SDMB weekly Bible Study (SDMBWBS)-Week 31 Genesis 46

Cafe Society
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Welcome to the SDMB weekly Bible Study (SDMBWBS). This week we will be discussing Genesis** 46**. Since the discussion can turn into a very broad and hijackable thread, we would like the following rules to be adhered to:

  1. These SDMBWBS threads are to deal with the books and stories in the Bible as literature. What I’m hoping to achieve is an understanding of the stories, the time in which they were written, context, and possibly its cultural relevance.

  2. While it is up to the individual to choose to believe or disbelieve any portion, that is not to be the discussion of the thread. If you must, please choose to witness/anti-witness in Great Debates.

  3. The intention is to go through the Bible from front to back in order. While different books are needed to be referred to in order to understand context, please try and keep the focus on the thread’s selected chapter(s)/verse(s).

  4. Since different religions have chosen which books to include or omit, the threads will use the Catholic version of 46 Old Testament Books and 27 New Testament Books. It’s encouraged to discuss why a book was included/omitted during the applicable threads only. BibleHub, as far as I know, is a good resource that compiles many different versions of the verses into one page.(Also the SDMB Staff Reports on Who Wrote the Bible). Please feel free to use whatever source you want, including-and even more helpfully-the original language.

  5. Hopefully we can get through these threads with little to no moderation. A gentle reminder that if a poster comes in and ignores these rules, please use the “report post” function instead of responding.

Links to previous threads:
Genesis 1:1 to 2:25
Genesis 3
Genesis 4
Genesis 5-6
Genesis 7-9:17
Genesis 9:18-10:32
Genesis 11
Genesis 12-13
Genesis 14-15
Genesis 16
Genesis 17
Genesis 18-19
Genesis 20-22
Genesis 23-24
Genesis 25
Genesis 26:1-33
Genesis 26:34-Genesis 28:9
Genesus28:10-30:24
Genesis 30:25-31:55
Genesis 32
Genesis 33
Genesis 34
Genesis 35-36
Genesis 37
Genesis 38
Genesis 39
Genesis 40
Genesis 41
Genesis 42 & 43
Genesis 44
Genesis 45

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[Genesis 46

New International Version (NIV)](Genesis 46 NIV - Jacob Goes to Egypt - So Israel set out - Bible Gateway)

Jacob Goes to Egypt

46 So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

5 Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6 So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. 7 Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

8 These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.

9 The sons of Reuben:

Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.

10 The sons of Simeon:

Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

11 The sons of Levi:

Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

12 The sons of Judah:

Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan).

The sons of Perez:
Hezron and Hamul.

13 The sons of Issachar:

Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.

14 The sons of Zebulun:

Sered, Elon and Jahleel.

15 These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.

16 The sons of Gad:

Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.

17 The sons of Asher:

Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah.

Their sister was Serah.

The sons of Beriah:
Heber and Malkiel.

18 These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel:

Joseph and Benjamin. 20 In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

21 The sons of Benjamin:

Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.

22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

23 The son of Dan:

Hushim.

24 The sons of Naphtali:

Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

25 These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven in all.

26 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons. 27 With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.

28 Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.

30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”

31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”
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God calls Jacob in a night vision, and calls him twice by name. Being called twice by name also happens with Abraham, Moses, and Samuel; and they all respond the same: Hineni, “Here I am.” The reassurance, “Do not be afraid” was also given to Abraham and to Isaac, and will be given to Moses. Note that we have not been told that any of these guys WERE afraid, so there are two hidden notions here: (1) Humans are afraid when confronted with the divine; and (2) God knows their inner thoughts/fears, even if they aren’t expressed.

In verse 4, we have the important concept that God is not bound to the land. Many pagan deities were bound to their land (or their mountain or river) and had little or no power elsewhere. So this is an assurance to Jacob that he will not abandon God (and God will not abandon him) just because he’s moving to Egypt. The line that “I will go down to Egypt with you and I will surely bring you back” is reflected later in Exodus, when it is often asserted that God leads the Israelites out.

God will not speak again until Moses and the burning bush.

Verse 8: Genealogies are usually provided at times of transition, so that we know who’s there. ASIDE: If you believe in multiple authors, verses 6 – 27 are interjections by the P-author, interrupting the J-story (45:28 – 46:1 and continued in 46:28 – 34.) The P-author is usually concerned with genealogies and priestly rites.

Note the comparison between verse 15 [“These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob…”] and verse 19 [“The son’s of Jacob’s wife Rachel…”] Leah bears children, but Rachel is Jacob’s wife.

The total of Jacob’s household is 66 (v 26.) There’s no numerological significance, so it may be a genuine calculation. Then comes v 27, which says that adding Joseph’s two sons gets us to 70. This doesn’t add right (Joseph’s two sons were included in the 66), and there have been many attempts to reconcile (mostly not successful.) The number 70, IMHO, is a raounded estimate of numerological significance (7 and 10 are both numbers of completion.) The totals do not include the daughters-in-law and granddaughters, of course.

This also should remind us of the promise to Abraham that his descendents will multiply.

Verse 28: Judah goes ahead to lead the way, and Judah is now clearly the leader.

The invitation from Pharaoh in verses 33ff is consistent with the J-story (45:9 – 13) that they should stay in the region of Goshen, but inconsistent with the E-story (45:16 – 20) where they were to live in the “best of the land.” I discussed Goshen last chapter; and, again, the J-author tends to place the Israelites separately, living together in Goshen, while the E-author tends to have them living among the Egyptians, not in fixed locale.

I like the way that Joseph manipulates Pharaoh. He wanted his family to settle in Goshen, but Pharaoh didn’t specify a place. So Joseph prepares his brothers for an audience with Pharaoh, rehearses the speeches and answers, to get the desired royal authorization. We saw Joseph earlier as a tactful politician (suggesting to Pharaoh what to do about the famine.)

Verse 34: Egyptians were urbanized farmers, and so looked down on the nomadic shepherds.

This section, through 47:10, essentially ends the patriarchal period, the “family” stories (we’ll get a little more with Jacob’s death.) The visit to Egypt seems to be a family story, but it’s also a huge turning point in the history of what is to become the Israelite people.

There’s a lot of book-ends here: famine drove Abraham to Egypt (Gen 12:10), and now famine sends his grandson there. Abraham’s story began with divine revelation; Jacob’s story ends similarly. Jacob began his travels at Beer-sheba (28:10) and now he has a revelation at the same place.

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I’ve always understood Goshen to be “the best of the land,” at least, for the current needs of the Israelites. The best of the land for them would not be where the Egyptian farmers were, as they would not want the Israelite livestock to take what little vegetation survived during the famine. Plus it’s possible that Goshen actually had some wild plants for the animals to forage, and thus would seem “the best of the land” for nomadic shepherds even if the Egyptians wouldn’t like it. Joseph is the one that calls it such, not the Egyptians.

Any scattering could easily have occurred over time. They are a nomadic people, after all.

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I have heard in connection with Jesus’ birth narrative that shepherds were looked down on in New Testament times as well. I was told it was because shepherding was not a very difficult set of skills - any idiot could watch sheep, and many did. This contrasts with David later, who (in one narrative) is shepherd over his father’s flocks and becomes king. Here the whole tribe of Israel are shepherds.

The juxtaposition of these verses make it sound almost like divination, or at least that the sacrifices caused the divine vision. Jacob wanted to know if it was safe to go to Egypt, and God told him Yes, it was OK. “A vision at night”, which sounds a lot like the dreams that have recurred in this story. So in a sense a dream started this, and a dream wraps it all up.

Regards,
Shodan

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Here’s the new thread for Genesis 47