Bible one year 4/10/2022 Genesis 46-50
By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical
precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry & counseling
Chapter 46 Joseph’s family in Egypt
God assured Jacob that he was doing the right thing to go to Egypt. It was in Egypt that the Lord would prosper their growth from a tribal clan into a great nation (Ex.1:7) Joseph will close your eyes in death. The total of seventy included the sixty-six mentioned in v.26, plus Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’s two sons . However, the total number including wives of Jacob’s sons and grandsons and husbands of his daughters and granddaughters (not listed), would have been greater than seventy in all that went to Egypt.
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.
2 And God spake unto Israel in the
visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
3 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:
4 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.
5 And Jacob rose up from Beersheba:
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.
6 And they took their cattle, and
their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt,
Jacob, and all his seed with him:
7 His sons, and his sons' sons with
him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with
him into Egypt.
8 And these are the names of the
children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's
firstborn.
9 And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch,
and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel,
and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish
woman.
11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon,
Kohath, and Merari.
12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and
Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of
Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola,
and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
14 And the sons of Zebulun; Sered,
and Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These be the sons of Leah, which
she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his
sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and
Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah,
and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of
Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
18 These are the sons of Zilpah,
whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even
sixteen souls.
19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife;
Joseph, and Benjamin.
20 And unto Joseph in the land of
Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah
priest of On bare unto him.
21 And the sons of Benjamin were
Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and
Huppim, and Ard.
22 These are the sons of Rachel,
which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
24 And the sons of Naphtali;
Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These are the sons of Bilhah,
which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all
the souls were seven.
26 All the souls that came with
Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all
the souls were threescore and six;
27 And the sons of Joseph, which
were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob,
which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
28 And he sent Judah before him unto
Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
29 And Joseph made ready his
chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented
himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now
let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
31 And Joseph said unto his
brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say
unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan,
are come unto me;
32 And the men are shepherds, for
their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and
their herds, and all that they have.
33 And it shall come to pass, when
Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
34 That ye shall say, Thy servants'
trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also
our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an
abomination unto the Egyptians.
Joseph gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. A later designation for Goshen used by Moses in order to aid in locating the area involved (Ex.1:11). As the famine became more severe and the people ran out of money, Joseph permitted grain to be exchanged for their animals and finally for their other property. Soon Pharaoh owned all the land except that of the priests (v.22) though the people tilled it and kept four-fifths of its produce. Jacob, who was 130 years old when he appeared before Pharaoh and 147 years old when died (v.28), did not attain the longevity of Abraham (175) or of Isaac (180).
1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2 And he took some of
his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said
unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy
servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4 They said moreover
unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no
pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now
therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spake
unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6 The land of Egypt is
before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in
the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity
among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
7 And Joseph brought
in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said
unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9 And Jacob said unto
Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty
years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not
attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of
their pilgrimage.
10 And Jacob blessed
Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph placed
his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt,
in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph
nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with
bread, according to their families.
13 And there was no
bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt
and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered
up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of
Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into
Pharaoh's house.
15 And when money
failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came
unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence?
for the money faileth.
16 And Joseph said,
Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17 And they brought
their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses,
and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he
fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18 When that year was
ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide
it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of
cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and
our lands:
19 Wherefore shall we
die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and
we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may
live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
20 And Joseph bought
all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field,
because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
21 And as for the
people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to
the other end thereof.
22 Only the land of
the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of
Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold
not their lands.
23 Then Joseph said
unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh:
lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24 And it shall come
to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and
four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for
them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25 And they said, Thou
hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be
Pharaoh's servants.
26 And Joseph made it
a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth
part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
27 And Israel dwelt in
the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein,
and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
28 And Jacob lived in
the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred
forty and seven years.
29 And the time drew
nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If
now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh,
and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
30 But I will lie with
my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their
buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31 And he said, Swear
unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
Chapter 48 The Blessings of Joseph’ sons
Jacob, by adopting Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his
own sons will be mine and thus elevating them to a position equal with his
other sons, insured that Joseph’s descendants would receive a double
inheritance. Apparently at this time Jacob transferred the rights of the first
born from Reuben to Joseph, the first born of his beloved Rachel (vv.15-16;
1Chron.5:1). Again God bypassed the older son (Manasseh ) in favor of the
younger (Ephraim), just as was done in the cases of choosing Isaac over
Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, and Joseph over Reuben. After the division of the
kingdom in the days of Jeroboam, the tribe of Ephraim (as predicted in v.19)
did become dominant in the north and its name was equated with Israel.
2 And one told Jacob, and said,
Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and
sat upon the bed.
3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God
Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4 And said unto me, Behold, I will
make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of
people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting
possession.
5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and
Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto
thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6 And thy issue, which thou
begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of
their brethren in their inheritance.
7 And as for me, when I came from
Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was
but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of
Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons,
and said, Who are these?
9 And Joseph said unto his father,
They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring
them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim
for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he
kissed them, and embraced them.
11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I
had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
12 And Joseph brought them out from
between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13 And Joseph took them both,
Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left
hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
14 And Israel stretched out his
right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left
hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the
firstborn.
15 And he blessed Joseph, and said,
God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me
all my life long unto this day,
16 The Angel which redeemed me from
all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth.
17 And when Joseph saw that his
father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he
held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's
head.
18 And Joseph said unto his father,
Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19 And his father refused, and said,
I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall
be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed
shall become a multitude of nations.
20 And he blessed them that day,
saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as
Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 And Israel said unto Joseph,
Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of
your fathers.
22 Moreover I have given to thee one
portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my
sword and with my bow.
Chapter 49 Jacob’s blessing of his sons, and
Jacob’s Death and Burial
In days to come refers to
Israel’s future in dual perspective: the period of their occupation of Canaan,
and the time of the coming of Messiah. Sometimes the expression refers to
Israel at the end of the Tribulation period (Deut.4:30;Ezek.38:16), and
sometimes to the present church age in its entirety (Heb.1:2) or at its
conclusion (2Tim. 3:1;James 5:3). Jacob’s pronouncements in Gen.49 included
both prophecy (v.1) and blessing(v.28).
1)
Reuben, the firstborn,
forfeited his place of preeminence because of his fornication with Bilhah
(35:22). Jacob predicted instability and ineffectiveness. No prophet, judge, or
hero came from this tribe.(Judg.5:15-16;1Chron.5:1)
2)
Simeon and Levi are
condemned for their cruelty and hot-tempered anger in the slaying of the
Shechemites (34:25) In 49:6, Jacob disassociates himself from their motives and
actions. Simeon was given an inheritance within the inheritance of Judah
(Josh.19:10.
3)
The Levites had no
inheritance of their own, only cities scattered throughout the
land(Josh.21:1-3). The Levites redeemed themselves by opposing the idolatry
connected with the golden calf (Ex.32:26) and they became the priestly tribe.
4)
Judah (meaning “praise”)
would become the leader among the tribes, strong as a young lion that has eaten
his prey, and secure as a mature lion whom no one would dare to rouse (v.9).
This prediction did not begin to be fulfilled until the time of King David,
some 640 years after Jacob’s prophecy. He comes, or Shiloh, which probably
means “ the one who brings (or ‘until he comes into that which belongs to’ ) peace,”
referring to Messiah who would be of the tribe of Judah (Rev.5:5). At His
second coming, Messiah will receive international acknowledgment. Verses 11-12
describe the millennial prosperity, with vines so plentiful no one will
hesitate to tie an ass to them (even though asses are herbivorous animals),
with wine abundant as water, and with healthy people darker than wine may
possible mean “brighter and more sparkling than wine.”
5)
The blessing of Joseph is
the most eloquent of all. Verses 23-24 are a brief biography of Joseph. Joshua
and Deborah were from the tribe of Ephraim, and Gideon and Jephthah, from the
tribe of Manasseh. It is predicted that Benjamin would be like a ravenous wolf,
successful in war, but also cruel (Judg.20) King Saul and the apostle Paul were
Benjamites (1Sam.9:1-2; Rom.11:1)
1 And Jacob called unto his sons,
and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall
befall you in the last days.
2 Gather yourselves together, and
hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my
might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the
excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not
excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he
went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren;
instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 O my soul, come not thou into
their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in
their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was
fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and
scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, thou art he whom thy
brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy
father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the
prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as
an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him
shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine,
and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and
his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine,
and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven
of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto
Zidon.
14 Issachar is a strong ass couching
down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good,
and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a
servant unto tribute.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as
one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the
way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall
fall backward.
18 I have waited for thy salvation,
O LORD.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him:
but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be
fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he
giveth goodly words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even
a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23 The archers have sorely grieved
him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24 But his bow abode in strength,
and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of
Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25 Even by the God of thy father,
who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings
of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the
breasts, and of the womb:
26 The blessings of thy father have
prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the
everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the
head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in
the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28 All these are the twelve tribes
of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them;
every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
30 In the cave that is in the field
of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham
bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place.
31 There they buried Abraham and
Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I
buried Leah.
32 The purchase of the field and of
the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33 And when Jacob had made an end of
commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the
ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Chapter 50 The Last Days of Joseph
Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them, they carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had brought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. Joseph said to his brothers, and made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “ God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place”. Joseph believed that eventually his descendants would move back to Canaan and he wanted them to take his body with them, which they did (Ex. 13:19; Josh.24:32)
1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2 And Joseph commanded
his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed
Israel.
3 And forty days were
fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed:
and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
4 And when the days of
his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now
I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh,
saying,
5 My father made me
swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of
Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and
bury my father, and I will come again.
6 And Pharaoh said, Go
up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
7 And Joseph went up
to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the
elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8 And all the house of
Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and
their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9 And there went up
with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10 And they came to
the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with
a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven
days.
11 And when the
inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad,
they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of
it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
12 And his sons did
unto him according as he commanded them:
13 For his sons
carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of
Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a
buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14 And Joseph returned
into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his
father, after he had buried his father.
15 And when Joseph's
brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure
hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16 And they sent a
messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 So shall ye say
unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their
sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass
of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto
him.
18 And his brethren
also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy
servants.
19 And Joseph said
unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye
thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is
this day, to save much people alive.
21 Now therefore fear
ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and
spake kindly unto them.
22 And Joseph dwelt in
Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
23 And Joseph saw
Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son
of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24 And Joseph said
unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of
this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an
oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall
carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died,
being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a
coffin in Egypt.
Bibliography,
King James, The Holy Bible,
Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company
Lee, Witness. The
New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Ryrie, Charles C. The
Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986
Roberts, Oral. “Holy Bible” (KJV) Tulsa, OK:
Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, Inc, 1981
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