Tyndale Open Study NotesGenesis 46

This section marks a transition as the family moved from Canaan to Goshen, where they would live for the next 400years.

God reassured Jacob about his move to Egypt.

• set out: A little over 200 years earlier, Abraham also went to Egypt during a famine in Canaan (12:10), and God protected him there.

• Jacob first stopped at Beersheba, where Abraham had sacrificed and worshiped the Lord. This was after resolving land and water rights with the Philistines (21:31–33). Isaac had lived there, and Jacob had lived there before fleeing from Esau’s anger (28:10).

• all that he had: See 46:5–7.

In a night vision, the Lord promised Jacob that he would be with him and make his family a great nation in Egypt. The same God who led them into Egypt promised to bring them back to live in Canaan.

will close your eyes: He would have a peaceful death, surrounded by his family and many blessings from God (49:33).

This family history of Jacob's sons shows that all the tribes of Israel went to Egypt together. They would also leave together (see the book of Exodus).

On: See study note on 41:45.

numbered sixty-six persons: This includes those who traveled with Jacob to Egypt. But it does not include his sons' wives, the servants, or others in the household. It also does not include Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Jacob.

seventy: This includes Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Jacob. Seventy is a symbolic number for perfection or completion (see “Symbolic Numbers” Theme Note). From these seventy (meaning all of Israel), the nation of Israel would grow and bless the seventy nations (meaning all the nations) of the world (see study note on Genesis 10:2–32; compare 12:3).

Jacob was full of joy when he finally saw his son Joseph again.

embraced him, and wept profusely: Joseph was 17 when he last saw his father (37:2). Now, he was 39.

Jacob was happy to see his beloved son alive. This son was the firstborn of his chosen wife Rachel and the designated family leader (see study note on 48:5–7; see also 1 Chronicles 5:1–2). This was more than a family reunion. It confirmed that God's plan was still in place.

The Canaanites would have mixed with the Israelites if they stayed in Canaan. But, Egyptians disliked Semitic shepherds due to ethnic pride and kept them separate (see 43:32). When Jacob’s family settled in Egypt, this separation helped them increase into a large nation while keeping their identity.