Genesis 46–47

Jacob Leaves for Egypt

46Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, ⁱand he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ²That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: ^j“Jacob, Jacob!” He said.

And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”

³God 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. ^k4I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. ^lJoseph will put his hands on your eyes.” ^mn

⁵Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, ^oalong with their children and their wives. ⁶They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his children went with him to Egypt. ^p7His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt.

Jacob’s Family

⁸These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: ^q

Jacob’s firstborn: Reuben.

⁹Reuben’s sons: ^rHanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

¹⁰Simeon’s sons: ^sJemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹Levi’s sons: ^tGershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹²Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

Perez’s sons: ^uHezron and Hamul.

¹³Issachar’s sons: ^vTola, Puvah, ^wJashub, ^xand Shimron.

¹⁴Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

¹⁵These were Leah’s sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons: ^y33.

¹⁶Gad’s sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷Asher’s sons: ^zImnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.

Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: 16 persons.

¹⁹The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁰Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On. ^a

²¹Benjamin’s sons: ^bBela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

²²These were Rachel’s sons who were born to Jacob: 14 persons.

²³Dan’s son: ^cHushim.

²⁴Naphtali’s sons: ^dJahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁵These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. ^eShe bore to Jacob: seven persons.

²⁶The total number of persons belonging to Jacob—his direct descendants, ^fnot including the wives of Jacob’s sons—who came to Egypt: 66.

²⁷And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons.

All those of Jacob’s household who had come to Egypt: 70 ^gpersons. ^h

Jacob Arrives in Egypt

²⁸Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival ⁱat Goshen. ^jWhen they came to the land of Goshen, ²⁹Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time. ^k

³⁰Then Israel said to Joseph, “At last I can die, now that I have seen your face and know you are still alive!”

³¹Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him: My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ^l32The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their sheep and cattle and all that they have. ³³When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our fathers, have raised livestock ^mfrom our youth until now.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.” ⁿ

Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob

47So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their sheep and cattle and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.” ^o

²He took five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. ^p3Then Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our fathers, are shepherds.” ^q4Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants’ sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. ^rSo now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”

⁵Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, ⁶the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. ^sThey can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” ^t

⁷Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” ^u

⁹Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage ^vhas lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, ^wand they have not surpassed the years of my fathers during their pilgrimages.” ^x10So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹¹Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses, ^yas Pharaoh had commanded. ¹²And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food for their dependents. ^z

The Land Becomes Pharaoh’s

¹³But there was no food in that entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine. ¹⁴Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were purchasing, and he brought the money to Pharaoh’s palace. ^a15When the money from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die here in front of you? The money is gone!”

¹⁶But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the money is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” ¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the herds of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the money is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹Why should we die here in front of you—both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh’s slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”

²⁰In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹and Joseph moved the people to the cities ^bfrom one end of Egypt to the other. ²²The only land he didn’t acquire was the priests’ portion, for it was given to them by Pharaoh. They lived off ^cthe rations Pharaoh had given them; therefore they did not sell their land.

²³Then Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land. ²⁴At harvest, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, ^dand four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”

²⁵And they said, “You have saved our lives. We have found favor in our lord’s eyes and will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” ²⁶So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

Israel Settles in Goshen

²⁷Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property in it and became fruitful and very numerous. ^e28Now Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, and his life span was 147 years. ²⁹When the time drew near for him to die, ^fhe called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh ^gand promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. ^hDo not bury me in Egypt. ³⁰When I rest with my fathers, carry me away from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” ⁱ

Joseph answered, “I will do what you have asked.”

³¹And Jacob said, “Swear to me.” So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed in thanks at the head of his bed. ^jk