Genesis 46.5-7-Israel's Family Migrates To Egypt
Wednesday March 21, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 46:5-7-Jacob’s Family Migrates To Egypt
Lesson # 300
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 46:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 46, which is divided into five sections: (1) IsraelJacob worships God at Beersheba and seeks His guidance (46:1). (2) IsraelJacob receives a theophany, divine reassurance and promises (46:2-4). (3) Israel’s family migrates to Egypt (46:5-7). (4) Genealogy of the Israelites who migrated to Egypt (46:8-27). (5) Joseph reunites with his father and prepares his family to meet Pharaoh (46:28-34).
This evening we will study the third section, which appears in Genesis 46:5-7 and gives us the record of Israel and his family migrating to Egypt.
Genesis 46:1, “So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.”
Genesis 46:2, “God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”
Genesis 46:3, “He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.’”
Genesis 46:4, ‘I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes.”
Genesis 46:5, “Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.”
The name “Jacob” does “not” signify that the patriarch is living in his old Adamic sin nature since he sought God’s guidance on the move to Egypt but rather the name signifies the patriarch’s weakness and dependence upon God’s power and provision and protection.
It indicates that the patriarch is living according to the spiritual principle taught by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-11 that God’s power is manifested in human weakness or impotence.
2 Corinthians 12:9, “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
2 Corinthians 12:10, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults (people testing), with distresses (thought testing), with persecutions (system testing), with difficulties (disaster testing), for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The name “Jacob” signifies the lack of confidence the patriarch has in his own strength and that he acknowledges that God is all powerful and all sufficient and that he is helpless and hopeless and totally and completely dependent upon God.
It signifies that the patriarch has acknowledged his own human weakness or impotence so as to experience the power of God in life and his right to appropriate that power by prayer and claiming the divine promises given to him.
“Arose” is the verb qum (<Wq) (koom), which is an idiomatic expression describing a preparatory action needed to be taken so that a primary action can take place and involves preparation to change location.
Therefore, the verb describes Jacob and his family preparing to leave Beersheba for Egypt.
In Genesis 46:6, the verb bo (aw)B), “went to” is employed to describe the action of migrating from Beersheba in Canaan to Egypt.
The verb qum, “arose” also indicates that Jacob did not procrastinate or hesitate to leave Canaan for Egypt after receiving revelation from God that it was according to His will that he and his family move to Egypt.
Psalm 119:60, “I hastened and did not delay to keep Your commandments.”
The name “Beersheba” means, “well of seven” or “well of oath” and bears witness to the treaty between Abraham and Abimelech and Abraham’s right to the well (See Genesis 26:26-33).
“Beersheba” was located in the flat southern part of the Negev, which extends roughly from a line drawn from Gaza through the modern political boundary of the southern West Bank, extending south to the mountain ranges of the Sinai and through the Arabah to the Red Sea.
“Beersheba” is the end of the Promised Land and was the place that Jacob departed when fleeing from Esau (See Genesis 28:10).
Genesis 26:23-25 records that Isaac built an altar at “Beersheba” in order to worship the Lord in prayer.
The designation “the sons of Israel” emphasizes the national identity of Israel/Jacob’s sons and not their personal identity as his sons.
This designation is significant because the move from Canaan to Egypt taken by Jacob and his family had great implications for the family who were the progenitors of the twelve tribes of the nation that bore his father’s name.
The nation of Israel was in its infancy at this time and this trip to Egypt would lead to their deliverance from the famine and relocation to Egypt for over four hundred years.
The brothers will enter Egypt as a nation in its infancy whereas their descendants will leave four hundred years later as a powerful nation.
The “wagons” used to transport Jacob, his grandchildren and the women were carts, usually on two wooden wheels, drawn by oxen or horses and were unique to Egypt at that time.
Genesis 46:6-7, “They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him: his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.”
“Livestock” is the noun miqneh (hn#q+m!), which refers sheep and goats.
“Property” is the noun rekhush (vWkr+) (rek-oosh), which refers to “possessions.”
“Acquired” is the verb rakhash (vk^r*) (raw-kash), which is correctly translated and in context refers to all the property and livestock that Jacob and his sons had “acquired” during their stay in the land of Canaan after leaving Laban in Paddan Aram.
Even though Pharaoh offered Jacob and his family “the best of all the land of Egypt” (See Genesis 45:20) meaning that the best material possessions of Egypt would be at the disposal of the Israelites, Jacob and his family do not presume upon Pharaoh’s hospitality and regarded their possessions as gifts from God.
“Canaan” is the more ancient name of Palestine, apparently derived from Hurrian, meaning, “belonging to the land of red purple,” the dye the early Canaanites or Phoenician traders peddled far and wide.
The natural boundaries of Canaan as expressed in the Bible extend from the Negev in the South to the northern reaches of the Lebanon Range in Syria and the land west of the range and of the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
“Egypt” is the proper noun mitsrayim (<y!r^x+m!) (mits-ra-yim), which means, “double straits.”
Genesis 10:6 records that “Mizraim” was the second son of Ham and was the ancestor of the ancient Egyptians as indicated in that his name was the customary name for Egypt in the Bible.
Most scholars divide Egypt into two sections: (1) Upper (2) Lower.
Upper Egypt is very narrow and surrounded by mountains, which rarely take the form of peaks and the northern coast of Egypt is low and barren, and without good harbors.
The political history of Egypt traditionally begins with Menes, the Upper ruler who conquered Lower Egypt according to Egyptian tradition.
The history of dynastic Egypt can be divided into the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.), the Middle Kingdom (2100-1800 B.C.) and the New Kingdom (1550-1069 B.C.).
The pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom coincides with the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph whereas the birth of Moses and Exodus of Israel took place during the New Kingdom.
The emphasis upon the all-inclusive nature of the migration of Jacob and his family is designed to draw attention to the national significance of the event.
The expression “his descendants” that is mentioned twice in Genesis 46:6-7 refers to Jacob’s direct descendants who left Canaan with him, which would include his children and grandchildren for a total of sixty-six people.
This expression would exclude daughters-in-law, servants and wives of his sons, which is confirmed by the expression “his (Jacob’s) direct descendants” that appears in the statement recorded in Genesis 46:26.
Also, the expression “his descendants” would “not” include all the daughters and granddaughters of Jacob.
The reason for this is that the female children of a family were often not recorded since Jewish genealogies followed the male line of descent, unless, the woman played a significant part in the plan of God such as Dinah (See Genesis 34).
The expression “his descendants” is also a reference to the promise that the Lord gave Jacob at Bethel before departing for Paddan Aram, which is recorded in Genesis 28:14 that Jacob’s descendants “will also be like the dust of the earth.”
“His sons” refers to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali and Benjamin for a total of eleven since Joseph was in Egypt.
The expression “his grandsons” refers to not only Jacob’s grandsons but also his great-grandsons since four great grandsons of Jacob were included in the list that appears in Genesis 46:6-27 of Jacob’s direct descendants who left Canaan.
The term for “grandsons” in the original Hebrew text literally reads, “sons of his sons,” which can be used for “great grandsons.”
Below is a list of Jacob’s grandsons and great-grandsons according to the genealogy that appears in Genesis 46:8-27:
Reuben’s sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi (46:9) 4
Simeon’s sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, Shaul (46:10) 6
Levi’s sons Gershon, Kohath, Merari (46:11) 3
Judah’s sons Shelah, Perez and Zerah (46:12) 3
Judah’s grandsons Hezron and Hamul (46:12) 2
Issachar’s sons Tola, Puvvah, Iob, Shimron (46:13) 4
Zebulun’s sons Sered, Elon and Jahleel (46:14) 3
Gad’s sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, Areli (46:16) 7
Asher’s sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah (46:17) 4
Asher’s grandsons Heber and Malchiel (46:17) 2
Benjamin’s sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard (46:21) 10
Dan’s son Hushim 1
Naphtali’s sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, Shillem 4
Total of grandsons and great grandsons 53
“Daughters” is the noun bath (tB^) and depending upon the context in which the word is used it can refer to not only a “daughter” but also a “granddaughter,” a “daughter-in-law” and even to a “sister” as in Genesis 34:17.
Since the term “his descendants” refers to Jacob’s offspring, his children and grandchildren, the term “daughters” would exclude Jacob’s “daughters-in-law” since they were not his direct descendants.
The term “daughters” would “not” refer to Jacob’s “granddaughters” since they are mentioned immediately after this word demonstrating the writer was making a distinction between the daughters of Jacob and his granddaughters.
Therefore, it appears that the term “daughters” in Genesis 46:6-7 indicates that Jacob had other daughters other than Dinah whose births and names are not mentioned.
In Genesis 46:8-27, the only daughter mentioned is Dinah and the only granddaughter is Serah and yet in Genesis 46:6-7, we have the plural nouns “daughters” and “granddaughters.”
Again, as we noted earlier, the reason for this is that the female children of a family were often not recorded since Jewish genealogies followed the male line of descent.
There are exceptions to this rule as we noted earlier in that a woman would be mentioned in the genealogy if she played a significant part in the plan of God or Israel’s history such as with Dinah (See Genesis 34).
The mention of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, is an exception to this rule and does not imply that Jacob did not have other daughters by either of his wives or their handmaids.
Dinah is mentioned because of her rape, which led to her brothers killing all the men of Shechem (See Genesis 34).
Below is a list of the individuals that are included in the expression “all his descendants” since they are included in the genealogy that appears in Genesis 46:6-27:
Leah’s sons Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun (46:8-15) 6
Zilpah’s sons Gad and Asher (46:16-18) 2
Rachel’s sons Benjamin (Joseph already in Egypt) (46:19-22) 1
Bilhah’s sons Dan and Naphtali (46:23-25) 2
Jacob’s daughter Dinah (46:15) 1
Asher’s daughter Serah (46:17) 1
Reuben’s sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi (46:9) 4
Simeon’s sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, Shaul (46:10) 6
Levi’s sons Gershon, Kohath, Merari (46:11) 3
Judah’s sons Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (46:12) 5
Er and Onan died in Canaan -2
Judah’s grandsons Hezron and Hamul (46:12) 2
Issachar’s sons Tola, Puvvah, Iob, Shimron (46:13) 4
Zebulun’s sons Sered, Elon and Jahleel (46:14) 3
Gad’s sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, Areli (46:16) 7
Asher’s sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah (46:17) 4
Asher’s grandsons Heber and Malchiel (46:17) 2
Benjamin’s sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard (46:21) 10
Dan’s son Hushim (46:23) 1
Naphtali’s sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, Shillem (46:24) 4
Those who went from Canaan to Egypt with Jacob 66
Joseph, Manasseh, Ephraim were in Egypt + 3
Jacob + 1
Jacob and his progeny in Egypt 70
Acts 7:14 records that seventy-five people went to Egypt since Stephen omits Jacob, Joseph and Joseph’s two sons but includes the nine wives of Jacob’s twelve sons, Judah and Simeon’s wives had died and Joseph’s wife was in Egypt (See Genesis 38; 46:10).
This is confirmed by the expression “his (Jacob’s) direct descendants” that appears in the statement recorded in Genesis 46:26.