15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three.
Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, "Because Yahweh has looked at my affliction. For now my husband will love me." She conceived again, and bare a son, and said, "Because Yahweh has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also." She named him Simeon. She conceived again, and bare a son. Said, "Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore was his name called Levi. She conceived again, and bare a son. She said, "This time will I praise Yahweh." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, "God has given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband." She named him Issachar. Leah conceived again, and bore a sixth son to Jacob. Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good dowry. Now my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons." She named him Zebulun. Afterwards, she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.
Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her. His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady. Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, "Get me this young lady as a wife." Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his cattle in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came. Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him. The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done. Hamor talked with them, saying, "The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us: and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it." Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give. Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife." The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, and said to them, "We can't do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us. Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised; then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our sister,{Hebrew has, literally, "daughter"} and we will be gone." Their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem, Hamor's son. The young man didn't wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father. Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, "These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For, behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men consent to us to dwell with us, to become one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Won't their cattle and their substance and all their animals be ours? Only let us give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us." All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. It happened on the third day, when they were sore, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away. Jacob's sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field; and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house. Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house." They said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?"
"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power. Boiling over as water, you shall not have the pre-eminence; Because you went up to your father's bed; Then defiled it. He went up to my couch. "Simeon and Levi are brothers; Weapons of violence are their swords. My soul, don't come into their council; My glory, don't be united to their assembly; For in their anger they killed a man, In their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; And their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel. "Judah, your brothers will praise you: Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons will bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, As a lioness. Who will rouse him up? The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be. Binding his foal to the vine, His donkey's colt to the choice vine; He has washed his garments in wine, His robes in the blood of grapes: His eyes will be red with wine, His teeth white with milk. "Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon. "Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between the saddlebags. He saw a resting-place, that it was good, The land, that it was pleasant; He bows his shoulder to the burden, And becomes a servant doing forced labor.
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, "Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, every male, one by one; from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their divisions. With you there shall be a man of every tribe; everyone head of his fathers' house. These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: Of Reuben: Elizur the son of Shedeur. Of Simeon: Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. Of Judah: Nahshon the son of Amminadab. Of Issachar: Nethanel the son of Zuar. Of Zebulun: Eliab the son of Helon. Of the children of Joseph: Of Ephraim: Elishama the son of Ammihud. Of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Of Benjamin: Abidan the son of Gideoni. Of Dan: Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. Of Asher: Pagiel the son of Ochran. Of Gad: Eliasaph the son of Deuel. Of Naphtali: Ahira the son of Enan." These are those who were called of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel. Moses and Aaron took these men who are mentioned by name. They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, one by one. As Yahweh commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. The children of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were forty-six thousand five hundred. Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, those who were numbered of it, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred. Of the children of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Gad, were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty. Of the children of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were sixty-four thousand six hundred. Of the children of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred. Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred. Of the children of Joseph, of the children of Ephraim, their generations, by thir families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred. Of the children of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand two hundred. Of the children of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand four hundred. Of the children of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred. Of the children of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand five hundred. Of the children of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war; those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand four hundred. These are those who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: they were each one for his fathers' house. So all those who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war in Israel; even all those who were numbered were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty. But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. For Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, neither shall you take a census of them among the children of Israel; but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle, and all its furnishings; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp around it. When the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death. The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their divisions. But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be responsible for the Tabernacle of the Testimony." Thus the children of Israel did. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so they did.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Make you two trumpets of silver; of beaten work shall you make them: and you shall use them for the calling of the congregation, and for the journeying of the camps. When they shall blow them, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the door of the tent of meeting. If they blow but one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. When you blow an alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall take their journey. When you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm. The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and they shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your generations. When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets; and you shall be remembered before Yahweh your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God: I am Yahweh your God. It happened in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the tent of the testimony. The children of Israel set forward according to their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran. They first took their journey according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses. In the first [place] the standard of the camp of the children of Judah set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. The tent was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tent, set forward. The standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and [the others] did set up the tent against their coming. The standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which was the rearward of all the camps, set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. Over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. Thus were the travels of the children of Israel according to their hosts; and they set forward. Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, We are journeying to the place of which Yahweh said, I will give it you: come you with us, and we will do you good; for Yahweh has spoken good concerning Israel. He said to him, I will not go; but I will depart to my own land, and to my relatives. He said, Don't leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you shall be to us instead of eyes. It shall be, if you go with us, yes, it shall be, that whatever good Yahweh shall do to us, the same will we do to you. They set forward from the Mount of Yahweh three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting-place for them. The cloud of Yahweh was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp. It happened, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Yahweh, and let your enemies be scattered; and let those who hate you flee before you. When it rested, he said, Return, Yahweh, to the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel.
It happened after the plague, that Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all who are able to go forth to war in Israel. Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, [Take the sum of the people], from twenty years old and upward; as Yahweh commanded Moses and the children of Israel, that came forth out of the land of Egypt. Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: [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; and those who were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred thirty. The sons of Pallu: Eliab. The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram, who were called of the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against Yahweh, and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died; what time the fire devoured two hundred fifty men, and they became a sign. Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah didn't die. The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred. The sons of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred. The sons of Judah: Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred. The sons of Issachar after their families: [of] Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites; of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them, sixty-four thousand three hundred. The sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them, sixty thousand five hundred. The sons of Joseph after their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir became the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. These are the sons of Gilead: [of] Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; and [of] Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and [of] Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; and [of] Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and [of] Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred. These are the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them, thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their families. The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; of Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: [of Ard], the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. These are the sons of Benjamin after their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand six hundred. These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families. All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred. The sons of Asher after their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Berites. Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. The name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them, fifty-three thousand and four hundred. The sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand four hundred. These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred one thousand seven hundred thirty. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, To these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. To the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance: to everyone according to those who were numbered of him shall his inheritance be given. Notwithstanding, the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. According to the lot shall their inheritance be divided between the more and the fewer. These are those who were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram. The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt: and she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before Yahweh. Those who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel. These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. But among these there was not a man of them who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For Yahweh had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. There was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
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.