Jacob and His Family Go to Egypt
1 Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. 2 That night, God spoke to him in a dream and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am,” Jacob answered.
3 God said, “I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. 4 I will go with you to Egypt, and later I will bring your descendants back here. Your son Joseph will be at your side when you die.”
5-7 Jacob and his family set out from Beersheba and headed for Egypt. His sons put him in the wagon that the king had sent for him, and they put their small children and their wives in the other wagons. Jacob's whole family went to Egypt, including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters. They took along their animals and everything else they owned.
8-15 When Jacob went to Egypt, his children who were born in northern Syria also went along with their families.
Jacob and his wife Leah had a total of 33 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but two of their grandchildren had died in Canaan.
Their oldest son Reuben took his sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
Their son Simeon took his sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, whose mother was a Canaanite.
Their son Levi took his sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Their son Judah took his sons Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan. Judah's son Perez took his sons Hezron and Hamul.
Their son Issachar took his sons Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.
Their son Zebulun took his sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
Their daughter Dinah also went.
16-18 Jacob and Zilpah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Leah, had a total of 16 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Their son Gad took his sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
Their son Asher took his sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, who took his sons, Heber and Malchiel.
Serah, the daughter of Asher, also went.
19-22 Jacob and Rachel had 14 children and grandchildren.
Their son Joseph was already in Egypt, where he had married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of Heliopolis. Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Jacob and Rachel's son Benjamin took his sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
23-25 Jacob and Bilhah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Rachel, had seven children and grandchildren.
Their son Dan took his son Hushim.
Their son Naphtali took his sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
26 Sixty-six members of Jacob's family went to Egypt with him, not counting his daughters-in-law. 27 Jacob's two grandsons who were born there made it a total of 70 members of Jacob's family in Egypt.
28 Jacob had sent his son Judah ahead of him to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. 29 So Joseph got in his chariot and went to meet his father. When they met, Joseph hugged his father around the neck and cried for a long time. 30 Jacob said to Joseph, “Now that I have seen you and know you are still alive, I am ready to die.”
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to everyone who had come with them:
I must go and tell the king that you have arrived from Canaan. 32 I will tell him that you are shepherds and that you have brought your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. 33 The king will call you in and ask what you do for a living. 34 When he does, be sure to say, “We are shepherds. Our families have always raised sheep.” If you tell him this, he will let you settle in the region of Goshen.
Joseph wanted them to say this to the king, because the Egyptians did not like to be around anyone who raised sheep.
1 Then Israel tooke his iourney with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifice vnto the God of his father Izhak. 2 And God spake vnto Israel in a vision by night, saying, Iaakob, Iaakob. Who answered, I am here. 3 Then hee sayde, I am God, the God of thy father, feare not to goe downe into Egypt: for I will there make of thee a great nation. 4 I wil go downe with thee into Egypt, and I will also bring thee vp againe, and Ioseph shall put his hand vpon thine eyes. 5 Then Iaakob rose vp from Beer-sheba: and the sonnes of Israel caried Iaakob their father, and their children, and their wiues in the charets, which Pharaoh had sent to cary him. 6 And they tooke their cattell and their goods, which they had gotten in the lande of Canaan, and came into Egypt, both Iaakob and all his seede with him, 7 His sonnes and his sonnes sonnes with him, his daughters and his sonnes daughters, and al his seede brought he with him into Egypt. 8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, euen Iaakob and his sonnes: Reuben, Iaakobs first borne. 9 And the sonnes of Reuben: Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. 10 And the sonnes of Simeon: Iemuel, and Iamin, and Ohad, and Iachin, and Zohar; and Shaul the sonne of a Canaanitish woman. 11 Also the sonnes of Leui: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 Also the sonnes of Iudah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: (but Er and Onan died in ye land of Canaan) And the sonnes of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 Also the sonnes of Issachar: Tola, and Phuuah, and Iob, and Shimron. 14 Also the sonnes of Zebulun: Sered, and Elon, and Iahleel. 15 These bee the sonnes of Leah, which shee bare vnto Iaakob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the soules of his sonnes and his daughters were thirtie and three. 16 Also the sonnes of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. 17 Also the sonnes of Asher: Iimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sonnes of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel. 18 These are the children of Zilpah, whome Laban gaue to Leah his daughter: and these shee bare vnto Iaakob, euen sixtene soules. 19 The sonnes of Rahel Iaakobs wife were Ioseph and Beniamin. 20 And vnto Ioseph in the lande of Egypt were borne Manasseh, and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah prince of On bare vnto him. 21 Also the sonnes of Beniamin: Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sonnes of Rahel, which were borne vnto Iaakob, fourteene soules in all. 23 Also the sonnes of Dan: Hushim. 24 Also the sonnes of Naphtali: Iahzeel, and Guni, and Iezer, and Shillem. 25 These are the sonnes of Bilhah, which Laban gaue vnto Rahel his daughter, and shee bare these to Iaakob, in all, seuen soules. 26 Al the soules, that came with Iaakob into Egypt, which came out of his loynes (beside Iaakobs sonnes wiues) were in the whole, three score and sixe soules. 27 Also the sonnes of Ioseph, which were borne him in Egypt, were two soules: so that al the soules of the house of Iaakob, which came into Egypt, are seuentie. 28 The he sent Iudah before him vnto Ioseph, to direct his way vnto Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Then Ioseph made ready his charet and went vp to Goshen to meete Israel his father, and presented himselfe vnto him and fel on his necke, and wept vpon his necke a good while. 30 And Israel sayde vnto Ioseph, Now let me die, since I haue seene thy face, and that thou art yet aliue. 31 Then Ioseph said to his brethren, and to his fathers house, I wil go vp and shew Pharaoh, and tell him, My brethren and my fathers house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come vnto me, 32 And the men are shepheardes, and because they are shepheardes, they haue brought their sheepe and their cattell, and all that they haue. 33 And if Pharaoh call you, and aske you, What is your trade? 34 Then ye shall say, Thy seruants are men occupied about cattell, from our childehood euen vnto this time, both we and our fathers: that yee may dwell in the lande of Goshen: for euery sheepe keeper is an abomination vnto the Egyptians.