Jacob Goes to Egypt
1So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
3“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”
5Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. 7Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.
8These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.
9The sons of Reuben:
Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.
10The sons of Simeon:
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
11The sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
12The sons of Judah:
Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan).
The sons of Perez:
Hezron and Hamul.
13The sons of Issachar:
Tola, Puah,46:13 Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 7:1); Masoretic Text Puvah Jashub46:13 Samaritan Pentateuch and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Num. 26:24 and 1 Chron. 7:1); Masoretic Text Iob and Shimron.
14The sons of Zebulun:
Sered, Elon and Jahleel.
15These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram,46:15 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.
16The sons of Gad:
Zephon,46:16 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Num. 26:15); Masoretic Text Ziphion Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.
17The sons of Asher:
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, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.
19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin. 20In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.46:20 That is, Heliopolis
21The sons of Benjamin:
Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
22These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.
23The son of Dan:
Hushim.
24The sons of Naphtali:
Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
25These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—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. 27With the two sons46:27 Hebrew; Septuagint the nine children who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy46:27 Hebrew (see also Exodus 1:5 and note); Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14) seventy-five in all.
28Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, 29Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father46:29 Hebrew around him and wept for a long time.
30Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”
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, have come to me. 32The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”
Jacob Goes Down to Egypt
1So Israel started out with everything that belonged to him. When he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2God spoke to Israel in a vision at night. “Jacob! Jacob!” he said.
“Here I am,” Jacob replied.
3“I am God. I am the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. There I will make you into a great nation. 4I will go down to Egypt with you. I will surely bring you back again. And when you die, Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand.”
5Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons put their father Jacob and their families in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6So Jacob and his whole family went to Egypt. They took their livestock with them. And they took everything they had acquired in Canaan. 7Jacob brought his sons and grandsons with him to Egypt. He also brought his daughters and granddaughters. He brought his whole family with him.
8Here are the names of Israel’s children and grandchildren who went to Egypt. Jacob and his whole family are included.
Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son.
9The sons of Reuben were
Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.
10The sons of Simeon were
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul. Shaul was the son of a woman from Canaan.
11The sons of Levi were
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
12The 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.
13The sons of Issachar were
Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.
14The sons of Zebulun were
Sered, Elon and Jahleel.
15These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Leah in Paddan Aram. Leah also had a daughter by Jacob. Her name was Dinah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Leah was 33.
16The sons of Gad were
Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.
17The sons of Asher were
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.
The sons of Beriah were
Heber and Malkiel.
18These were the children and grandchildren born to Jacob and Zilpah. Laban had given Zilpah to his daughter Leah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Zilpah was 16.
19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were
Joseph and Benjamin.
20In Egypt, Asenath had Manasseh and Ephraim by Joseph. Asenath was the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On.
21The sons of Benjamin were
Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
22These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Rachel was 14.
23The son of Dan was
Hushim.
24The sons of Naphtali were
Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
25These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Bilhah. Laban had given Bilhah to his daughter Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Bilhah was seven.
26The total number of people who went to Egypt with Jacob was 66. That number includes only his own children and grandchildren. It doesn’t include his sons’ wives or his grandsons’ wives. 27The total number of the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt was 70. That includes the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt.
28Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph. He sent him to get directions to Goshen. And so they arrived in the area of Goshen. 29Then Joseph had his servants get his chariot ready. He went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he came to his father, Joseph threw his arms around him. Then Joseph wept for a long time.
30Israel said to Joseph, “I have seen for myself that you are still alive. Now I’m ready to die.”
31Then Joseph spoke to his brothers and to the rest of his father’s family. He said, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh. I’ll say to him, ‘My brothers and the rest of my father’s family have come to me. They were living in the land of Canaan. 32The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They’ve brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33Pharaoh will send for you. He’ll ask, ‘What do you do for a living?’ 34You should answer, ‘We’ve taken care of livestock from the time we were boys. We’ve done just as our fathers did.’ It’s the practice of the people of Egypt not to mix with shepherds. So Pharaoh will let you settle in the area of Goshen.”
