Genesis Chapter 46
It was with great faith that Jacob stepped forward to move all of his family to the land of Egypt. His family and all of his herds had become well established in the land of Canaan, but the famine and the hope of seeing his missing son Joseph were enough reason to take the leap of faith. They loaded up all of their possessions into the modern wagons that had been provided by the Pharoah of Egypt and left their homes.
Let's Reflect
1. What was the first thing that Jacob did after loading up his family when they stopped in Beersheba?
2. That night God spoke to Jacob in visions. [Note: the name Jacob and Israel are both used but both refer to the same man.] What special message did God have for Jacob? Did God give Jacob this special message before or after he left his home?
The genealogy that is presented in this chapter is so important. These sons of Jacob (called Israel) are the names of the future twelve tribes of Israel (the nation). The sons that were born to Leah were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun (this is 5 of the 12, Levi was not a name of a tribe because the name Levi became the Levite priests).
The two sons born to Zilpah were Gad and Asher. The two sons born to Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. And the two sons born to Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin (Joseph’s name was not a name of a tribe of Israel}. Jospeh’s son’s names became the names of the 11th and 12th tribes of Israel. His sons were Mannaseh and Ephraim.
The genealogy is also important because we can recognize the preservation of God’s people and the keeping of His covenant promises. The nation of Israel went down to Egypt with under 100 people in their family but grew in a relatively short amount of time to a large number. Bible scholars estimate the growth to be about two million people by the time they left Egypt.
3. According to verse 7 who did Jacob bring with him to Egypt?
4. According to verse 27 how many people in all went with Jacob?
5. As he entered the land of Egypt, Joseph was anxiously preparing to meet his father after all these years. What was their reunion like?
6. Joseph wanted his family to use proper diplomacy regarding how they responded to questions from the Pharoah. He told his family that he would tell the Pharoah that they were shepherds – the kind of shepherds that took care of livestock and not mention the sheep they had. What did he tell his family about how they should answer the Pharoah’s question regarding their occupation? Why?
7. Joseph wanted the best for his family. Since they had lots of livestock they needed land with streams of water. Joseph wanted the gift the Pharoah had offered for his family of good land; proper diplomacy would secure that gift. What land had the Pharoah already offered to Joseph’s family?
