Egypt and Exodus
Epoch 27 · c. 1876 BC
Jacob's Family Descends to Egypt
The household of Israel migrates to Egypt, where Joseph provides for them during the famine.
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Bible references
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Scripture in full
The passages connected to this timeline moment are shown in full below.
Genesis 46:1-34
So Israel journeyed with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am .” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will also bring you up. And Joseph will place his hand over your eyes.” So Jacob arose from Beersheba. And the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to transport him. And they took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan. And they came to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him: his sons and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt. Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob and the sons of Reuben: Enoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar: Tolah, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah that she bore to Jacob in Paddan-Aram, and Dinah his daughter. His sons and his daughters were thirty-three persons in all. The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serah. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob—sixteen persons. The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. And Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him, were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. The sons of Dan: Hushim. The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob—seven persons in all. All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt who were his descendants, not including the wives of the sons of Jacob were sixty-six persons in all. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy. He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to appear before him in Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. Then Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell upon his neck and wept upon his neck a long time. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face, for you are still alive.” Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and report to Pharaoh, and I will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they are men of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their cattle and all that they have.’ And it shall be that when Pharaoh calls you he will say, ‘What is your occupation?’ Then you must say, ‘Your servants are men of livestock from our childhood until now, both we and also our ancestors,’ so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is a detestable thing to Egyptians.”
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Genesis 47:1-12
So Joseph went and reported to Pharaoh. And he said, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds, and all that they have, have come from the land of Canaan. Now they are here in the land of Goshen.” And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our ancestors.” And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen, and if you know there are among them men of ability, then appoint them overseers of my own livestock.” Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty years. Few and hard have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my ancestors in the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and he went out from the presence of Pharaoh. And Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them property in the land of Egypt in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed. And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all the household of his father with food, according to the number of their children.
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Why this moment matters
Israel's move to Egypt is both rescue and foreshadowing. The place of safety will later become the house of slavery.
About this section
Israel grows in Egypt, Yahweh raises Moses, and redemption through Passover and the sea reveals the Lord's saving name.
Further study
Previous epoch
Epoch 26 · c. 1885 BC
Joseph Exalted in Egypt
Next epoch
Epoch 28 · c. 1850 BC
Israel Preserved in Goshen
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