Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 46:31
And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which [were] in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;
31. go up ] Joseph speaks of the residence of Pharaoh as a place to which he must “go up.” The metaphor is probably taken from the idea of ascent to the residence of royalty; cf. “high station,” “people of eminence.” The words contain no geographical significance in the sense of “up the Nile.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
31-34. Joseph said, . . . I will goup, and show PharaohIt was a tribute of respect due to theking to inform him of their arrival. And the instructions which hegave them were worthy of his character alike as an affectionatebrother and a religious man.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Joseph said unto his brethren, and to his father’s house,…. To them and their families, after he had paid his filial respects to his father, in honour, reverence, and affection:
I will go up and shew Pharaoh; acquaint him that his father and all his family were come to Egypt; he says, “I will go up”; which same phrase is used of him, Ge 46:29; when he came, and carries some difficulty in it how to account for it, that he should be said to go up when he came, and to go up when he returned. Some have thought of upper Egypt, others of the upper part of the Nile, and others, that Pharaoh’s palace was situated on an eminence; but then, as it is to be supposed he went the same road he came, it would have been said, that when he came, he came down; what Ben Melech suggests seems most agreeable, I will go up to my chariot, mount that, and return to Pharaoh, and give him an account of his father’s arrival, which it was very proper, prudent, and politic to do:
and say unto him, my brethren, and my father’s house, which [were] in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; not merely to pay him a visit, but to continue there.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
31. I will go up and show Pharaoh. After Joseph had gone forth to meet his father for the purpose of doing him honor, he also provides what will be useful for him. On this account, he advises Jacob to declare that he and all his family were keepers of cattle, to the end that he might obtain, from the king, a dwelling-place for them, in the land of Goshen. Now although his moderation deserves commendation on the ground, that he usurps no authority to himself, but that, as one of the common people, he waits the pleasure of the king: he yet may be thought craftily to have devised a pretext, by which he might circumvent the king. We see what he desired. Seeing that the land of Goshen was fertile, and celebrated for its rich pastures; this advantage so allured his mind, that he wished to fix his father there: but then, keeping out of Pharaoh’s sight the richness of the land, he puts forth another reason; namely, that Jacob with his sons, were men held in abomination, and that, therefore, he was seeking a place of seclusion, in which they might dwell apart from the Egyptians. It is not, however, very difficult to untie this knot. The fertility of the land of Goshen was so fully known to the king, that no room was left for fraud or calming, (though kings are often too profuse, and foolishly waste much, because they know not what they grant,) yea, Pharaoh, of his own accord, had offered them, unsolicited, the best and choicest place in the kingdom. Therefore this bounty of his was not elicited from him by stratagem; because he was free to form his own judgment respecting what he would give. And truly Joseph, in order that he might act modestly, felt it necessary to seek a habitation in Goshen, on this pretext. For it would have been absurd, or at least inconsiderate, for men who were obscure and strangers, to desire an abode in the best and most convenient place for themselves, as if they possessed a right to choose for themselves. Joseph, therefore, having regard to his own modesty and that of his father, adduces another cause, which was yet a true one. For seeing that the Egyptians held the occupation of shepherds in abhorrence, (182) he explains to the king that this would be a suitable retreat for his brethren. Herein was no dissimulation, because, in no other place, was a quiet habitation accessible to them. Nevertheless, though it was hard for the holy Fathers to be thus opprobriously rejected, and, as it were, to be loathed by a whole nation; yet this ignominy with which they were branded, was most profitable to themselves. For, had they been mingled with the Egyptians, they might have been scattered far and wide; but now, seeing that they are objects of detestation, and are thought unworthy to be admitted to common society, they learn, in this state of separation from others, to cherish more fervently mutual union between themselves; and thus the body of the Church, which God had set apart from the whole world, is not dispersed. So the Lord often permits us to be despised or rejected by the world, that being liberated and cleansed from its pollution, we may cultivate holiness. Finally, he does not suffer us to be bound by chains to the earth, in order that we may be borne upward to heaven.
(182) “The monuments even now furnish abundant evidence of this hatred of the Egyptians to shepherds. The artists of Upper and Lower Egypt vie with each other in caricaturing them. In proportion as the cultivation of the land was the more unconditionally the foundation of the Egyptian state, the idea of coarseness and barbarism was united with the idea of a shepherd among the Egyptians.” — Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 42. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Spiritually considered, this teaches the separation of GOD’S people from the carnal world. 2Co 6:17-18 . The abomination of the Hebrews. See Exo 8:26 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 45:16-20, Gen 47:1-3, Act 18:3, Heb 2:11
Reciprocal: Act 7:13 – Joseph
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Joseph’s Statesmanship Joseph directed all the members of his father’s household to say they were shepherds. He well knew the attitude of the Egyptians toward nomadic herdsmen. They thought of shepherds as an abomination. By having his family so identify themselves, Joseph was assuring Pharaoh would favor settling them in Goshen where he wanted them to settle (45:10).
Joseph selected five of his brothers to go with him before Pharaoh. After they told Pharaoh they were herdsmen, he directed them to settle in Goshen. He also asked them to be in charge of his own livestock. Then, Joseph brought Jacob before the ruler of Egypt. When asked, Jacob said he was one hundred thirty years old. Interestingly, he described his life as a pilgrimage, probably because he never had a permanent home on earth. Also, it was he who blessed Pharaoh and not the other way around. The writer of Hebrews says the one who gives the blessing is always the greater of the two ( Heb 7:7 ). Joseph then situated his family in Goshen, which was later known as Rameses. He saw to it that they had plenty of food to make it throughout the famine. ( Gen 46:31-34 ; Gen 47:1-12 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Egyptians loathed shepherds because agriculture was the basis of Egyptian society and the Nile River sustained it (Gen 46:34). The Egyptians organized their fields carefully and controlled them relatively easily. The comparative difficulty of controlling sheep, goats, and cows led the Egyptians to think of those who cared for these animals as crude and barbaric. [Note: See Keil and Delitzsch, 1:374-75, and my note on 43:32.] Probably too the more civilized Egyptians distrusted any nomadic peoples. [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 445. ] This resulted in the Israelites living separate from the Egyptians where they increased and developed a distinct national identity and vocation as God had promised.
"Rameses III is said to have employed 3,264 men, mostly foreigners, to take care of his herds." [Note: Ibid., p. 446.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
12. Joseph’s wise leadership 46:31-47:27
As a result of Joseph presenting his family members to Pharaoh, they received the best of Egypt’s land. Jacob blessed Pharaoh in return for his goodness. In the years that followed, Joseph bought almost all of Egypt for Pharaoh, saved the Egyptians’ lives, and furthered Israel’s prosperity and blessing. Through him all the nations near Egypt also received blessing (cf. Gen 12:3).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
God’s provision of land and food for Israel 46:31-47:12
The major purpose of this section is probably to show how God sustained and blessed Jacob’s family in Egypt during the remaining five years of the famine (cf. Gen 46:12-13). It is also to demonstrate how He partially fulfilled His promises to the patriarchs to make them a blessing to the whole world (Gen 46:25) as well as fruitful and numerous (Gen 46:27).