‏ Genesis 46

Summary for Gen 46:1-4: 46:1-4  ^a God reassured Jacob about his move to Egypt. 46:1  ^b set out for Egypt: A little over 200 years earlier, Abraham had similarly gone down into Egypt during a famine in Canaan (12:10  ^c), and God had protected him there.

• Jacob’s first stop was at Beersheba, where Abraham had sacrificed to the Lord and worshiped him after settling his land and water rights with the Philistines (21:31-33  ^d). This was where Isaac had lived, and where Jacob had lived before he fled from Esau’s anger (28:10  ^e).

• all his possessions: See 46:5-7  ^f.
Summary for Gen 46:2-4: 46:2-4  ^g In a night vision, the Lord repeated his promise to go with Jacob and make his family into a great nation in Egypt. The same God who led the family into Egypt promised to bring them out of Egypt to live once again in the land of Canaan.
46:4  ^h You will die: He would have a peaceful death, surrounded by his family and many blessings from God (49:33  ⁱ).
Summary for Gen 46:8-27: 46:8-27  ^j This genealogy of the sons of Jacob shows that all the tribes of Israel went together to the land of Egypt; they would all leave together as well (see the book of Exodus).
46:20  ^k On: See study note on 41:45.
46:26  ^l The total number ... was sixty-six: This is the number of those who traveled with Jacob to Egypt, excluding his sons’ wives, the servants, and others attached to the household. It also omits Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Jacob.
46:27  ^m The total seventy includes Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Jacob. Seventy is also a symbolic number for perfection or completion (see thematic note for Symbolic Numbers at end of chapter). From these seventy (i.e., all Israel) would grow the nation of Israel that would bless the seventy nations (i.e., all the nations) of the world (see study note on Gen 10:2-32; cp. 12:3  ⁿ).
Summary for Gen 46:28-34: 46:28-34  ^o Jacob finally saw his son Joseph again; their reunion was overwhelmingly joyful.
46:29  ^p Joseph ... embraced his father and wept: Joseph was seventeen when he had last seen his father (37:2  ^q); now he was thirty-nine.
46:30  ^r Jacob was satisfied just to see his beloved son alive—the firstborn of his chosen wife Rachel and the designated family leader (see study note on 48:5-7; see also 1 Chr 5:1-2  ^s). More than just a family reunion, this was confirmation that God’s plan was intact.
46:34  ^t In contrast to the syncretistic Canaanites, who would have absorbed the Israelites had they stayed in Canaan, Egyptians detested Semitic shepherds out of a sense of ethnic superiority and observed a strict segregation (see 43:32  ^u). When Jacob’s family settled in Egypt, this separation would allow the people to grow into a great nation without losing their identity.

Thematic note: Symbolic Numbers
Numbers used in Scripture have often inspired wild speculation. An understanding of the symbolism of numbers in the ancient world can help ground our interpretation. Such symbolism, however, is not rigid or exact, so great care must be exercised when numbers are used in interpretation, so as not to push fanciful predictions about future events.
The number one can refer to God’s oneness (Deut 6:4  ^v; Gal 3:20  ^w; Jas 2:19  ^x). Two is the minimum number required to give a legitimate witness (Deut 17:6  ^y; Rev 11:3  ^z), and three can imply divine representation (Gen 18:1-2  ^aa; 2 Cor 13:14  ^ab; Rev 1:4-5  ^ac). Four can stand for the known world, represented in Revelation by living creatures, horsemen, winds, and angels (Rev 4:6-8  ^ad; 6:1-8  ^ae; 7:1  ^af) and in Genesis  ^ag by four rivers (Gen 2:10-14  ^ah). When three and four are added to make seven, they represent perfection or divine fulfillment, indicating that God and the world are in harmony. The multiplication of three by four yields twelve, the number associated with God’s people (Gen 35:22-26  ^ai; Exod 24:4  ^aj; 28:21  ^ak; Num 17:2  ^al; Josh 4:3-8  ^am; 1 Kgs 18:31  ^an; Matt 10:1-4  ^ao; 19:28  ^ap; Jas 1:1  ^aq; Rev 12:1  ^ar; 21:12–22:2  ^as. The number five and its multiples, such as ten, represent human completeness (e.g., five fingers per hand); and six carries a negative sense or implication of evil, being neither humanly complete (five) nor divinely complete (seven).
Multiples of ten (e.g., forty) are a symbolic way to indicate many, whereas three sixes (666) imply supreme evil (Rev 13:18  ^at). One thousand is regarded as the foundational large number; 12,000 indicates a large number of God’s people (Rev 7:5-8  ^au); and 144,000 represents the complete people of God (Rev 7:4  ^av; 14:1  ^aw). The number 10,000 and its multiples are probably best transliterated from Greek as myriads, since they really mean “a huge number” rather than a precise count.
While some of the numbers in the Bible have symbolic meanings, using numbers to speculate on the time of Christ’s return or of the end of the world is highly dubious—only God possesses that knowledge (Mark 13:32  ^ax). God did not intend for the symbolic numbers in Revelation to help us predict the future; rather, their symbolic meanings help to explain the significance of the visions. Because the numbers are symbolic, sometimes when we translate them into contemporary sizes, distances, and numbers for our ease of reading, it can result in the loss of theological significance. The use of these symbolic numbers can illuminate a vision’s relationship to the world or to the people of God.


Passages for Further Study
Gen 2:2-3  ^ay; 4:15  ^az; 15:13  ^ba; 41:53-54  ^bb; Exod 20:6  ^bc; 25:31-37  ^bd; 32:15  ^be; Lev 16:14  ^bf; 23:16  ^bg; 2 Sam 24:13  ^bh; 1 Kgs 4:26  ^bi; 17:21  ^bj; 18:31  ^bk, 43-44  ^bl; Job 1:2  ^bm; Ps 90:4  ^bn; Jer 15:3  ^bo; 49:36  ^bp; Ezek 14:21  ^bq; Dan 4:16  ^br, 23-25  ^bs; 7:3  ^bt, 17  ^bu, 24  ^bv; Zech 4:2  ^bw; 6:1  ^bx; Matt 10:1-5  ^by; 12:40  ^bz; 18:21-22  ^ca; Mark 6:7  ^cb; Luke 15:8  ^cc; Acts 6:3  ^cd; 10:16  ^ce; 1 Cor 8:6  ^cf; Eph 4:4-6  ^cg; 2 Pet 3:8  ^ch; Rev 1:16  ^ci; 2:10  ^cj; 4:4  ^ck; 6:1  ^cl; 7:1  ^cm, 4-8  ^cn; 12:1  ^co, 3  ^cp; 13:1  ^cq; 17:3-14  ^cr; 20:2-7  ^cs; 21:12-21  ^ct

‏ Genesis 47

Summary for Gen 47:1-6: 47:1-6  ^cu Pharaoh responded as Joseph hoped by giving Jacob’s family the best part of the land; he even gave some of the brothers oversight of his own livestock (47:6  ^cv). 47:1  ^cw Goshen (see study note on 45:10) is not referred to in ancient Egyptian texts; the name it bore in later Egyptian writings was “the region of Rameses” (47:11  ^cx; see Exod 1:11  ^cy). It was fertile and near to Joseph at court, which suggests that it was on the eastern side of the Nile delta.
Summary for Gen 47:7-10: 47:7-10  ^cz When Jacob entered Pharaoh’s court and when he left, he blessed Pharaoh, an indication of Jacob’s position as God’s representative (see Heb 7:7  ^da). God had promised that he would bless those who blessed Abraham’s family (Gen 12:2-3  ^db), so he now blessed Pharaoh and Egypt.
Summary for Gen 47:13-26: 47:13-26  ^dc The Lord blessed Pharaoh because Pharaoh was blessing Abraham’s descendants (12:3  ^dd). Through Joseph’s wise administration in Egypt, the Lord saved the people from starvation and prospered Pharaoh. In selling food to the Egyptians during the years of famine, Joseph accepted money, livestock, and finally land as payment, until almost all of Egypt belonged to Pharaoh. Meanwhile, God provided Israel with some of the best land in Egypt where they could live, work, and multiply.
47:21  ^de he made them all slaves: In Hebrew script, the difference is very slight between slaves (Hebrew ‘abadim) and towns (Hebrew ‘arim). Moving the people into the towns doesn’t fit the context very well, so most translations select slaves as the reading that makes the most sense (cp. 47:20  ^df).
47:27  ^dg God blessed his people according to his promise to Abraham that his descendants would be innumerable (15:5  ^dh; 22:17  ^di). They had to wait for the fulfillment of the second promise, that they would own the land of Canaan (17:8  ^dj).
Summary for Gen 47:29-31: 47:29-31  ^dk bury me with my ancestors: Cp. 49:29-33  ^dl. Jacob wanted to be buried with Abraham and Isaac in the cave of Machpelah (see study note on 49:29-33; see 23:1-20  ^dm; 25:7-10  ^dn; 35:27-29  ^do).

• Put your hand under my thigh: This custom (cp. 24:1-9  ^dp and study note on 24:2) was a serious oath to carry on the covenant, which had as its main promise innumerable descendants in the Promised Land.
47:31  ^dq When the oath was taken, Jacob bowed humbly in worship and thanked the Lord for ensuring that he would be buried with his ancestors in the land of promise (cp. 1 Kgs 1:47  ^dr).

‏ Genesis 48

Summary for Gen 48:1-22: 48:1-22  ^ds In blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob reached out by faith for the promise to be continued, having learned that God’s ways are not always the ways of men. Out of Jacob’s long life, the writer to the Hebrews selected the blessing of Joseph’s sons as his great act of faith (Heb 11:21  ^dt). As Jacob acted in light of God’s will, the primary blessing was again given to the younger instead of the older son, but without scheming and its bitter results.
Summary for Gen 48:3-4: 48:3-4  ^du Jacob rehearsed how God Almighty had appeared to him and had promised him Abraham’s blessing—innumerable descendants dwelling in the land ... as an everlasting possession (cp. 28:10-22  ^dv).
Summary for Gen 48:5-7: 48:5-7  ^dw Jacob, prompted by his memory of Rachel (see 35:16-20  ^dx), blessed Joseph by elevating his two sons as coheirs with his other sons—the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh would have shares along with the other tribes that came from Jacob (see Josh 16–17  ^dy). Jacob also gave Ephraim, Joseph’s younger son, the birthright (see 1 Chr 5:1-2  ^dz). As a result of this blessing, Ephraim and Manasseh became large and powerful tribes (see Josh 17:14-18  ^ea).
48:10  ^eb As Isaac his father had done, Jacob now gave the blessing when his eyesight was failing (cp. 27:1  ^ec).
48:14  ^ed The right hand was for the head of the firstborn, and Jacob was deliberately giving that position to the younger son. That pattern was followed for four consecutive generations: Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over Reuben, and Ephraim over Manasseh. Many years later, Ephraim became the leading tribe in the northern kingdom, superior to the tribe of Manasseh. The entire northern kingdom of Israel was occasionally called Ephraim (see study notes on 2 Chr 28:12  ^ee; Isa 11:13; Ezek 37:15-28; Hos 6:4; Zech 9:10).
Summary for Gen 48:15-16: 48:15-16  ^ef In his blessing on Joseph, Jacob used a threefold invocation to describe the God in whom he trusted: (1) the God who was in covenant with his fathers Abraham and Isaac (28:13  ^eg; 31:5  ^eh, 42  ^ei; 32:9  ^ej; 46:3  ^ek); (2) the God who had been his shepherd (cp. 49:24  ^el; Exod 6:6  ^em; Ps 23:1  ^en; Isa 59:20  ^eo); and (3) the Angel who rescued him from all harm. He prayed the same blessings for Joseph’s sons.
Summary for Gen 48:17-19: 48:17-19  ^ep Joseph was upset: He expected God to act according to convention, but faith recognizes that God’s ways are not man’s ways, and God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts. It took Jacob a lifetime to learn this lesson, but he did learn it, and here he acted on it.
48:22  ^eq Joseph was later buried at Shechem (Josh 24:32  ^er) as a sign that he possessed this bequeathed extra portion (Hebrew shekem) of land. Jacob had apparently conquered this area though the occasion is not mentioned elsewhere.

‏ Genesis 49

Summary for Gen 49:1-28: 49:1-28  ^es Jacob, by faith and as God’s spokesman, looked forward to Israel’s settlement in the land, and beyond that to the glorious future. Here at the end of the patriarchal age, he foretold what would happen to each tribe as he evaluated his sons one by one, just as Noah had done at the end of the primeval era (cp. 9:25-27  ^et). The character and acts of each ancestor affected the lives of his descendants (Exod 20:5-6  ^eu; 34:6-7  ^ev; Num 14:18  ^ew; Jer 32:18  ^ex).
Summary for Gen 49:1-2: 49:1-2  ^ey Jacob’s words were deliberately chosen prophetic oracles. The days to come refer to the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land, and beyond that to the messianic age. They would all share in the blessing; all the tribes would enter the land with Joshua, but they would not all participate equally.
Summary for Gen 49:3-4: 49:3-4  ^ez As firstborn, Reuben was entitled to be head of the family, but because he had the ungoverned impulses of boiling or turbulent waters (35:22  ^fa), Jacob prophesied that Reuben would fail in leadership (see 37:21-22  ^fb, 29  ^fc; 42:22  ^fd, 37-38  ^fe; cp. Judg 5:15-16  ^ff; 1 Chr 5:1-2  ^fg).
Summary for Gen 49:5-7: 49:5-7  ^fh Simeon and Levi were violent and lawless; instead of serving justice, they indulged their uncontrolled anger and disregarded life (34:24-29  ^fi).

• I will scatter them: Simeon’s land was largely absorbed into Judah’s (Josh 19:1  ^fj, 9  ^fk); Levi was given a more honorable future because the Levites became the priestly tribe (see Exod 32:25-29  ^fl), but they had no region of their own (Josh 21  ^fm).
Summary for Gen 49:8-12: 49:8-12  ^fn The blessing on Judah commands the most attention. In this oracle, Jacob predicted the fierce, lion-like dominance of Judah over his enemies and over his brothers, who would praise him (cp. 29:35  ^fo; see, e.g., Ruth 4:11-12  ^fp; 1 Sam 18:6-7  ^fq; Pss 2  ^fr, 45  ^fs, 72  ^ft; Isa 11:1-13  ^fu).
49:10  ^fv This verse anticipates the kingship in Judah (cp. 17:6  ^fw, 16  ^fx; 35:11  ^fy). Although the birthright blessing went to Joseph, Judah would provide Israel’s rulers (see 1 Chr 5:1-2  ^fz). A long line of kings from Judah would retain the scepter, the symbol of rule; the last king would be the one to whom it belongs, the promised Messiah (see 2 Sam 7:4-16  ^ga; Pss 2  ^gb, 45  ^gc, 60  ^gd; Isa 11  ^ge; Ezek 21:26-27  ^gf; Zech 9:9  ^gg; Rev 5:5  ^gh).

• from his descendants: Literally from between his feet, a poetic euphemism for reproductive organs.

• until the coming of the one to whom it belongs (Or until tribute is brought to him and the peoples obey; traditionally rendered until Shiloh comes): These differences arise from ambiguities in the Hebrew text. Rule of Israel belongs to Judah’s descendant through David’s line (2 Sam 7:8-16  ^gi), and he will eventually rule all nations, as signified by the bringing of tribute (see Pss 68:29  ^gj; 72:8-11  ^gk; Isa 2:2-4  ^gl; Eph 4:8-10  ^gm).
Summary for Gen 49:11-12: 49:11-12  ^gn These descriptions envision the abundance of the Messiah’s kingdom (see Isa 61:6-7  ^go; 65:21-25  ^gp; Zech 3:10  ^gq). When the Messiah comes, there will be paradise-like splendor and abundance on the earth.

• He ties his foal to a grapevine: Grapevines will be so abundant that they will be used for hitching posts, and wine will be as abundant as fresh water (see Amos 9:13-14  ^gr; Zech 3:10  ^gs).

• The coming one will have eyes ... darker than wine and teeth ... whiter than milk: He will be vigorous and healthy, as will be the era of his rule. Jesus’ miracle of changing water into wine (John 2:1-12  ^gt), his first sign, was an announcement that the Messiah had come; it was a foretaste of even better things to come.
49:13  ^gu The oracle said Zebulun would dwell by the sea and be a safe harbor, but in the actual settlement they spread inland (see Josh 19:10-16  ^gv). The oracle did not give specific borders for the tribes.
Summary for Gen 49:14-15: 49:14-15  ^gw Like a sturdy donkey, the tribe of Issachar would be forced to work for others. Issachar was often subjugated by invading armies.
Summary for Gen 49:16-17: 49:16-17  ^gx Dan was called to provide justice (Dan means “judge”), but the tribe would choose treachery, like a snake beside the road (see Judg 18  ^gy).
49:18  ^gz At this point, Jacob interjected an expression of hope. He may have been indirectly reminding his sons of their need for dependence on the Lord or expressing his hope in the Messiah’s reign, when he and his descendants would be rescued from all trouble, grief, and human treachery.
49:19  ^ha Three of the six Hebrew words in this verse are wordplays on the name Gad (“attack”). Gad will be attacked by marauding bands (attackers), but he will attack. The tribes that settled east of the Jordan River frequently experienced border raids (see Josh 13  ^hb; 2 Kgs 10:32-33  ^hc; 1 Chr 5:18-19  ^hd).
49:20  ^he Asher would be fertile and productive, providing rich foods. The tribe settled along the rich northern coast of Canaan.
49:21  ^hf Naphtali, like a doe, would be a free mountain people (cp. Judg 5:18  ^hg). The tribe settled in the hilly region northwest of the Sea of Galilee.
Summary for Gen 49:22-26: 49:22-26  ^hh This oracle treats Joseph more expansively than any of the others, for here the main blessing lay (see 1 Chr 5:1-2  ^hi). Jacob lavished promises of victory and prosperity on Joseph’s two tribes. Ephraimites recorded as victorious in battle include Joshua (Josh 6  ^hj, 8  ^hk, 10  ^hl, 12  ^hm) and Deborah (Judg 4  ^hn). Victorious descendants of Manasseh include Gideon (Judg 6–8  ^ho) and Jephthah (Judg 11:1–12:7  ^hp).
Summary for Gen 49:24-26: 49:24-26  ^hq Five names for God introduce five blessings; God is the giver of all good things.
49:25  ^hr The blessings of the heavens above meant rain for crops.

• The blessings of the watery depths were streams and wells of water.

• The blessings of the breasts and womb were abundant offspring.
49:26  ^hs Joseph ... is a prince among his brothers: a reflection of both his character and his position.
49:27  ^ht The oracle about Benjamin describes a violent tribe (see Judg 20  ^hu; 1 Sam 9:1-2  ^hv; 19:10  ^hw; 22:17  ^hx).
49:28  ^hy These prophecies are broad in scope, foretelling the future of the different tribes in general terms. Individuals, by faith and obedience, could find great blessing from God regardless of what happened to their clan.
Summary for Gen 49:29-33: 49:29-33  ^hz Bury me with my father: This grave in the land of Canaan represented hope for the future (cp. 47:29-30  ^ia). Others buried at the cave of Machpelah near Hebron were Sarah (23:19  ^ib), Abraham (25:7-9  ^ic), Isaac (35:27-29  ^id), Rebekah, and Leah.
49:33  ^ie Jacob died at the age of 147 (47:28  ^if), bringing his life of struggle and sorrow to an end. Jacob had always had an unquenchable desire for God’s blessing. He had a deep piety that habitually relied on God despite all else. In the end, he died a man of genuine faith. He learned where real blessings come from, and through his faith would be able to hand these on to his sons (Heb 11:21  ^ig).

‏ Genesis 50

Summary for Gen 50:1-6: 50:1-6  ^ih As with his father and grandfather, Jacob’s death brought the end of an era.
50:2  ⁱⁱ Jacob’s body was embalmed for burial in typical Egyptian fashion.
50:3  ^ij the Egyptians mourned for Jacob for seventy days, just two days short of the mourning period for a pharaoh. This showed the great respect that the Egyptians had for Joseph.
Summary for Gen 50:4-6: 50:4-6  ^ik Joseph needed Pharaoh’s permission to leave his post temporarily to bury his father in Canaan. Pharaoh readily granted this freedom to the former slave.
Summary for Gen 50:7-9: 50:7-9  ^il This was Joseph’s first return to his homeland in thirty-nine years. The trip was temporary. Centuries later, the family of Israel would permanently leave Egypt, taking Joseph’s bones with them for burial in the land of promise (see 50:25  ^im).
Summary for Gen 50:10-13: 50:10-13  ⁱⁿ This journey into Canaan was made in sorrow to bury a man; the next journey into the land would be to live there.
Summary for Gen 50:15-18: 50:15-18  ^io The brothers pleaded for Joseph’s forgiveness, referring to themselves as Joseph’s slaves (cp. 37:7  ^ip; 44:16  ^iq, 33  ^ir). The brothers were afraid that Joseph’s earlier reconciliation with them had been motivated only by his desire to see his father again. With neither Jacob nor Pharaoh to restrain him, they feared that he might now take revenge on them. But Joseph ... wept because they still feared reprisal.
Summary for Gen 50:19-21: 50:19-21  ^is Joseph reassured his brothers that God planned to fulfill the promised blessing (cp. 45:5  ^it, 7-9  ^iu), and he promised kindness and provision (cp. 45:11  ^iv).
Summary for Gen 50:22-23: 50:22-23  ^iw Joseph lived to see his great-great-grandchildren by Ephraim, and his great-grandchildren by Manasseh—a sign of God’s blessing (see Ps 128:6  ^ix; Prov 17:6  ^iy; Isa 53:10  ^iz).
50:23  ^ja whom he claimed as his own (literally who were born on Joseph’s knees): Placing them on his knees at their birth was a symbolic act signifying that they came from him and belonged to him (cp. Job 3:12  ^jb).
Summary for Gen 50:24-25: 50:24-25  ^jc God will surely come to help you (literally visit you): These words of Joseph, given twice, summarize the hope expressed throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament. God’s visitation in the person of the Messiah, the offspring of Abraham, would bring the curse to an end and establish the long-awaited blessing of God in a new creation. The company of the faithful would wait in expectation for that to happen.

• Like his father before him, Joseph made his brothers promise that his bones would be taken out of Egypt when God would come to take them (to help you and lead you back) to Canaan (see Exod 13:19  ^jd; Josh 24:32  ^je; Heb 11:22  ^jf).
50:26  ^jg Joseph’s death signified the end of his generation (see study notes on 25:7-8; 35:1-29) and of the patriarchal age. From this point forward, God dealt with Israel as a nation.

• Joseph’s body was kept in Egypt as a pledge of hope for slaves awaiting the Promised Land (see Exod 13:19  ^jh; Heb 11:39-40  ^ji). He was eventually buried in Shechem (see Josh 24:32  ^jj), where Jacob had originally sent him (Gen 37:13  ^jk).