, along with his daughter Dinah. The total number of souls of
his sons and his daughters was thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi,
and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah
their sister. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.
18 Those are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his
daughter, and Zilpah bore these to Jacob, a total of sixteen souls.
19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt.
Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, gave birth to them.
21 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Na’aman,
Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sons of
Rachel, who were born to Jacob. The total was fourteen souls.
23 The son of Dan was Hushim.
24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel,
his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob. The total was seven souls.
26 The total number of souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, was sixty-six. 27 The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls.
The total number of the souls in the house of Jacob who came into Egypt was seventy.[b]
28 Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to lead the way to Goshen. And so they arrived in the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He approached him, hugged him, and wept on his shoulder for a long time. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen you face-to-face and you are still alive.”
31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s family, “I will go up and speak with Pharaoh. I will tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 These men are shepherds. They make their living taking care of livestock, and they have brought with them their flocks and their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 This is what you should say when Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 You shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers.’ Ask for the right to live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is repulsive to the Egyptians.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 46:13 The variant Jashub has considerable support.
- Genesis 46:27 The Greek Old Testament has seventy-five and includes some additional names.