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Genesis 46

God assures Jacob of his presence as his household enters Egypt, where a family will grow into a nation.

Jacob stops at Beersheba on his way to Egypt and offers sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God speaks to him at night, promising his presence and the growth of Jacob’s family into a great nation. The account then names the household moving from Canaan, including Joseph’s sons already in Egypt. In Goshen, Joseph meets his father and weeps on his neck. Joseph then prepares his family to explain their work as shepherds to Pharaoh.

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1Israel traveled with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
2God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.”
3He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation.
4I will go down with you into Egypt. I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”
5Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
6They took their livestock, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt—Jacob, and all his offspring with him,
8These are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
9The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
11The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
14The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15These 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.
16The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.
18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin.
20To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.
21The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
23The son of Dan: Hushim.
24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were seven.
26All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct offspring, in addition to Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were sixty-six.
27The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy.
28Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.
30Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”
31Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father’s house, “I will go up, and speak with Pharaoh, and will tell him, ‘My brothers, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.
32These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.’
33It will happen, when Pharaoh summons you, and will say, ‘What is your occupation?’
34that you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Genesis 46:2God calls Jacob by name at Beersheba, beginning the encounter that confirms his move to Egypt.
Genesis 46:3God addresses Jacob’s fear and identifies Egypt as the place where he will make his family a great nation.
Genesis 46:12Judah’s family record includes deaths in Canaan alongside surviving descendants, preserving both loss and continuity within the household.
Where this chapter reaches

Numbers and 1 Chronicles share many of the family names recorded here, tracing the clans descended from Jacob’s sons. Exodus and Deuteronomy share the account of a household of seventy entering Egypt and becoming a far larger people.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about God’s promises to Jacob before the move to Egypt?

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How does reading the household’s names shape your understanding of Jacob and Joseph’s reunion?

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Questions people ask about Genesis 46

Why did God tell Jacob not to be afraid to go to Egypt?

God assures Jacob that he will go with him and make his family a great nation in Egypt. He also promises a return and says Joseph will be present at Jacob’s death. The text addresses Jacob’s fear without naming the precise concern behind it.

Why does Genesis 46 give both sixty-six and seventy people?

Verse 26 counts sixty-six direct descendants who came with Jacob, excluding his sons’ wives. Verse 27 gives seventy for the whole household. That larger total includes Jacob himself, Joseph, and Joseph’s two sons, who were already in Egypt. The totals count different groups within the same family.

Why were shepherds an abomination to the Egyptians?

The chapter states the Egyptians’ contempt for shepherds but does not explain its cause. Joseph uses that social barrier when preparing his brothers to speak with Pharaoh: identifying themselves as lifelong livestock keepers will support their request to live in Goshen. Any fuller explanation requires evidence beyond this account.

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What the Bible says about fear →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).