†. Gen 46:1 . . So Israel set out with all that was his, and he came to
Beer-sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac.
I would imagine that Jacob was a bit uncertain as to whether or not he
should leave the promised land and go to Egypt, even though his granddad
had migrated for that the same reason back in chapter 12. Jacob was
promised a multitude of offspring who were supposed to inherit Palestine,
and how ever could that happen if he wasn't even living in the land? And it
seemed every time a patriarch left Palestine they got into trouble. Jacob had
to wonder: Was he walking into a trap?
Jacob, being a prophet, surely must have suspected that the prediction
below was somehow related to his present circumstances.
"Then Yhvh said to Abram: Know for certain that your descendants will be
strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and
mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as
slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions" (Gen
15:13-15)
†. Gen 46:2-4a . . God called to Israel in a vision by night: Jacob!
Jacob! He answered: Here. And He said: I am 'El, the god of your
father. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a
great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself
will also bring you back;
Since Jacob was destined to die in Egypt, God's promise to "bring you back"
would be quite hollow unless He intended to raise Jacob from the dead some
day; which He will. (Mtt 8:11)
There were so many 'els out and about in Jacob's day that it was necessary
for the Bible's God to pick His words carefully in order to make sure people
fully understood who He was so they didn't confuse Him with one of the
other deities popular in that day. In the first commandment, the Bible's God
clearly identifies himself as Yhvh; who is unmistakably the god of the Jews
(Ex 20:2). By identifying Himself to Jacob as the "god of your father" there
was no mistaking who was speaking.
Note : The problem of multiple choice exists today with the New Testament's
Jesus. There's a Jesus of Mormonism, a Jesus of Catholicism, a Jesus of
Protestantism, a Jesus of the Watch Tower Society, a Jesus of the Moonies, a
Jesus of the Rastafarians, a Jesus of liberalism, a Jesus of conservatism, a
Jesus of Hollywood, a Jesus of Broadway, a Jesus of Hallmark cards, a Jesus
of Xmas carols, a Jesus of religious art, and yet another called the Jesus of
primary sources; etc, etc, et al.
You can just imagine the confusion that goes on in a group whenever
somebody is talking about a holy man named Jesus. It's like when the
speaker says the color green, the minds in his audience picture every hue of
green known to man rather than every mind picturing the very same shade;
so that there's a veritable Tower-Of-Babel barrier to communication
whenever people talk about the holy man known as Jesus. Everybody seems
to have their very own proprietary concepts; which don't necessarily match
the other guy's.
The real Jesus is a closely-guarded secret.
†. Mtt 11:27 . . No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one
really knows the Father except the Son; and those to whom the Son chooses
to reveal him.
According to that passage, the real Jesus can't be identified by reason; no,
only by revelation. But what if the real Son reveals himself to me so that I
can now clearly identify the correct Jesus out of all those currently available?
Does that mean that I can now go out and about revealing the real Jesus to
others? No. It's still true that only those "to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him" can identify the correct Jesus.
†. Gen 46:4b . . and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.
That must have been a comforting prediction for Jacob. Not the dying part,
but the fact that he would die in Joseph's company, rather than dying
somewhere distant only for Joseph to hear about it later before he had a
chance to say his farewells.
†. Gen 46:5-7 . . So Jacob set out from Beer-sheba. The sons of
Israel put their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the
wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him; and they took along
their livestock and the wealth that they had amassed in the land of
Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt: he
brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, his daughters
and granddaughters-- all his offspring.
Not mentioned as participants in the wagon train were the slaves; the
"wealth that they had amassed in the land of Canaan" would have included
them as well as the livestock. If Isaac passed down granddad Abraham's
army to Jacob; then the whole troupe-- family, wagons, slaves, and of
course the herds; composed of sheep, goats, cows, burros, and camels -
must have been a very impressive sight traveling down the road to Shur into
Egypt.
The Hebrew word for "daughter" is ambiguous. It can mean an immediate
female offspring (e.g. Gen 46:15) or even all the females in a whole country
(e.g. Gen 28:8). But in this case, the females referred to were limited to
Jacob's own biological children (vs 7, and vs 26) rather than including every
female in the camp.
†. Gen 46:8-27 . .These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and
his descendants, who came to Egypt-- all the persons belonging to
Jacob who came to Egypt --his own issue, aside from the wives of
Jacob's sons --all these persons numbered 66. And Joseph's sons
who were born to him in Egypt were two in number. Thus the total of
Jacob's household who came to Egypt was seventy persons.
The number would have to include both Joseph and Jacob in order to come
out right. The nose count has its problems with other portions of scripture
that contain the rosters. Expositors with higher IQ's and better educations
than mine haven't had much luck at harmonizing those discrepancies so I
could hardly expect myself to do any better.
†. Gen 46:28-29a . . He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to
point the way before him to Goshen. So when they came to the
region of Goshen, Joseph ordered his chariot and went to Goshen to
meet his father Israel;
Judging from all past events, and the current ones; Judah appears to have
been the most grown-up (mature and serious) of all the other brothers, and
a man whom Jacob could reasonably depend upon to look after business and
not goof around or allow himself to get distracted.
Judah's going ahead of Jacob wasn't really to get instructions as to where
Jacob should settle (the Hebrew of "point the way before him" is a bit
difficult) but rather, as point man (liaison) to inform Joseph of his father's
imminent arrival. Subsequently Joseph gassed up his Federally-provided
conveyance and roared off to meet his father and personally guide him to
the correct location.
Note : some feel that Joseph's headquarters were in the vicinity of Ramses;
which supports Gen 45:10 that Jacob would settle where he would be "near
me"; that is: in Joseph's neighborhood-- sort of.
†. Gen 46:29b-30 . . he presented himself to him and, embracing him
around the neck, he wept on his neck a good while. Then Israel said
to Joseph: Now I can die, having seen for myself that you are still
alive.
There's sometimes a twinge of sadness at reunions as kin become shaken a
bit by the too obvious damage that the aging process wreaked upon loved
ones during the years of their absence; plus the sadness of not being a part
of all the years that kin have lived their lives without us.
Cont.
/
Beer-sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac.
I would imagine that Jacob was a bit uncertain as to whether or not he
should leave the promised land and go to Egypt, even though his granddad
had migrated for that the same reason back in chapter 12. Jacob was
promised a multitude of offspring who were supposed to inherit Palestine,
and how ever could that happen if he wasn't even living in the land? And it
seemed every time a patriarch left Palestine they got into trouble. Jacob had
to wonder: Was he walking into a trap?
Jacob, being a prophet, surely must have suspected that the prediction
below was somehow related to his present circumstances.
"Then Yhvh said to Abram: Know for certain that your descendants will be
strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and
mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as
slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions" (Gen
15:13-15)
†. Gen 46:2-4a . . God called to Israel in a vision by night: Jacob!
Jacob! He answered: Here. And He said: I am 'El, the god of your
father. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a
great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself
will also bring you back;
Since Jacob was destined to die in Egypt, God's promise to "bring you back"
would be quite hollow unless He intended to raise Jacob from the dead some
day; which He will. (Mtt 8:11)
There were so many 'els out and about in Jacob's day that it was necessary
for the Bible's God to pick His words carefully in order to make sure people
fully understood who He was so they didn't confuse Him with one of the
other deities popular in that day. In the first commandment, the Bible's God
clearly identifies himself as Yhvh; who is unmistakably the god of the Jews
(Ex 20:2). By identifying Himself to Jacob as the "god of your father" there
was no mistaking who was speaking.
Note : The problem of multiple choice exists today with the New Testament's
Jesus. There's a Jesus of Mormonism, a Jesus of Catholicism, a Jesus of
Protestantism, a Jesus of the Watch Tower Society, a Jesus of the Moonies, a
Jesus of the Rastafarians, a Jesus of liberalism, a Jesus of conservatism, a
Jesus of Hollywood, a Jesus of Broadway, a Jesus of Hallmark cards, a Jesus
of Xmas carols, a Jesus of religious art, and yet another called the Jesus of
primary sources; etc, etc, et al.
You can just imagine the confusion that goes on in a group whenever
somebody is talking about a holy man named Jesus. It's like when the
speaker says the color green, the minds in his audience picture every hue of
green known to man rather than every mind picturing the very same shade;
so that there's a veritable Tower-Of-Babel barrier to communication
whenever people talk about the holy man known as Jesus. Everybody seems
to have their very own proprietary concepts; which don't necessarily match
the other guy's.
The real Jesus is a closely-guarded secret.
†. Mtt 11:27 . . No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one
really knows the Father except the Son; and those to whom the Son chooses
to reveal him.
According to that passage, the real Jesus can't be identified by reason; no,
only by revelation. But what if the real Son reveals himself to me so that I
can now clearly identify the correct Jesus out of all those currently available?
Does that mean that I can now go out and about revealing the real Jesus to
others? No. It's still true that only those "to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him" can identify the correct Jesus.
†. Gen 46:4b . . and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.
That must have been a comforting prediction for Jacob. Not the dying part,
but the fact that he would die in Joseph's company, rather than dying
somewhere distant only for Joseph to hear about it later before he had a
chance to say his farewells.
†. Gen 46:5-7 . . So Jacob set out from Beer-sheba. The sons of
Israel put their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the
wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him; and they took along
their livestock and the wealth that they had amassed in the land of
Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt: he
brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, his daughters
and granddaughters-- all his offspring.
Not mentioned as participants in the wagon train were the slaves; the
"wealth that they had amassed in the land of Canaan" would have included
them as well as the livestock. If Isaac passed down granddad Abraham's
army to Jacob; then the whole troupe-- family, wagons, slaves, and of
course the herds; composed of sheep, goats, cows, burros, and camels -
must have been a very impressive sight traveling down the road to Shur into
Egypt.
The Hebrew word for "daughter" is ambiguous. It can mean an immediate
female offspring (e.g. Gen 46:15) or even all the females in a whole country
(e.g. Gen 28:8). But in this case, the females referred to were limited to
Jacob's own biological children (vs 7, and vs 26) rather than including every
female in the camp.
†. Gen 46:8-27 . .These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and
his descendants, who came to Egypt-- all the persons belonging to
Jacob who came to Egypt --his own issue, aside from the wives of
Jacob's sons --all these persons numbered 66. And Joseph's sons
who were born to him in Egypt were two in number. Thus the total of
Jacob's household who came to Egypt was seventy persons.
The number would have to include both Joseph and Jacob in order to come
out right. The nose count has its problems with other portions of scripture
that contain the rosters. Expositors with higher IQ's and better educations
than mine haven't had much luck at harmonizing those discrepancies so I
could hardly expect myself to do any better.
†. Gen 46:28-29a . . He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to
point the way before him to Goshen. So when they came to the
region of Goshen, Joseph ordered his chariot and went to Goshen to
meet his father Israel;
Judging from all past events, and the current ones; Judah appears to have
been the most grown-up (mature and serious) of all the other brothers, and
a man whom Jacob could reasonably depend upon to look after business and
not goof around or allow himself to get distracted.
Judah's going ahead of Jacob wasn't really to get instructions as to where
Jacob should settle (the Hebrew of "point the way before him" is a bit
difficult) but rather, as point man (liaison) to inform Joseph of his father's
imminent arrival. Subsequently Joseph gassed up his Federally-provided
conveyance and roared off to meet his father and personally guide him to
the correct location.
Note : some feel that Joseph's headquarters were in the vicinity of Ramses;
which supports Gen 45:10 that Jacob would settle where he would be "near
me"; that is: in Joseph's neighborhood-- sort of.
†. Gen 46:29b-30 . . he presented himself to him and, embracing him
around the neck, he wept on his neck a good while. Then Israel said
to Joseph: Now I can die, having seen for myself that you are still
alive.
There's sometimes a twinge of sadness at reunions as kin become shaken a
bit by the too obvious damage that the aging process wreaked upon loved
ones during the years of their absence; plus the sadness of not being a part
of all the years that kin have lived their lives without us.
Cont.
/
