Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen
Jacob and Joseph reunite.
Genesis 46:28-47:12 NLT
Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen
28 As they neared their destination, Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen. And when they finally arrived there, 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time. 30 Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive.”
31 And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s entire family, “I will go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s entire family have come to me from the land of Canaan. 32 These men are shepherds, and they raise livestock. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’”
33 Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation, 34 you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise shepherds.”
Genesis 47:1-12 NLT1
Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen.”
2 Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 And Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
They replied, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. 4 We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. So please, we request permission to live in the region of Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, 6 choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 “How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.
9 Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.
11 So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.
Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 46:28-47:12 NLT
Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen
28 As they neared their destination, Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen.
Note: Judah received directions to Goshen, not Pharaoh’s palace.
Joseph’s brothers would set up “camp” in Goshen.
Genesis 45:17-18 NLT
17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘This is what you must do: Load your pack animals, and hurry back to the land of Canaan. 18 Then get your father and all of your families, and return here to me. I will give you the very best land in Egypt, and you will eat from the best that the land produces.’”
Judah the 4th oldest son.
Trusted.
Reuben, the firstborn, violated his father’s concubine, while Simeon and Levi went on to deceive and kill the men of Shechem in revenge for the rape of their sister.
The ancestor of King David and of Jesus Christ.
Genesis 49:10 NLT
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
the one whom all nations will honor.
Judah interceded for Benjamin.
Judah was far from perfect.
Reckless in his behavior with Tamar
(briefly the wife of two of Judah’s sons who were both killed by God. Genesis 38:6-30)
- Judah is continuing to take on leadership responsibilities.
And when they finally arrived there, 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time.
Joseph and his father wept.
Joseph is now 39 years old. (22 years had passed since he had seen his father.)
Joseph would live to be 110.
Genesis 37:2 & 14 NLT
2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
14 “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.
Genesis 41:46 NLT
46 He (Joseph) was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
- Jacob and Joseph reunite.
God’s timing is different than our timing.
30 Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive.”
Die in peace.
Jacob was now 130. He would live to the age of 147.
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 NLT
1 The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogical records as the firstborn son. 2 The descendants of Judah became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph.
The birthright (bekorah) has to do with both position and inheritance. By birthright, the firstborn son inherited the leadership of the family and the judicial authority of his father. Deuteronomy 21:17 states that he was also entitled to a double portion of the paternal inheritance.
Genesis 28:13-15 NLT
13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
- The reunion between Jacob and his favorite son was a confirmation that God’s promised blessing was intact.
31 And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s entire family, “I will go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s entire family have come to me from the land of Canaan. 32 These men are shepherds, and they raise livestock. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’”
33 Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation, 34 you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’
- Jacob’s family raised livestock all their lives, as their ancestors had done.
When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise shepherds.”
- The Egyptians despised shepherds.
Genesis 47:1-12 NLT
1 Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen.”
2 Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 And Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
They replied, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors.
The brothers did not do as Joseph had instructed.
“34 you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’”
Words matter. (Choose your words carefully.)
4 We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. So please, we request permission to live in the region of Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, 6 choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen.
And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too.”
“livestock”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
The first of two blessings.
8 “How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.
9 Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.”
10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.
- Jacob blessed Pharaoh. (A blessing from God.)
Genesis 12:2-3 NLT
2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
11 So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded.
- Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers
Joseph’s family, the Israelites, lived separately from the Egyptians. This separation would allow the people to grow into a great nation without losing their identity.
Suited for pasture.
The Israelites would run no danger of being absorbed by them so long as they continued to devote themselves to their old pursuits.
- The fact that the Egyptians despised shepherds turned out to be a blessing for the Israelites.
12 And Joseph provided
“provided” or administered.
food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.
“reign over”
Genesis 37:5-8 NLT
5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said. 7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.
- Joseph reigned over his brothers.
