The Law · Chapter 46 of 50
Genesis 46
On the way to Egypt, Israel stops at Beersheba to sacrifice, and God speaks in a night vision, promising to go down with him and make him a great nation. Jacob and his whole household, seventy souls, travel to Egypt. The chapter lists the families by name. At Goshen, Joseph rushes to meet his father, and the two weep together in a long embrace.
What happens in Genesis 46
Israel sets out with all he has and stops at Beersheba to offer sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. In a night vision God reassures him not to fear going down to Egypt, promising to make him a great nation there, to go with him, and to bring him up again (Genesis 46:3). Jacob's sons carry their father, wives, and little ones in Pharaoh's wagons. The narrative pauses to name the descendants of Leah, Zilpah, Rachel, and Bilhah who came into Egypt, numbering seventy souls in all.
Jacob sends Judah ahead to Goshen to prepare the way. When Joseph arrives, he falls on his father's neck and weeps a good while, and Jacob says he can now die content, having seen Joseph alive. Joseph plans to present his shepherd family to Pharaoh, knowing shepherds are disliked by Egyptians, so they may settle apart in Goshen.
Genesis 46 in context
Jacob is old and had believed Joseph dead for decades. Leaving the promised land of Canaan for Egypt is a weighty step, so God confirms it directly. The detailed name list roots the coming nation of Israel in real families and marks the moment the twelve tribes descend into Egypt, where they will multiply and, generations later, be enslaved and delivered under Moses.
Main themes of Genesis 46
Genesis 46 (KJV)
1And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. 5And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 7His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. 8And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. 9And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. 10And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. 11And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. 13And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. 14And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. 15These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. 16And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. 17And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. 18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. 19The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin. 20And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. 21And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. 22These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. 23And the sons of Dan; Hushim. 24And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. 25These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. 26All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; 27And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. 28And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. 31And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; 32And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. 33And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? 34That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
Verses to carry from Genesis 46
“And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:”Genesis 46:3
“I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.”Genesis 46:4
“And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.”Genesis 46:30
Thematic connection
How Genesis 46 points to Jesus
God's promise to go down with Jacob into Egypt and to bring him up again speaks of a God who accompanies His people into exile and does not abandon them there. Christians hear in this a foreshadow of the God who, in Jesus, goes down into human affliction Himself and pledges to bring His people up. The descent into Egypt begins the long story that leads to the Exodus, which the New Testament reads as a pattern of the salvation Christ accomplishes.
Matthew even applies the words out of Egypt I called my son to Jesus. Here that thread is only beginning; the connection is thematic, a God who descends with His people and promises to raise them, whose fullest expression the Christian sees in Christ.
Questions about Genesis 46
Why does God tell Jacob not to fear going to Egypt?
Because leaving Canaan could feel like abandoning the very land of promise. God reassures Jacob that the move is not a detour from the covenant but part of it, and that His presence will travel with them. The promise to bring you up again (Genesis 46:4) already anticipates the eventual return, so fear can give way to trust.
What is the point of the long genealogy?
It grounds Israel's story in real, named people rather than legend. The count of seventy souls marks the small beginning of a nation God promised to make great. Naming each family also honors them as remembered by God, and it lets later readers trace the tribes that will fill the rest of Scripture.
Reflection
Sometimes obedience leads us away from what feels safe and toward the unknown. Jacob went down to Egypt only because God promised to go with him. Where is God asking you to move forward in trust, and can you hear His pledge to accompany you and bring you through?
A prayer from Genesis 46
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