The History of Joseph, Part Seven

(Genesis 45:16 - 46:27)

Word that Joseph's brothers had arrived in Egypt spread throughout the court; the Pharaoh and his household rejoiced at the news.  He advised Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Pack your beasts of burden and make haste to return to the land of Canaan.  Then, take your father and all his chattels and come to me.  I will give you the best of everything in Egypt, and you will live off the fat of the land.  You may take out of Egypt any wagons you might need to convey your wives and children.  But bring your father here with all speed.  Don't worry about taking all your household possessions, for the riches of Egypt will be at your disposal.’”

The sons of Israel did as they were bid.  Joseph gave them wagons (according to the Pharaoh's instructions) and provisions for the journey.  He also presented each of his brothers with new raiment, but to Benjamin he gave a number of very fancy robes and three hundred silver shekels.  To his father he sent ten jackasses laden with sumptuous gifts from the land of Egypt and ten jennies bearing grain and bread and meat for the trip.  He sent his brothers off on their journey, and as they departed he bid them, "Don't get lost on the way back!”

And so the brothers departed from Egypt and arrived at Canaan at the house of their father Jacob.  They told him, "Joseph, your son, is alive and he is the governor of the country of Egypt!"  When Jacob heard this, he was stunned and couldn’t believe them.  But when they told him the whole story of what had happened and when he saw the wagons filled with goods sent by Joseph, Jacob’s heart leapt.

“I’m convinced now!  My son Joseph lives.  I must go to see him before I die," Jacob declared.

Israel made the journey to Egypt with all he possessed and stopped along the way at Beersheba, where he made sacrifices to the god of his father Isaac.  In a dream Jehovah called to Israel, "Jacob! Jacob!"  He answered, "Here I am."

Jehovah spoke to him, "I am the great god of your father.  Don't be fearful of going to Egypt.  I intend that your descendants will become a great nation there.  I will be with you in Egypt and when the time comes to return, it will be with my guidance and protection.  When death comes, Joseph will be at your side to close your eyes.”

When Jacob left Beersheba, his sons carried him, along with the women and children, in the wagons sent by the Pharaoh.  All that he had acquired in Canaan, his chattels and livestock, he transported into Egypt, as well as his entire family, his children, grandchildren, and all their wives.

These are the names of the members of Israel's tribe that dwelled in Egypt:

Jacob

His sons:

Reuben, his eldest, and his sons: Hanoch, Phallu, Hezron, and Carmi

Simeon and his sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, who was the son of a Canaanite woman

Levi and his sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari

Judah and his sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Pharez, and Zarah.  (Judah's sons Er and Onan died in Canaan.) The sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

Issachar and his sons: Tola, Phuvah, Job, and Shimron

Zebulun and his sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel

The above were the sons of Leah, which were born to Jacob in Aram, along with a daughter Dinah.  The descendants of Jacob by Leah were 33 in number.

Gad and his sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli

Asher and his sons:  Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and a daughter Serah.  The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel

The above were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah.  The descendants of Jacob by Zilpah were 16 in number.

Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Jacob's wife Rachel. 

Sons born to Joseph in Egypt by Asenath the daughter of Potipherah, the priest from On: Manasseh and Ephraim. 

The sons of Benjamin: Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

The above were the sons of Jacob by Rachel.  Their descendants were 14 in number.

Dan and his son: Hushim

Naphtali and his sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem

The above were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel.  The descendants of Jacob by Bilhah were 7 in number.

The number Jacob's descendants that entered Egypt (not including his son's wives) were 66 in number.  The sons of Joseph born in Egypt were two and all the descendants of Jacob in Egypt were accounted to be 70.

Notes
1.  Joseph has made good and, as is traditional with all peoples in all times, even our own, he shares his wealth with his family.  It is the ultimate revenge upon the brothers who treated him so ill.

2.  Jehovah is no longer appearing before the family of Abraham in the flesh, but appears to Jacob in a dream to tell it's OK that he go to Egypt, for eventually his descendants will be brought back to the Promised Land to claim the inheritance he has given them.   One wonders, however, whether Jehovah actually communicated to Jacob via a dream, or if Jacob merely had a wish fulfillment dream about Jehovah that was interpreted as communion with the divine.

3.  The immigration into Egypt of the tribe of Abraham reflects historical Semitic migration into Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (1650-1550 BC).  It is now believed that the so-called Hyksos, a loose confederation of Semitic peoples perhaps including the Hebrews, entered Egypt not as an invading army, but in waves of immigration that the weak or non-existent central government of Egypt was powerless to control.  Eventually Egypt, or at least Lower Egypt, the northern part, fell under their domination.  The 17th Egyptian Dynasty consisted of Hyksos Pharaohs, who would have invited in other Semitic tribes to settle in Egypt.