8 And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, even Jacob and all his sons: Reuben, Jacob's oldest son;
Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt; every man and his family came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons: and Joseph had come to Egypt before them.
These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; Dan, Joseph and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. The sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah; these three were his sons by Bathshua, the Canaanite woman. And Er, Judah's oldest son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord; and he put him to death. And Tamar, his daughter-in-law, had Perez and Zerah by him. All the sons of Judah were five. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Zerah: Zimri and Ethan and Heman and Calcol and Dara; five of them. And the sons of Carmi: Achan, the troubler of Israel, who did wrong about the cursed thing. And the son of Ethan: Azariah. And the sons of Hezron, the offspring of his body: Jerahmeel and Ram and Chelubai. And Ram was the father of Amminadab; and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, chief of the children of Judah; And Nahshon was the father of Salma, and Salma was the father of Boaz, And Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse, And Jesse was the father of Eliab, his oldest son, and Abinadab, the second, and Shimea, the third, Nethanel, the fourth, Raddai, the fifth, Ozem, the sixth, David, the seventh; And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And Zeruiah had three sons: Abishai and Joab and Asahel. And Abigail was the mother of Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite. And Caleb, the son of Hezron, had children by Azubah his wife, the daughter of Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher and Shobab and Ardon. And after the death of Azubah, Caleb took as his wife Ephrath, who was the mother of Hur. And Hur was the father of Uri; and Uri was the father of Bezalel. And after that, Hezron had connection with the daughter of Machir, the father of Gilead, whom he took as his wife when he was sixty years old; and she had Segub by him. And Segub was the father of Jair, who had twenty-three towns in the land of Gilead. And Geshur and Aram took the tent-towns of Jair from them, with Kenath and the small places round it, even sixty towns. All these were the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead. And after the death of Hezron, Caleb had connection with Ephrath, his father Hezron's wife, and she gave birth to his son Asshur, the father of Tekoa. And the sons of Jerahmeel, the oldest son of Hezron, were Ram, the oldest, and Bunah and Oren and Ozem and Ahijah. And Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah: she was the mother of Onam. And the sons of Ram, the oldest son of Jerahmeel, were Maaz and Jamin and Eker. And the sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada; and the sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur. And the name of Abishur's wife was Abihail; and she had Ahban and Molid by him. And the sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim; but Seled came to his end without sons. And the sons of Appaim: Ishi. And the sons of Ishi: Sheshan. And the sons of Sheshan: Ahlai. And the sons of Jada, the brother of Shammai: Jether and Jonathan; and Jether came to his end without sons. And the sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. Now Sheshan had no sons, but only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant, whose name was Jarha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha, his servant, as a wife; and she had Attai by him. And Attai was the father of Nathan, and Nathan was the father of Zabad, And Zabad was the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal was the father of Obed, And Obed was the father of Jehu, and Jehu was the father of Azariah, And Azariah was the father of Helez, and Helez was the father of Eleasah, And Eleasah was the father of Sismai, and Sismai was the father of Shallum, And Shallum was the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah was the father of Elishama. And the sons of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, were Mareshah, his oldest son, who was the father of Ziph and Hebron. And the sons of Hebron: Korah and Tappuah and Rekem and Shema. And Shema was the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam, and Rekem was the father of Shammai. And the son of Shammai was Maon; and Maon was the father of Beth-zur. And Ephah, Caleb's servant-wife, had Haran and Moza and Gazez; and Haran was the father of Gazez. And the sons of Jahdai: Regem and Jotham and Geshan and Pelet and Ephah and Shaaph. Maacah, Caleb's servant-wife, was the mother of Sheber and Tirhanah, And Shaaph, the father of Madmannah, Sheva, the father of Machbena and the father of Gibea; and Caleb's daughter was Achsah. These were the sons of Caleb. The sons of Hur, the oldest son of Ephrathah; Shobal, the father of Kiriath-jearim, Salma, the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph, the father of Beth-gader. And Shobal, the father of Kiriath-jearim, had sons: Haroeh, half of the Manahathites. And the families of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites and the Puthites and the Shumathites and the Mishraites; from them came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. The sons of Salma: Beth-lehem and the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-Joab and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites. And the families of scribes who were living at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites, the offspring of Hammath, the father of the family of Rechab.
Then Jacob went on his journey till he came to the land of the children of the East. And there he saw a water-hole in a field, and by the side of it three flocks of sheep, for there they got water for the sheep: and on the mouth of the water-hole there was a great stone. And all the flocks would come together there, and when the stone had been rolled away, they would give the sheep water, and put the stone back again in its place on the mouth of the water-hole. Then Jacob said to the herdmen, My brothers, where do you come from? And they said, From Haran. And he said to them, Have you any knowledge of Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, We have. And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep. Then Jacob said, The sun is still high and it is not time to get the cattle together: get water for the sheep and go and give them their food. And they said, We are not able to do so till all the flocks have come together and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the water-hole; then we will get water for the sheep. While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she took care of them. Then when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, coming with Laban's sheep, he came near, and rolling the stone away from the mouth of the hole, he got water for Laban's flock. And weeping for joy, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss. And Rachel, hearing from Jacob that he was her father's relation and that he was the son of Rebekah, went running to give her father news of it. And Laban, hearing news of Jacob, his sister's son, came running, and took Jacob in his arms, and kissing him, made him come into his house. And Jacob gave him news of everything. And Laban said to him, Truly, you are my bone and my flesh. And he kept Jacob with him for the space of a month. Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my brother are you to be my servant for nothing? say now, what is your payment to be? Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah's eyes were clouded, but Rachel was fair in face and form. And Jacob was in love with Rachel; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better for you to have her than another man: go on living here with me. And Jacob did seven years' work for Rachel; and because of his love for her it seemed to him only a very little time. Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife so that I may have her, for the days are ended. And Laban got together all the men of the place and gave a feast. And in the evening he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him, and he went in to her. And Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her waiting-woman. And in the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What have you done to me? was I not working for you so that I might have Rachel? why have you been false to me? And Laban said, In our country we do not let the younger daughter be married before the older. Let the week of the bride-feast come to its end and then we will give you the other in addition, if you will be my servant for another seven years. And Jacob did so; and when the week was ended, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel for his wife. And Laban gave Rachel his servant-girl Bilhah to be her waiting-woman. Then Jacob took Rachel as his wife, and his love for her was greater than his love for Leah; and he went on working for Laban for another seven years.
And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me.
Now while they were living in that country, Reuben had connection with Bilhah, his father's servant-woman: and Israel had news of it. Now Jacob had twelve sons: the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's first son, and Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun;
And Jacob sent for his sons, and said, Come together, all of you, so that I may give you news of your fate in future times. Come near, O sons of Jacob, and give ear to the words of Israel your father. Reuben, you are my oldest son, the first-fruit of my strength, first in pride and first in power: But because you were uncontrolled, the first place will not be yours; for you went up to your father's bed, even his bride-bed, and made it unclean. Simeon and Levi are brothers; deceit and force are their secret designs. Take no part in their secrets, O my soul; keep far away, O my heart, from their meetings; for in their wrath they put men to death, and for their pleasure even oxen were wounded. A curse on their passion for it was bitter; and on their wrath for it was cruel. I will let their heritage in Jacob be broken up, driving them from their places in Israel. To you, Judah, will your brothers give praise: your hand will be on the neck of your haters; your father's sons will go down to the earth before you. Judah is a young lion; like a lion full of meat you have become great, my son; now he takes his rest like a lion stretched out and like an old lion; by whom will his sleep be broken? The rod of authority will not be taken from Judah, and he will not be without a law-giver, till he comes who has the right to it, and the peoples will put themselves under his rule. Knotting his ass's cord to the vine, and his young ass to the best vine; washing his robe in wine, and his clothing in the blood of grapes: His eyes will be dark with wine, and his teeth white with milk. The resting-place of Zebulun will be by the sea, and he will be a harbour for ships; the edge of his land will be by Zidon. Issachar is a strong ass stretched out among the flocks: And he saw that rest was good and the land was pleasing; so he let them put weights on his back and became a servant. Dan will be the judge of his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. May Dan be a snake in the way, a horned snake by the road, biting the horse's foot so that the horseman has a fall. I have been waiting for your salvation, O Lord. Gad, an army will come against him, but he will come down on them in their flight. Asher's bread is fat; he gives delicate food for kings. Naphtali is a roe let loose, giving fair young ones. Joseph is a young ox, whose steps are turned to the fountain; He was troubled by the archers; they sent out their arrows against him, cruelly wounding him: But their bows were broken by a strong one, and the cords of their arms were cut by the Strength of Jacob, by the name of the Stone of Israel: Even by the God of your father, who will be your help, and by the Ruler of all, who will make you full with blessings from heaven on high, blessings of the deep stretched out under the earth, blessings of the breasts and of the fertile body: Blessings of sons, old and young, to the father: blessings of the oldest mountains and the fruit of the eternal hills: let them come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of him who was separate from his brothers. Benjamin is a wolf, searching for meat: in the morning he takes his food, and in the evening he makes division of what he has taken. These are the twelve tribes of Israel: and these are the words their father said to them, blessing them; to every one he gave his blessing. And he gave orders to them, saying, Put me to rest with my people and with my fathers, in the hollow of the rock in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the rock in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham got from Ephron the Hittite, to be his resting-place. There Abraham and Sarah his wife were put to rest, and there they put Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I put Leah to rest. In the rock in the field which was got for a price from the people of Heth. And when Jacob had come to the end of these words to his sons, stretching himself on his bed, he gave up his spirit, and went the way of his people.
These are the heads of their fathers' families: the sons of Reuben the oldest son of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul, the son of a woman of Canaan: these are the families of Simeon. And these are the names of the sons of Levi in the order of their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari: and the years of Levi's life were a hundred and thirty-seven. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, in the order of their families. And the sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel: and the years of Kohath's life were a hundred and thirty-three.
These are the names of those who are to be your helpers: from Reuben, Elizur, the son of Shedeur;
The generations of the sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over, who was able to go to war; Forty-six thousand, five hundred of the tribe of Reuben were numbered.
On the south side is the flag of the children of Reuben, in the order of their armies, with Elizur, the son of Shedeur, as their chief. The number of his army was forty-six thousand, five hundred. And nearest to him, the tribe of Simeon, with Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, as their chief. The number of his army was fifty-nine thousand, three hundred.
Let all the people of twenty years old and over be numbered, as the Lord has given orders to Moses and the children of Israel who have come out of Egypt. Reuben, the first son of Israel: the sons of Reuben by their families: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites: Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. These are the families of the Reubenites: their number was forty-three thousand, seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Pallu, Eliab And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the same Dathan and Abiram who had a place in the meeting of the people, who together with Korah made an outcry against Moses and Aaron and against the Lord: And they went down into the open mouth of the earth, together with Korah, when death overtook him and all his band; at the time when two hundred and fifty men were burned in the fire, and they became a sign. But death did not overtake the sons of Korah.
And Benjamin was the father of Bela his oldest son, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third, Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. And Bela had sons, Addar and Gera, the father of Ehud, And Abishua and Naaman and Ahoah And Gera and Shephuphan and Huram. And these are the sons of Ehud, heads of families of those living in Geba: Iglaam and Alemeth And Naaman and Ahijah and Gera; and Iglaam was the father of Uzza and Ahihud. And Shaharaim became the father of children in the country of the Moabites after driving out Hushim and Beerah his wives; And by Hodesh his wife he became the father of Jobab and Zibia and Mesha and Malcam. And Jeuz and Shachia and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of families. And Hushim became the father of Abitub and Elpaal. And the sons of Elpaal: Eber and Misham and Shemed (he was the builder of Ono and Lod and their daughter-towns); And Beriah and Shema, who were heads of the families of those who were living in Aijalon, who put to flight the people living in Gath; And their brothers Shashak and Jeremoth. And Zebadiah and Arad and Eder And Michael and Ishpah and Joha, the sons of Beriah; And Zebadiah and Meshullam and Hizki and Heber And Ishmerai and Izliah and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal; And Jakim and Zichri and Zabdi And Elienai and Zillethai and Eliel And Adaiah and Beraiah and Shimrath, the sons of Shimei; And Ishpan and Eber and Eliel And Abdon and Zichri and Hanan And Hananiah and Elam and Anathothijah And Iphdeiah and Penuel, the sons of Shashak; And Shamsherai and Shehariah and Athaliah And Jaareshiah and Elijah and Zichri, the sons of Jeremoth. These were heads of families in their generations; chief men: these were living in Jerusalem. And in Gibeon was living the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife's name was Maacah; And his oldest son Abdon, and Zur and Kish and Baal and Ner and Nadab And Gedor and Ahio and Zechariah and Mikloth. And Mikloth was the father of Shimeah. And they were living with their brothers in Jerusalem opposite their brothers. And Ner was the father of Abner, and Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan and Malchi-shua and Abinadab and Eshbaal. And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of Micah. And the sons of Micah: Pithon and Melech and Tarea and Ahaz. And Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah; and Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth and Azmaveth and Zimri; and Zimri was the father of Moza; And Moza was the father of Binea: Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son; And Azel had five sons, whose names are: Azrikam, his oldest, and Ishmael and Sheariah and Obadiah and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. And the sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his oldest son, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. And the sons of Ulam were men of war, bowmen, and had a great number of sons and sons' sons, a hundred and fifty. All these were the sons of Benjamin.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 46
Commentary on Genesis 46 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
“ So Israel took his journey (from Hebron, Genesis 37:14) with all who belonged to him, and came to Beersheba .” There, on the border of Canaan, where Abraham and Isaac had called upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 21:33; Genesis 26:25), he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac, ut sibi firmum et ratum esse testetur faedus, quod Deus ipse cum Patribus pepigerat ( Calvin ). Even though Jacob might see the ways of God in the wonderful course of his son Joseph, and discern in the friendly invitation of Joseph and Pharaoh, combined with the famine prevailing in Canaan, a divine direction to go into Egypt; yet this departure from the land of promise, in which his fathers had lived as pilgrims, was a step which necessarily excited serious thoughts in his mind as to his own future and that of his family, and led him to commend himself and his followers to the care of the faithful covenant God, whether in so doing he thought of the revelation which Abram had received (Genesis 15:13-16), or not.
Genesis 46:2-4
Here God appeared to him in a vision of the night ( מראת , an intensive plural), and gave him, as once before on his flight from Canaan (Genesis 28:12.), the comforting promise, “ I am האל (the Mighty One), the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt ( מרדה for מרדת , as in Exodus 2:4 דּעה for דּעת , cf. Ges. §69, 3, Anm. 1); for I will there make thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I - bring thee up again also will I, and Joseph shall close thine eyes .” גּם־עלה an inf. abs . appended emphatically (as in Genesis 31:15); according to Ges. inf. Kal .
Genesis 46:5-7
Strengthened by this promise, Jacob went into Egypt with children and children's children, his sons driving their aged father together with their wives and children in the carriages sent by Pharaoh, and taking their flocks with all the possessions that they had acquired in Canaan.
(Note: Such a scene as this, with the emigrants taking their goods laden upon asses, and even two children in panniers upon an ass's back, may be seen depicted upon a tomb at Beni Hassan , which might represent the immigration of Israel, although it cannot be directly connected with it. (See the particulars in Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses .))
The size of Jacob's family, which was to grow into a great nation, is given here, with evident allusion to the fulfilment of the divine promise with which he went into Egypt. The list of names includes not merely the “sons of Israel” in the stricter sense; but, as is added immediately afterwards, “ Jacob and his sons, ” or, as the closing formula expresses it (Genesis 46:27), “ all the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt ” ( הבּאה for בּאה אשׁר , Ges. §109), including the patriarch himself, and Joseph with his two sons, who were born before Jacob's arrival in Egypt. If we reckon these, the house of Jacob consisted of 70 souls; and apart from these, of 66, besides his sons' wives. The sons are arranged according to the four mothers. Of Leah there are given 6 sons, 23 grandsons, 2 great-grandsons (sons of Pharez, whereas Er and Onan, the sons of Judah who died in Canaan, are not reckoned), and 1 daughter, Dinah, who remained unmarried, and was therefore an independent member of the house of Jacob; in all, therefore, 6 + 23 + 2 + 1 = 32, or with Jacob, 33 souls. Of Zilpah , Leah's handmaid, there are mentioned 2 sons, 11 grandsons, 2 great-grandsons, and 1 daughter (who is reckoned like Dinah, both here and Numbers 26:46, for some special reason, which is not particularly described); in all, 2 + 11 + 2 + 1 = 16 souls. Of Rachel , “Jacob's (favourite) wife,” 2 sons and 12 grandsons are named, of whom, according to Numbers 26:40, two were great-grandsons, = 14 souls; and of Rachel's maid Bilhah, 2 sons and 5 grandsons = 7 souls. The whole number therefore was 33 + 16 + 14 + 7 = 70.
(Note: Instead of the number 70 given here, Exodus 1:5, and Deuteronomy 10:22, Stephen speaks of 75 (Acts 7:14), according to the lxx, which has the number 75 both here and Exodus 1:5, on account of the words which follow the names of Manasseh and Ephraim in Genesis 46:20 : ἐγένοντο δὲ οἱοὶ Μανασσῆ , οὓς ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ ἡ παλλακῆ ἡ Σύρα , τοὺ Μαχίρ· Μαχὶρ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Γαλαάδ , υίοὶ δὲ Ἐφραΐ́μ ἀδελφοῦ Μανασσῆ. Σουταλαὰμ καὶ Ταάμ . υίοὶ δὲ Σουταλαάμ . Ἐδώμ : and which are interpolated by conjecture from Genesis 1:23, and Numbers 26:29, Numbers 26:35, and Numbers 26:36 (33, 39, and 40), these three grandsons and two great-grandsons of Joseph being reckoned in.)
The wives of Jacob's sons are neither mentioned by name nor reckoned, because the families of Israel were not founded by them, but by their husbands alone. Nor is their parentage given either here or anywhere else. It is merely casually that one of the sons of Simeon is called the son of a Canaanitish woman (Genesis 46:10); from which it may be inferred that it was quite an exceptional thing for the sons of Jacob to take their wives from among the Canaanites, and that as a rule they were chosen from their paternal relations in Mesopotamia; besides whom, there were also their other relations, the families of Ishmael, Keturah, and Edom. Of the “daughters of Jacob” also, and the “daughters of his sons,” none are mentioned except Dinah and Serah the daughter of Asher, because they were not the founders of separate houses.
If we look more closely into the list itself, the first thing which strikes us is that Pharez, one of the twin-sons of Judah, who were not born till after the sale of Joseph, should already have had two sons. Supposing that Judah's marriage to the daughter of Shuah the Canaanite occurred, notwithstanding the reasons advanced to the contrary in Gen 38, before the sale of Joseph, and shortly after the return of Jacob to Canaan, during the time of his sojourn at Shechem (Genesis 33:18), it cannot have taken place more than five, or at the most six, years before Joseph was sold; for Judah was only three years older than Joseph, and was not more than 20 years old, therefore, at the time of his sale. But even then there would not be more than 28 years between Judah's marriage and Jacob's removal to Egypt; so that Pharez would only be about 11 years old, since he could not have been born till about 17 years after Judah's marriage, and at that age he could not have had two sons. Judah, again, could not have taken four sons with him into Egypt, since he had at the most only two sons a year before their removal (Genesis 42:37); unless indeed we adopt the extremely improbable hypothesis, that two other sons were born within the space of 11 or 12 months, either as twins, or one after the other. Still less could Benjamin, who was only 23 or 24 years old at the time (vid., pp. 200f. and 204f.), have had 10 sons already, or, as Numbers 26:38-40 shows, eight sons and two grandsons. From all this it necessarily follows, that in the list before us grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob are named who were born afterwards in Egypt, and who, therefore, according to a view which we frequently meet with in the Old Testament, though strange to our modes of thought, came into Egypt in lumbis patrum . That the list is really intended to be so understood, is undoubtedly evident from a comparison of the “sons of Israel” (Genesis 46:8), whose names it gives, with the description given in Num 26 of the whole community of the sons of Israel according to their fathers' houses, or their tribes and families. In the account of the families of Israel at the time of Moses, which is given there, we find, with slight deviations, all the grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob whose names occur in this chapter, mentioned as the founders of the families, into which the twelve tribes of Israel were subdivided in Moses' days. The deviations are partly in form, partly in substance. To the former belong the differences in particular names, which are sometimes only different forms of the same name; e.g., Jemuel and Zohar (Genesis 46:10), for Nemuel and Zerah (Numbers 26:12-13); Ziphion and Arodi (Genesis 46:16), for Zephon and Arod (Numbers 26:15 and Numbers 26:17); Huppim (Genesis 46:21) for Hupham (Numbers 26:39); Ehi (Genesis 46:21), an abbreviation of Ahiram (Numbers 26:38); sometimes different names of the same person; viz., Ezbon (Genesis 46:16) and Ozni (Numbers 26:16); Muppim (Genesis 46:21) and Shupham (Numbers 26:39); Hushim (Genesis 46:23) and Shuham (Numbers 26:42). Among the differences in substance, the first to be noticed is the fact, that in Num 26 Simeon's son Ohad, Asher's son Ishuah, and three of Benjamin's sons, Becher, Gera, and Rosh, are missing from the founders of families, probably for no other reason than that they either died childless, or did not leave a sufficient number of children to form independent families. With the exception of these, according to Num 26, all the grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob mentioned in this chapter were founders of families in existence in Moses' time. From this it is obvious that our list is intended to contain, not merely the sons and grandsons of Jacob, who were already born when he went down to Egypt, but in addition to the sons, who were the heads of the twelve tribes of the nation, all the grandsons and great-grandsons who became the founders of mishpachoth , i.e., of independent families, and who on that account took the place or were advanced into the position of the grandsons of Jacob, so far as the national organization was concerned.
On no other hypothesis can we explain the fact, that in the time of Moses there was not one of the twelve tribes, except the double tribe of Joseph, in which there were families existing, that had descended from either grandsons or great-grandsons of Jacob who are not already mentioned in this list. As it is quite inconceivable that no more sons should have been born to Jacob's sons after their removal into Egypt, so is it equally inconceivable, that all the sons born in Egypt either died childless, or founded no families. The rule by which the nation descending from the sons of Jacob was divided into tribes and families ( mishpachoth ) according to the order of birth was this, that as the twelve sons founded the twelve tribes, so their sons, i.e., Jacob's grandsons, were the founders of the families into which the tribes were subdivided, unless these grandsons died without leaving children, or did not leave a sufficient number of male descendants to form independent families, or the natural rule for the formation of tribes and families was set aside by other events or causes. On this hypothesis we can also explain the other real differences between this list and Num 26; viz., the fact that, according to Numbers 26:40, two of the sons of Benjamin mentioned in Genesis 46:21, Naaman and Ard, were his grandsons, sons of Belah; and also the circumstance, that in Genesis 46:20 only the two sons of Joseph, who were already born when Jacob arrived in Egypt, are mentioned, viz., Manasseh and Ephraim, and none of the sons who were born to him afterwards (Genesis 48:6). The two grandsons of Benjamin could be reckoned among his sons in our list, because they founded independent families just like the sons. And of the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim alone could be admitted into our list, because they were elevated above the sons born to Joseph afterwards, by the fact that shortly before Jacob's death he adopted them as his own sons and thus raised them to the rank of heads of tribes; so that wherever Joseph's descendants are reckoned as one tribe (e.g., Joshua 16:1, Joshua 16:4), Manasseh and Ephraim form the main divisions, or leading families of the tribe of Joseph, the subdivisions of which were founded partly by their brothers who were born afterwards, and partly by their sons and grandsons. Consequently the omission of the sons born afterwards, and the grandsons of Joseph, from whom the families of the two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who were elevated into tribes, descended, forms only an apparent and not a real exception to the general rule, that this list mentions all the grandsons of Jacob who founded the families of the twelve tribes, without regard to the question whether they were born before or after the removal of Jacob's house to Egypt, since this distinction was of no importance to the main purpose of our list. That this was the design of our list, is still further confirmed by a comparison of Exodus 1:5 and Deuteronomy 10:22, where the seventy souls of the house of Jacob which went into Egypt are said to constitute the seed which, under the blessing of the Lord, had grown into the numerous people that Moses led out of Egypt, to take possession of the land of promise. From this point of view it was a natural thing to describe the seed of the nation, which grew up in tribes and families, in such a way as to give the germs and roots of all the tribes and families of the whole nation; i.e., not merely the grandsons who were born before the migration, but also the grandsons and great-grandsons who were born in Egypt, and became founders of independent families. By thus embracing all the founders of tribes and families, the significant number 70 was obtained, in which the number 7 (formed of the divine number 3, and the world number 4, as the seal of the covenant relation between God and Israel) is multiplied by the number 10, as the seal of completeness, so as to express the fact that these 70 souls comprehended the whole of the nation of God.
(Note: This was the manner in which the earlier theologians solved the actual difficulties connected with our list; and this solution has been adopted and defended against the objections offered to it by Hengstenberg ( Dissertations ) and Kurtz (History of the Old Covenant).)
This list of the house of Jacob is followed by an account of the arrival in Egypt.
Genesis 46:28
Jacob sent his son Judah before him to Joseph, “to show ( להורת ) before him to Goshen;” i.e., to obtain from Joseph the necessary instructions as to the place of their settlement, and then to act as guide to Goshen.
Genesis 46:29
As soon as they had arrived, Joseph had his chariot made ready to go up to Goshen and meet his father ( ויּעל applied to a journey from the interior to the desert or Canaan), and “ showed himself to him there (lit., he appeared to him; נראה , which is generally used only of the appearance of God, is selected here to indicate the glory in which Joseph came to meet his father); and fell upon his neck, continuing ( עוד ) upon his neck (i.e., in his embrace) weeping .”
Genesis 46:30
Then Israel said to Joseph: “Now ( הפּעם lit., this time) will I die, after I have seen thy face, that thou (art) still alive.”
Genesis 46:31-32
But Joseph told his brethren and his father's house (his family) that he would to up to Pharaoh ( עלה here used of going to the court, as an ideal ascent), to announce the arrival of his relations, who were מקנה אנשׁי “keepers of flocks,” and had brought their sheep and oxen and all their possessions with them.
Genesis 46:33-34
At the same time Joseph gave these instructions to his brethren, in case Pharaoh should send for them and inquire about their occupation: “Say, Thy servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, we like our fathers; that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination of the Egyptians.” This last remark formed part of Joseph's words, and contained the reason why his brethren should describe themselves to Pharaoh as shepherds from of old, namely, that they might receive Goshen as their dwelling-place, and that their national and religion independence might not be endangered by too close an intercourse with the Egyptians. The dislike of the Egyptians to shepherds arose from the fact, that the more completely the foundations of the Egyptian state rested upon agriculture with its perfect organization, the more did the Egyptians associate the idea of rudeness and barbarism with the very name of a shepherd. This is not only attested in various ways by the monuments, on which shepherds are constantly depicted as lanky, withered, distorted, emaciated, and sometimes almost ghostly figures (Graul, Reise 2 , p. 171), but is confirmed by ancient testimony. According to Herodotus (2, 47), the swine-herds were the most despised; but they were associated with the cow-herds ( βουκόλοι ) in the seven castes of the Egyptians (Herod. 2, 164), so that Diodorus Siculus (1, 74) includes all herdsmen in one caste; according to which the word βουκόλοι in Herodotus not only denotes cow-herds, but a potiori all herdsmen, just as we find in the herds depicted upon the monuments, sheep, goats, and rams introduced by thousands, along with asses and horned cattle.