Genesis 46

Chap. XLVI. Ver. 1—34. Jacob goes down into Egypt.—It is not unnatural, after all, to suppose that Israel had his forebodings and his fears; as an antidote, therefore, the God of his father Isaac appeared to him in a vision of the night, saying, “Fear not to go down into Egypt,” &c. The prophecy given to his grandfather, Abraham, might also now probably be presented to his mind; ((Genesis 15:13).) “Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them,” &c.; and therefore it is here promised, in harmony with the latter part of that prediction, “I will there make of thee a great nation, and I will also surely bring thee up again;” that is, thy posterity—as it was said to Abraham, “afterwards shall they come out with great substance.”

Rabbi Menachem gives it as a remark of the Hebrew doctors, that “wheresoever Israel are in captivity, (or affliction,) the presence of God is with them.” When it is added, “He (Joseph) shall lay his hand upon thine eyes,” it refers to attending on his last moments, closing and mourning over him, which we shall find very affectionately fulfilled in the last chapter of this history.

Jacob is comforted by God at Beer-sheba. 5 Thence he with his company goeth into Egypt. 8 The number of his family. 2 Joseph meeteth Jacob.

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob! And he said, Here am I. 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: 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. And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: 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. And they took their cattle, and their goods.

Jacob now cheerfully prosecutes his journey, till he arrives in the land of Goshen, where Joseph meets him, and a scene takes place that for tenderness and affection has no parallel, except that between Joseph and his brethren, when he first discovered himself to them.

When Jacob first heard that his son Joseph was alive, he said, “It is enough: I will go and see him before I die.” He has seen him; and, with Joseph weeping on his neck, he cries, “Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.” So good old Simeon, with the antitype (Jesus) folded in his arms, exclaims, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” ((Luke 2:29-30).)

On the affecting interview between Jacob and his son Joseph, Bishop Hall has the following excellent observations:—“The height of all earthly contentment appeared in the meeting of these two, whom their mutual loss had more endeared to each other. The intermission of comforts hath this advantage, that it sweetens our delight more in the return than was abated in the forbearance.

God doth ofttimes hide away our Joseph for a time, that we may be more joyous and thankful in his recovery. This was the sincerest pleasure that ever Jacob had, which, therefore, God reserved for his old age. And if the meeting of earthly friends be so unspeakably comfortable, how happy shall we be in the glorious face of God our heavenly Father!—of that of our blessed Redeemer, whom we sold to death by our sins! and who now, after that noble triumph, hath all power given him in heaven and in earth!”

After the above mentioned interview, Joseph returns to prepare for introducing his father and brethren to the king; and he instructs them what to say in answer to any inquiry relative to their occupation, that the king might approve of their settling in the land of Goshen, for he had evidently no wish to make them courtiers, or pensioners on the crown.

The reason given for wishing them to settle there was, that “every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians.” One ground of this has been supposed to be, that prior to this time they had suffered an invasion from a mighty horde of these people, and had been under a dynasty of shepherd-kings, whose memory was execrated among them; but a more obvious one is, that they ate and sacrificed those animals which many of the Egyptians worshipped, but which worship perhaps did not prevail in Goshen.