Genesis 46–47

Jacob Goes to Egypt

46So Israel^p set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba,^q he offered sacrifices^r to the God of his father Isaac.^s

²And God spoke to Israel^t in a vision at night^u and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,”^v he replied.

³“I am God, the God of your father,”^w he said. “Do not be afraid^x to go down to Egypt,^y for I will make you into a great nation^z there.^{a 4}I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.^b And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.^c”

⁵Then Jacob left Beersheba,^d and Israel’s^e sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts^f that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. ⁶So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt,^g taking with them their livestock and the possessions^h they had acquiredⁱ in Canaan. ⁷Jacob brought with him to Egypt^j his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.^k

⁸These are the names of the sons of Israel^l (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt:

Reuben the firstborn^m of Jacob.

⁹The sons of Reuben:ⁿ

Hanok, Pallu,^o Hezron and Karmi.^p

¹⁰The sons of Simeon:^q

Jemuel,^r Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar^s and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹The sons of Levi:^t

Gershon,^u Kohath^v and Merari.^w

¹²The sons of Judah:^x

Er,^y Onan,^z Shelah, Perez^a and Zerah^b (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan).^c

The sons of Perez:^d

Hezron and Hamul.^e

¹³The sons of Issachar:^f

Tola, Puah,^ag Jashub^bh and Shimron.

¹⁴The sons of Zebulun:ⁱ

Sered, Elon and Jahleel.

¹⁵These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram,^cj besides his daughter Dinah.^k These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.

¹⁶The sons of Gad:^l

Zephon,^dm Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.

¹⁷The sons of Asher:ⁿ

Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah.

Their sister was Serah.

The sons of Beriah:

Heber and Malkiel.

¹⁸These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah,^o whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah^p—sixteen in all.

¹⁹The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel:^q

Joseph and Benjamin.^{r 20}In Egypt, Manasseh^s and Ephraim^t were born to Joseph^u by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.^ev

²¹The sons of Benjamin:^w

Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.^x

²²These were the sons of Rachel^y who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

²³The son of Dan:^z

Hushim.^a

²⁴The sons of Naphtali:^b

Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

²⁵These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah,^c whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel^d—seven in all.

²⁶All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.^{e 27}With the two sons^f who had been born to Joseph in Egypt,^f the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy^g in all.^g

²⁸Now Jacob sent Judah^h ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen.ⁱ When they arrived in the region of Goshen, ²⁹Joseph had his chariot^j made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel.^k As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father^h and wept^l for a long time.^m

³⁰Israelⁿ said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”^o

³¹Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan,^p have come to me.^{q 32}The men are shepherds;^r they tend livestock,^s and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’^{t 33}When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’^{u 34}you should answer, ‘Your servants^v have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’^w Then you will be allowed to settle^x in the region of Goshen,^y for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.^z”

47Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan^a and are now in Goshen.”^{b 2}He chose five of his brothers and presented them^c before Pharaoh.

³Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”^d

“Your servants^e are shepherds,^f” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” ⁴They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,^g because the famine is severe in Canaan^h and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.ⁱ So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”^j

⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶and the land of Egypt is before you; settle^k your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.^l Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,^m put them in charge of my own livestock.ⁿ”

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him^o before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed^a Pharaoh,^{p 8}Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.^q My years have been few and difficult,^r and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.^s” ¹⁰Then Jacob blessed^b Pharaoh^t and went out from his presence.

¹¹So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,^u the district of Rameses,^v as Pharaoh directed. ¹²Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.^w

Joseph and the Famine

¹³There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.^{x 14}Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,^y and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.^{z 15}When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,^a all Egypt came to Joseph^b and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?^c Our money is all gone.”

¹⁶“Then bring your livestock,^d” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.^e” ¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,^f their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.^g And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone^h and our livestock belongs to you,ⁱ there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹Why should we perish before your eyes^j—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,^k and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.^l Give us seed so that we may live and not die,^m and that the land may not become desolate.”

²⁰So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severeⁿ for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,^co from one end of Egypt to the other. ²²However, he did not buy the land of the priests,^p because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment^q Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

²³Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed^r for you so you can plant the ground.^{s 24}But when the crop comes in, give a fifth^t of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

²⁵“You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;^u we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”^v

²⁶So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth^w of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.^x

²⁷Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.^y They acquired property there^z and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.^a

²⁸Jacob lived in Egypt^b seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.^{c 29}When the time drew near for Israel^d to die,^e he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,^f put your hand under my thigh^g and promise that you will show me kindness^h and faithfulness.ⁱ Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰but when I rest with my fathers,^j carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”^k

“I will do as you say,” he said.

³¹“Swear to me,”^l he said. Then Joseph swore to him,^m and Israelⁿ worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.^do