Genesis 46:1

And Israel took his journey with all that he had,.... Set forward in it immediately, as soon as possible after he had resolved to take it, and with him he took all his children and grandchildren, and

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

GENESIS CHAPTER 46 Jacob sets out towards Egypt with his family and substance; offers saerifices at Beer-sheba; God appears to him in a vision, renewing his promises and blessing, . He goes to Egypt, ,6. The names of the children of Israel, . Jacob sends Judah before him; Joseph goes to meet his father; their joy, . Joseph instructs his brethren what to say to Pharaoh, to declare themselves shepherds, and desire to dwell in Goshen; the reason, . 1706 Both in thankfulness to God for former favours, and especially for Joseph’ s preservation and happiness; and by way of supplication to God for his direction in this great case, whether he might leave the promised land of Canaan, and go into the idolatrous and impious land of Egypt; and for his protection and blessing, as well in his journey as in Egypt. The God of his father Isaac; whom Isaac honoured and served, and who had constantly protected and provided for Isaac, and confirmed his covenant with him. He mentions Isaac rather than Abraham, partly for Isaac’ s honour, to show that though Isaac was much inferior to Abraham in gifts and graces, yet God was no less Isaac’ s than Abraham’ s God, and therefore would be his God also, notwithstanding his unworthiness; and partly for his own comfort, because Isaac was Jacob’ s immediate parent, and had transferred the blessing of the covenant from Esau to Jacob, and the validity of that translation depended upon Isaac’ s interest in God.

Genesis 46:1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.Ver. 1. And came to Beersheba.] A place, (1.) Consecrated to God’ s worship; (2.) Where he and his fathers had met God, and received many mercies; (3.) That lay in his way from Hebron to Egypt. But say it had been out of his way; yet it had been nothing out of his way to go thither and seek God. A whet is no let; a bait by the way no hindrance; the oiling of the wheel furthers the journey. As it is, Tithe, and be rich; so, Pray, and be prosperous. But say it should be some prejudice; Is it not wisdom to make God’ s service costly to us? Cannot he make us amends? "give us much more than the hundred talents?" Is anything lost by his service? Prayer furthers thrift. The night of Popery will shame many of us; who in their superstitious zeal had this proverb, Mass and meat hindereth no man’ s thrift. The very heathen offered sacrifices when they took journeys, as Festus witnesseth. Fest., lib. xiv.

XLVI. OF ISRAEL AND HIS SONS INTO EGYPT.(1) Israel . . . came to Beer-sheba.—Though Jacob, in the first tumult of his joy, had determined upon hastening to Egypt, yet many second thoughts must have made him hesitate. He would call up to mind the boding prophecy in Genesis 15:13, that the descendants of Abraham were to be reduced to slavery, and suffer affliction in a foreign land for four hundred years. It might even be a sin, involving the loss of the Abrahamic covenant, to quit the land of Canaan, which Abraham had expressly forbidden Isaac to abandon (Genesis 24:8). Isaac, too, when going into Egypt, had been commanded to remain in Palestine (Genesis 26:2). Jacob therefore determines solemnly to consult God before finally taking so important a step, and no place could be more suitable than Beersheba, as both Abraham and Isaac had built altars there for Jehovah’s worship (Genesis 21:33; Genesis 26:25), and, moreover, it lay upon the route from Hebron to Egypt.

CHAPTER XLVI Jacob begins his journey to Egypt, comes to Beer-sheba, and offers sacrifices to God, 1. God appears to him in a vision, gives him gracious promises, and assures him of his protection, 2-4. He proceeds, with his family and their cattle, on his journey towards Egypt, 5-7. A genealogical enumeration of the seventy persons who went down to Egypt, 8, c. The posterity of Jacob by LEAH. Reuben and his sons, 9. Simeon and his sons, 10. Levi and his sons, 11. Judah and his sons, 12. Issachar and his sons, 13. And Zebulun and his sons, 14. All the posterity of Jacob by LEAH, thirty and three, 15. The posterity of Jacob by ZILPAH. Gad and his sons, 16. Asher and his sons, 17. All the posterity of Jacob by ZILPAH, sixteen, 18. The posterity of Jacob by RACHEL. Joseph and his sons, 19, 20. Benjamin and his sons, 21. All the posterity of Jacob by RACHEL, fourteen, 22. The posterity of Jacob by BILHAH. Dan and his sons, 23. Naphtali and his sons, 24. All the posterity of Jacob by BILHAH, seven, 25. All the immediate descendants of Jacob by his four wives, threescore and six, 26 and all the descendants of the house of Jacob, seventy souls, 27. Judah is sent before to inform Joseph of his father's coming, 28. Joseph goes to Goshen to meet Jacob, 29. Their affecting interview, 30. Joseph proposes to return to Pharaoh, and inform him of the arrival of his family, 31, and of their occupation, as keepers of cattle, 32. Instructs them what to say when called before Pharaoh, and questioned by him, that they might be permitted to dwell unmolested in the land of Goshen, 33, 34. NOTES ON CHAP. XLVI Verse 1. And came to Beer-sheba] This place appears to be mentioned, not only because it was the way from Hebron, where Jacob resided, to Egypt, whither he was going, but because it was a consecrated place, a place where God had appeared to Abraham, Genesis 21:33, and to Isaac, Genesis 26:23, and where Jacob is encouraged to expect a manifestation of the same goodness: he chooses therefore to begin his journey with a visit to God's house; and as he was going into a strange land, he feels it right to renew his covenant with God by sacrifice. There is an old proverb which applies strongly to this case: "Prayers and provender never hinder any man's journey. He who would travel safely must take God with him.

1–5. Jacob at Beer-sheba 1. Beer-sheba] Cf. Genesis 21:31; Genesis 21:33; Genesis 26:33; Genesis 28:10. Jacob, in Genesis 37:14 (J), is described as dwelling at Hebron. the God of his father Isaac] For this reference to the God of the father, cf. Genesis 26:24; Genesis 28:13; Genesis 31:53. It is natural that Jacob would not leave his home without sacrificing to his God. He offers sacrifices at Beer-sheba, with which sanctuary Isaac had been especially connected; cf. Genesis 26:23-25. Either, therefore, according to E, Jacob resided at Beer-sheba, or he had left his home at Hebron (J) and was now on his way south, seeking at Beer-sheba to obtain Divine approval for the descent into Egypt. Isaac had been forbidden to go down into Egypt (Genesis 26:2). Other reasons have been suggested, e.g. thanksgiving for the life of Joseph, and fear of Joseph’s anger against his brethren; cf. Genesis 50:15.

- Jacob Goes Down to Egypt 9. פלוּא pallû', Pallu, “distinguished.” חצרן chetsrôn, Chetsron, of the “court,” or “village.” כרמי karmı̂y, Karmi, “vine-dresser.” 10.

1. Israel took his journey — “The writer uses here, at the opening, the covenant name, from the sense of the national significance of this journey; yet afterward directs his attention to the personal