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0 Even more about Joseph (Gen 46-50)

Episode 22: Even more about Joseph

(Genesis 46-50)

Jacob and his family travel to the land of Goshen

46 1 When Jacob began his journey to Egypt, God said to him,

2 Jacob, Jacob. I am your father's God.

3 Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I'll make a great nation from you while you're there.

4 I'll go to Egypt with you, and I'll bring you back again.

5 So Jacob and his family went to Egypt.

27 There were a total of seventy people in Jacob's family when they came to Egypt.

Joseph meets Jacob and his family

28-29 When Jacob and his family arrived in Goshen, Joseph drove his chariot over to meet them.

Pharaoh invites Jacob and his family to live in Goshen

47 1 When Joseph told the Pharaoh that his family had arrived in Egypt, 5 the Pharaoh said to Joseph,

6 Give your family the best land in Egypt.

They may live in the land of Goshen.

7 Joseph brought Jacob to Pharaoh.

8 The Pharaoh asked Jacob, "How old are you?"

9 Jacob replied, "One hundred and thirty."

11 Joseph gave his family the best of the land, along with bread to feed their families.

Joseph collects all the money in Egypt

13 There was no food in Egypt or Canaan.

14 So Joseph gathered up all the money in Egypt and Canaan by selling bread to the starving people.

15-16 When he had taken all their money, he took their animals.

18 When he had taken all their animals, he took their land.

23-24 When the people had no money, animals, or land, Joseph made them plant crops and give 20% of their produce to the Pharaoh.

Joseph swears to bury Jacob in Canaan

29 When it was time for Jacob to die, he called Joseph and said to him,

Put your hand under my thigh and promise you won't bury me in Egypt.

30 Bury me with my fathers.

 

31 And Joseph swore.

Jacob's (messed up) blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh

48 1 When Joseph heard that his father Jacob was sick, he went to visit him with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

3 After they arrived, Jacob said,

5 Your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are now mine.

6 Any other children that you have will be yours.

13 Joseph brought his two sons to Jacob, with Ephraim toward Jacob's left hand, and Manasseh toward his right. 14 But Jacob put his right hand on the Ephraim's head, and his left hand on Manasseh's. (Manasseh was the older son.) And he blessed them.

17 When Joseph saw that Jacob put his right hand on the wrong head, he tried to reverse Jacob's hands, saying,

18 You've messed up the blessing, father. Put your right hand on the firstborn's head.

19 But Jacob refused, saying,

I know, I know. Manasseh will become a people and he'll be great.

But his younger brother Ephraim will be greater, and his seed will become a multitude of nations.

20 And Jacob went on with the blessing.

21 Then Jacob said to Joseph,

I'm dying. But God will be with you and bring you to Canaan.

22 I'm giving you more than I'm giving your brothers (which I forcibly took from the Amorites).

Jacob's deathbed speech

49 1 When Jacob was preparing to die, he gathered his sons around him and addressed each of them individually. 3 He began with his oldest son, Reuben, and said,

Reuben will not excel because he had sex with his father's wife.

5 Jacob continued addressing his sons, saying,

Simeon and Levi are cruel.

8-10 Judah is like a lion. His descendants will be kings until Shiloh comes.

11 He washed his garments in wine, and his eyes will be red with wine.

13 Zebulun will live by the sea.

14 Issachar is a strong donkey.

16 Dan will be a snake that bites horse heels.

19 Gad will overcome at last.

20 Asher will have fat bread and royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a wild female deer that gives goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful branch by a well, whose branches run over a wall.

23 Archers shoot at him and hate him.

25 God will bless him with blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

27 Benjamin is a wolf who will devour prey.

28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jacob dies

33 After Jacob stopped talking, he gathered his feet into the bed, and died.

Jacob's burial

50 1 Joseph fell on his father's face and wept. 2 He commanded the physicians to embalm Jacob's body. 3 It took forty days to embalm the body, after which the Egyptians mourned for another seventy days.

13 Jacob's sons returned his body to Canaan, and he was buried in the cave of the field of Machpelah.

Joseph's brothers apologize to Joseph

15 After their father Jacob died, Joseph's brothers worried about what Joseph would do to them.

16 So they sent a messenger to Joseph, saying, "We're sorry. Please forgive us."

19 Joseph said to them,

Don't be afraid. Am I God?

20 You tried to hurt me, but God made it all good.

Joseph dies

22 Joseph died when he was 110 years old.

A few more words about this episode

God said to Jacob, "Jacob, Jacob." (46:1-2)
God calls Jacob "Jacob", though he said in Genesis 32:28 and 35:10 that he would no longer be called Jacob but Israel.
Judah said to his father (46:3)
Judah was the fourth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29:35). After Jacob's two sons (Er and Onan) were killed by God, he had sex with his Er's wife (his daughter-in-law) and then ordered her to be burned to death for it - until she exposed him as the man she had sex with. (See Genesis 38 for the sordid details.)
There were a total of seventy people in Jacob's family when they came to Egypt. (46:27)
All of the "souls" in Jacob's family that traveled to Egypt are listed in verses 8-28. When I counted them, I came up with 72, not 70. But then Jacob and Joseph were included in the list, so if you exclude them, the number of "souls" is seventy. Only one female is included in the list - Dinah. I guess she was the only female that had a soul - as far as the Bible is concerned anyway.
Put your hand under my thigh and promise (47:29)

Joseph swears by putting his hand under Jacob's thigh (a euphemism for holding his testicles in his hand).

See Gen 24:2 where Abraham makes his servant put his hand under Abraham's thigh while swearing he won't let Isaac marry a Canaanite.

Chayyei Sarah: A Peculiar Oath

Jacob refused, saying, "I know, I know." (48:19)
Jacob tricked Manasseh out of his blessing (for no good reason), just has he and his mom (Rachel) tricked Esau out of his (Genesis 27).
Reuben will not excel because he had sex with his father's wife. (49:4)
See Genesis 35:22.
Simeon and Levi are cruel. (49:5)
See Drunk with Blood: The Dinah and Shechem Massacre
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