Genesis 46

1 So Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants] set out [to begin a journey, to depart] with all [everything, every person and possession] that he had, and when he came [to arrive, to reach a destination] to Beersheba [the well of the sevenfold oath, a city in Palestine], he offered [to slaughter, to give as a gift] sacrifices [an act of worship, a religious offering] to the God [Elohim, the one supreme God] of his father [a paternal ancestor, a figure of authority and guidance] Isaac [he laughs, a son of Abraham and Sarah]. word study 2 And that night [in the visions of the night, a period of darkness and adversity] God [Elohim, the one supreme God] spoke [to say, command, or promise] to Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants] in a vision [a prophetic vision, a clear view of something]: “Jacob [the son of Isaac and Rebekah], Jacob [the son of Isaac and Rebekah]!” He said [to command or speak]. “Here I am [behold, I am present, ready to respond],” replied Jacob. word study 3 “I am God [the God of your father, having a personal relationship],” He said, “the God [Elohim, the supreme ruler] of your father [ancestor, patriarch]. Do not be afraid [do not fear or dread] to go down [to descend, to migrate] to Egypt [a foreign land, a place of refuge], for I will make you into a great [large, numerous, powerful] nation [a unified people, a Gentile group] there [in that place, at that time]. word study 4 I [the Lord] will go down [descend, to a lower place] with you to Egypt [the land of the Nile, a country in northeastern Africa], and I will surely [certainly, without fail] bring you back [ascend, return to the promised land]. And Joseph’s [Jehovah has added, the son of Jacob] own hands [an open hand; strength, a side or share] will close [place, set] your eyes [the source of sight, understanding].” word study 5 Then Jacob [rose up, stood up] departed from Beersheba [the well of the sevenfold oath], and the sons [descendants, children] of Israel took their father Jacob [the one who supplants] in the wagons [carts, vehicles] Pharaoh [the king of Egypt] had sent to carry him, along with their children [little ones, offspring] and wives [women, female companions] [in the carts, with their families]. word study 6 They also took the livestock [cattle, sheep, and goats] and possessions [property, goods, and belongings] they had acquired [gathered, collected] in the land [country, territory] of Canaan [the promised land], and Jacob [the father of the Israelites] and all his offspring [seed, descendants] went to Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa]. word study 7 Jacob took with him to Egypt his sons [descendants] and grandsons, and his daughters [female children, women] and granddaughters [daughters of his sons, female descendants]—all [every single one, the entirety of] his offspring [seed, descendants, family]. word study 8 Now these [specific, particular] are the names [identities, reputations] of the sons [descendants, male offspring] of Israel [the father of the nation] (Jacob and his descendants) who went [came, entered] to Egypt [the land of the Nile, a foreign country]: Reuben [the firstborn, the beginning], Jacob’s [the patriarch, the father] firstborn [the premier, the initial]. word study 9 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah]: Hanoch [dedicated, devoted], Pallu [or Phallu], Hezron [surrounded by a wall], and Carmi [a son of Reuben]. word study 10 The sons [descendants, male offspring] of Simeon [Shimeon, the second son of Jacob]: Jemuel [the eldest son], Jamin [meaning ‘right hand’], Ohad [united], Jachin [He will establish], Zohar [tawny, describing his appearance], and Shaul [desired, a personal name] the son [a male child, descendant] of a Canaanite [Canaanitess, a woman from the land of Canaan] woman [from a region known for merchants and traders]. word study 11 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Levi [a son of Jacob and Leah]: Gershon [an ancestor of the tribe of Levi], Kohath [a leader in the priesthood], and Merari [meaning ‘bitter’, a head of a family of Levites]. word study 12 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob]: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez [meaning breach], and Zerah; but Er and Onan died [passed away, met their end] in the land [territory, region] of Canaan [the country where the Canaanites lived]. The sons [descendants, children] of Perez: Hezron [surrounded by a wall] and Hamul [spared, protected]. word study 13 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Issachar [there is recompense]: Tola [a judge in Israel], Puvah [father of Tola, a judge], Job [persecuted], and Shimron [watch-height, a son of Issachar]. word study 14 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Zebulun [a son of Jacob and founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel]: Sered [an Israelite from the tribe of Zebulun], Elon [meaning mighty or strong], and Jahleel [meaning God waits]. word study 15 These [specific, particular] are the sons [male descendants, heirs] of Leah [Jacob’s first wife, daughter of Laban] born [brought forth, given birth] to Jacob [the son of Isaac and Rebekah] in Paddan-aram [a region in Syria, a plain or tableland], in addition to [along with, including] his daughter [female child] Dinah. The total number [all, everything] of sons [male children, descendants] and daughters [female children, heirs] was thirty-three [a multiple of ten, a complete set, a small, additional amount]. word study 16 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Gad [the seventh son of Jacob and founder of the tribe of Gad]: Ziphion [lookout, one who sees afar], Haggi [festive, celebratory], Shuni [a man of the wilderness], Ezbon [hastening to discern], Eri [watchful, vigilant], Arodi [I shall descend, a descendant of Arod], and Areli [lion of God]. word study 17 The children [sons, descendants] of Asher [the eighth son of Jacob]: Imnah [meaning right hand], Ishvah [he will resemble], Ishvi, Beriah [with a friend], and their sister [biological sibling, close relative] Serah [the prince breathed]. The sons [descendants, male offspring] of Beriah [with a friend]: Heber [comrade, companion] and Malchiel [my king is God]. word study 18 These [specific individuals] are the sons [descendants, children] of Jacob born [begotten, fathered] to Zilpah [the servant, concubine]—whom [which one, specifically] Laban [Jacob’s father-in-law] gave [presented, entrusted] to his daughter [child] Leah—sixteen [a total of ten and six, numerous] in all [souls, persons, living beings]. word study 19 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Jacob’s [the supplanter, deceiver] wife [female partner, spouse] Rachel [ewe]: Joseph [Jehovah has added, increase] and Benjamin [son of the right hand, favored one]. word study 20 Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob] and Ephraim [doubly fruitful, referring to Joseph’s son] were born [to beget, brought forth] to Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites] in the land [the soil or ground, a country, territory, or region] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] by Asenath [the daughter of an Egyptian priest] daughter of Potiphera [he whom the Ra gave, an Egyptian priest of On], priest [a person who serves God and leads others in worship] of On [a city in Egypt where the sun was worshipped]. word study 21 The sons [descendants, children] of Benjamin [son of the right hand]: Bela [destruction, a name given to people and places], Becher [a name of two Israelites], Ashbel [an ancestor of the tribe], Gera [a name given to six different Israelites], Naaman [a commander from Syria, a man from the tribe of Benjamin], Ehi [a brother of several men], Rosh [a foreign nation, an Israelite], Muppim [a brother of notable Israelites], Huppim [a son of Benjamin], and Ard [I shall subdue, a name of an Israelite]. word study 22 These [specific, particular] are the sons [descendants, male children] of Rachel [ewe, a wife of Jacob] born [brought forth, begotten] to Jacob [the son of Isaac and Rebekah] [totaling, all together]—fourteen [four and ten] in all [everything, the whole]. word study 23 The son [descendant, offspring] of Dan [a son of Jacob and founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel]: Hushim [one who hurries or is swift]. word study 24 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Naphtali [a son of Jacob and founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel]: Jahzeel [meaning ‘God will spread’], Guni [a name meaning ‘my father’s servant’], Jezer [meaning ‘forming’], and Shillem [meaning ‘repaid, recompensed’]. word study 25 These [specific, particular] are the sons [descendants, male children] of Jacob [the one who supplants] born [begotten, brought forth] to Bilhah [troubled, afflicted], whom [which, the one that] Laban [white, shining] gave [presented, bestowed] to his daughter [female child, offspring] Rachel [ewe, gentle one]—seven in all [every one, the total]. word study 26 All [every single one] those belonging to Jacob [the son of Isaac, a key figure in Israel’s history] who came [traveled, migrated] to Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa]—his direct [blood-related, fleshly] descendants [sons, daughters, and their children], besides [in addition to, apart from] the wives [women, female partners] of Jacob’s sons—numbered [counted, totaled] sixty-six [sixty and six, a specific number] persons [souls, living beings, individuals]. word study 27 And with the two [a pair, dual] sons who had been born [begotten, fathered] to Joseph [Jehovah has added] in Egypt [the land of the Nile, a country in northeastern Africa], the members [souls, living beings] of Jacob’s [he who supplants] family [house, household] who went [came, entered] to Egypt [the land of the Egyptians] were seventy in all [everything, the whole]. word study 28 Now Jacob had sent [ahead of time, as a messenger] Judah [the son of Jacob, a leader] ahead of him to Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites] to get [to show, to direct] directions [the way, a path] to Goshen [a place in Egypt, a region of fertility]. When Jacob’s family [his household, his relatives] arrived [came, entered] in the land [the earth, a country] of Goshen [a region in Palestine, a place of abundance], word study 29 Joseph [the one Jehovah has added] prepared [harnessed, made ready] his chariot [vehicle, means of transportation] and went [ascended, traveled] there to meet [encounter, befall] his father [parent, ancestor] Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, representing the nation]. Joseph presented [appeared, showed] himself to him [fell upon his neck], embraced [threw his arms around] him, and wept [cried, shed tears] profusely [for a long time, intensely]. word study 30 Then Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, representing his descendants] said to Joseph, “Finally [now that the moment has come] I can die [pass on, depart this life], now that I have seen [gazed upon, looked after] your face [presence, countenance] and know [am assured, have confidence] that you are still [yet, continuing to be] alive [living, in possession of life]!” word study 31 Joseph [the one God has added] said to his brothers [relatives, kin] and to his father’s household [family, clan], “I will go up [ascend, rise] and inform [tell, declare] Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, the ruler]: ‘My brothers [kinsmen, relatives] and my father’s household [family, lineage] from the land [earth, territory] of Canaan [the promised land, Israel] have come [arrived, migrated] to me [to my presence, into my care]. word study 32 The men [shepherds, caretakers of livestock] are shepherds; they raise [tend to, care for] livestock, and they have brought their flocks [sheep and goats] and herds [cattle, domesticated animals] and all [everything, every possession] that they own [possess, have as their own].’ word study 33 When Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] summons you and asks, ‘What [in what way, to what extent] is your occupation [work, trade, or deed]?’ word study 34 you are to say, ‘Your servants [keepers of livestock, shepherds] have raised [cared for, tended] livestock [cattle, sheep, goats] ever since our youth [from our early days, childhood]—both we [us] and our fathers [ancestors, forefathers].’ Then you will be allowed [permitted, granted permission] to settle [dwell, live] in the land [region, territory] of Goshen [a place of fertile soil, drawing near], since [because, for the reason that] all shepherds [those who care for flocks, pastors] are detestable [an abomination, unclean] to the Egyptians [the people of Egypt, a nation].” word study