1 And Israel tooke his iourney with all that hee had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices vnto the God of his father Isaac.
2 And God spake vnto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Iacob, Iacob. And he said, Here am I.
3 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.
4 I will goe downe with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee vp againe: and Ioseph shall put his hand vpon thine eyes.
5 And Iacob rose vp from Beersheba: and the sonnes of Israel caried Iacob their father, and their litle ones, and their wiues, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to cary him.
6 And they tooke their cattell, and their goods which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Iacob, and all his seed with him:
7 His sonnes, and his sonnes sonnes with him, his daughters, and his sonnes daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
8 ¶ And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Iacob and his sonnes: Reuben Iacobs first borne;
9 And the sonnes of Reuben, Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10 ¶ And the sonnes of Simeon: Iemuel, and Iamin, and Ohad, and Iachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the sonne of a Canaanitish woman.
11 ¶ And the sonnes of Leui: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 ¶ And the sonnes of Iudah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: But Er & Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sonnes of Pharez, were Hezron, and Hamul.
13 ¶ And the sonnes of Issachar: Tola, and Phuuah, and Iob, and Shimron.
14 ¶ And the sonnes of Zebulun: Sered, and Elon, and Iahleel.
15 These bee the sonnes of Leah, which she bare vnto Iacob in Padan-Aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the soules of his sonnes and his daughters, were thirtie and three.
16 ¶ And the sonnes of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17 ¶ And the sonnes of Asher: Iimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: And the sonnes of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel.
18 These are the sonnes of Zilpah, whome Laban gaue to Leah his daughter: and these she bare vnto Iacob, euen sixteene soules.
19 The sonnes of Rachel Iacobs wife: Ioseph, and Beniamin.
20 ¶ And vnto Ioseph in the lande of Egypt, were borne Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah Priest of On bare vnto him.
21 ¶ And the sonnes of Beniamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
22 These are the sonnes of Rachel which were borne to Iacob: all the soules were fourteene.
23 ¶ And the sonnes of Dan: Hushim.
24 ¶ And the sonnes of Naphtali: Iahzeel, and Guni, and Iezer, and Shillem.
25 These are the sonnes of Bilhah, which Laban gaue vnto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these vnto Iacob: all the soules were seuen.
26 All the soules that came with Iacob into Egypt, which came out of his loines, besides Iacobs sonnes wiues, all the soules were threescore and sixe.
27 And the sonnes of Ioseph, which were borne him in Egypt, were two soules: all the soules of the house of Iacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
28 ¶ And he sent Iudah before him vnto Ioseph, to direct his face vnto Goshen, and they came into the lande of Goshen.
29 And Ioseph made ready his charet, and went vp to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himselfe vnto him: and he fell on his necke, and wept on his necke a good while.
30 And Israel saide vnto Ioseph, Now let me die, since I haue seene thy face, because thou art yet aliue.
31 And Ioseph said vnto his brethren, and vnto his fathers house, I will goe vp, and shew Pharaoh, and say vnto him, My brethren, & my fathers house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come vnto me.
32 And the men are sheapheards, for their trade hath bene to feed cattell: and they haue brought their flocks, and their heards, and all that they haue.
33 And it shall come to passe when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
34 That ye shall say, Thy seruants trade hath bene about cattell, from our youth euen vntill now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for euery shepheard is an abomination vnto the Egyptians.
God's promises to Jacob. (1-4) Jacob and his family go to Egypt. (5-27) Joseph meets his father and his brethren. (28-34)1-4 Even as to those events and undertakings which appear most joyful, we should seek counsel, assistance, and a blessing from the Lord. Attending on his ordinances, and receiving the pledges of his covenant love, we expect his presence, and that peace which it confers. In all removals we should be reminded of our removal out of this world. Nothing can encourage us to fear no evil when passing through the valley of the shadow of death, but the presence of Christ.
5-27 We have here a particular account of Jacob's family. Though the fulfilling of promises is always sure, yet it is often slow. It was now 215 years since God had promised Abraham to make of him a great nation, ch. #12:2|; yet that branch of his seed, to which the promise was made sure, had only increased to seventy, of whom this particular account is kept, to show the power of God in making these seventy become a vast multitude.
28-34 It was justice to Pharaoh to let him know that such a family was come to settle in his dominions. If others put confidence in us, we must not be so base as to abuse it by imposing upon them. But how shall Joseph dispose of his brethren? Time was, when they were contriving to be rid of him; now he is contriving to settle them to their advantage; this is rendering good for evil. He would have them live by themselves, in the land of Goshen, which lay nearest to Canaan. Shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians. Yet Joseph would have them not ashamed to own this as their occupation before Pharaoh. He might have procured places for them at court or in the army. But such preferments would have exposed them to the envy of the Egyptians, and might have tempted them to forget Canaan and the promise made unto their fathers. An honest calling is no disgrace, nor ought we to account it so, but rather reckon it a shame to be idle, or to have nothing to do. It is generally best for people to abide in the callings they have been bred to and used to. Whatever employment and condition God in his providence has allotted for us, let us suit ourselves to it, satisfy ourselves with it, and not mind high things. It is better to be the credit of a mean post, than the shame of a high one. If we wish to destroy our souls, or the souls of our children, then let us seek for ourselves, and for them, great things; but if not, it becomes us, having food and raiment, therewith to be content.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.