Jacob and His Family Tribe Arrive and Settle in Egypt ( Gen 46:28 to Gen 47:12 )

Gen 46:28

‘And he sent Judah before him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.’

Jacob sent Judah ahead to ask Joseph to meet him to show them where they should settle in Goshen. Judah is now clearly seen as the leader of the brothers. The LXX here has ‘to appear before him’ which requires two further letters in the Hebrew, but it also gives the name of a city and therefore must be considered doubtful.

Gen 46:29-30

‘And Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and he presented himself to him and fell on his shoulder (Hebrew ‘neck’) and wept on his shoulder a good while. And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face that you are still alive.” ’

Joseph comes up in his chariot. If this is before the Hyksos the chariot would be a rare sight in Egypt and would cause something of a sensation on its way. But he wants to reach his father quickly. And when they meet he weeps on his shoulder for some good long while. We are not told if Joseph is accompanied by his retinue but it seems probable that he would have at least some of his bodyguard with him.

Jacob’s happiness and great joy is brought out by his words. Now that he has seen his son is still alive he can die content.

Gen 46:31-34

‘And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s house, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan have come up to me, and the men are shepherds for they have been keepers of cattle, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ And it shall happen that when Pharaoh shall call you and shall say, ‘What is your occupation?’, you will say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth, even until now, both we and our fathers’, that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” ’

Joseph is clearly very concerned that they should settle in Goshen. That was his purpose from the beginning (Gen 45:10). He knows that it will be better for them there. It is good pasture and they will meet their own kind. They might be very miserable elsewhere in Egypt because of the general attitude to shepherds and foreigners. Pharaoh has, however, said that they can live anywhere and he is a little afraid that Pharaoh might, with the best of intentions, insist on somewhere else. So with his knowledge of affairs he briefs them on what to say so as to get his way.

“I will go up and tell Pharaoh.” Pharaoh had told him to bring them to Egypt. Now he must report back on his accomplishment of the task. He knows then that Pharaoh will call them into his presence. This is a great privilege indeed, but it will be because they are his kinsfolk. Then they must know what to say.

“Your servants have been keepers of cattle–.” This will turn Pharaoh’s mind towards Goshen.

“Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” They were probably looked on as uncivilised and irreligious.

Gen 47:1

‘Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, and their flocks and their herds, and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan, and behold they are in the land of Goshen.”

“Went in.” Pharaoh lived an isolated life in his palaces as befitted a god. Apart from his high officials entry to him was difficult and all who entered his presence must be suitably clothed, washed and shaved. Joseph would make the usual preparations before entering in his regalia as Vizier. He enters alone. Court etiquette demands that he speak to Pharaoh himself before bringing in his brothers. Pharaoh might decide not to see them.

Astutely he lays the foundation. He stresses their flocks and their herds and that they are now settled temporarily in Goshen. But it is Pharaoh who will have the last word. Meanwhile outside in an antechamber await his brothers and his father.

Gen 47:2

‘And from among his brothers he selected five men and presented them to Pharaoh.’

Five was the Egyptian number of completeness and thus Pharaoh would see five as suitably representing the whole. They too would need to be washed and shaved, and clothed in suitable clothing. They would enter his presence and abase themselves before him.

Gen 47:3-4

‘And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our father.” 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. Now therefore we pray you, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

Joseph knew what question they would be asked. He had seen such visitors questioned many times before. And his brothers knew what to reply. They stressed that they were shepherds and needed pasture for their flocks. But they made clear that they were not presuming. They asked only what had been granted many times before to similar Asian shepherds, permission to sojourn in the land of Goshen while the famine is on. The rest is up to Pharaoh.

Gen 47:5

‘And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “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 settle in the land of Goshen. And if you know any able men among them then make them rulers over my cattle.” ’

Pharaoh gives his response to their request, and it is generous. There is no question of temporary sojourning. They must be given the very best. Joseph can select anywhere he wants for them to settle in, and as they have requested it, let it be in the land of Goshen. What is more, if any are suitable they are to be given high and important positions among those who look after Pharaoh’s own cattle.

Joseph then seeks to introduce his father.

Gen 47:7

‘And Joseph brought in Jacob his father and set him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.’

Jacob comes in before Pharaoh. We need not doubt that he too behaves with great respect but he takes advantage of the privilege of an old man and a patriarch, in ancient days respected in all societies, and pronounces a blessing on Pharaoh.

Gen 47:8

‘And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years are the years of your life.”

Pharaoh can see how old Jacob is, and is clearly impressed. His question is one of respect and courtesy. The full and perfect life in Egypt was seen as one hundred and ten years. But he can see that Jacob is older even than that.

Gen 47:9-10

‘And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the years of the days of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.’

Jacob cannot prevent himself from a quiet boast in the most respectful manner. He lets Pharaoh know that he is one hundred and thirty years old but that compared with his fathers he is still but a comparatively young man. His words indicate that this is partly due to the great problems and trials he has faced.

“The days of the years of my sojourning — the days of their sojourning.” This too is a quiet reminder of the transitoriness of life. Men do not belong here, they sojourn. Pharaoh, with his belief that in the afterlife he would live on as Osiris would appreciate that.

Jacob again blesses Pharaoh. We do not know what form the blessing would take but it would possibly be a standard patriarchal blessing, probably in the name of Yahweh.

Gen 47:11

‘And Joseph placed his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses. And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food according to the number of their dependents.’

Joseph gladly obeys Pharaoh. The best of the land would belong to Pharaoh and in his name he is able to take possession of it and allocate it to his family.

“In the land of Rameses.” It would not be called this until much later (when Rameses was Pharaoh in 13th century BC). Moses probably made this change to a name familiar to his own readers and listeners who would remember from whence they had come.

And not only were they settled in the best of the land but they received ample food to feed all their retainers throughout the famine.

Joseph Feeds Egypt During the Famine On Behalf of Pharaoh (Gen 47:13-26)

We should recognise that what follows is schematised to some extent. Not all silver would run out for everyone at the same time, some would keep their cattle and herds longer than others, the description covers the general picture. But in the end all would succumb for the famine goes on and on. It must be remembered that Egypt looked on the land of Canaan as under her control, sometimes more so, sometimes less so, and therefore recognised some sense of responsibility towards it.

Gen 47:13-17

‘And there was no bread in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wilted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the silver that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the corn which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when the silver was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For our silver fails.” And Joseph said, “Give your cattle, and I will give you corn for your cattle if your money fails.” And they brought their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds and for the asses, and he looked after them with bread in exchange for all their cattle that year.’

The famine continues and conditions get more and more severe. Meanwhile silver pours into Pharaoh’s coffers until the majority of people in Egypt and Canaan have no silver left. Then they begin to trade in their herds and flocks, their horses and their asses, until again they had no more of these, and they all belong to Pharaoh. Many would have only a few. And in the end these too run out. For the Egyptians this would not be quite so bad. They probably do not actually hand the animals over, rather they are assigned to Pharaoh and looked on as his property. Then they act as keepers and shepherds for Pharaoh providing each with part of the revenue (compare Gen 47:24). The high officials over Pharaoh’s cattle (verse 6) would now have plenty to do in organising it all.

“They brought their cattle.” This may refer to the first movement when some would actually bring their cattle for exchange and the agreement is made. Eventually it would become recognised that they can simply be given in pledge. Alternately it may be that they have to bring them to be valued and listed.

“Their horses.” If these are pre-Hyksos days these would be comparatively rare in Egypt which may be why they are mentioned first. While Canaan is not mentioned in 15b it is probably to be understood to some extent (it was the people of Egypt who would approach Joseph about the matter) and the majority of the horses may have come from Canaan or through Canaan from even further afield.

“And he looked after them.” Literally ‘led them’. The word is usually used of a shepherd leading his flocks. Joseph was a shepherd to them.

But the Jacob family tribe are meanwhile kept well provisioned through the good offices of Joseph, and keep their silver and their cattle.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Ten Genealogies (Calling) – The Genealogies of Righteous Men and their Divine Callings (To Be Fruitful and Multiply) – The ten genealogies found within the book of Genesis are structured in a way that traces the seed of righteousness from Adam to Noah to Shem to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob and the seventy souls that followed him down into Egypt. The book of Genesis closes with the story of the preservation of these seventy souls, leading us into the book of Exodus where we see the creation of the nation of Israel while in Egyptian bondage, which nation of righteousness God will use to be a witness to all nations on earth in His plan of redemption. Thus, we see how the book of Genesis concludes with the origin of the nation of Israel while its first eleven chapters reveal that the God of Israel is in fact that God of all nations and all creation.

The genealogies of the six righteous men in Genesis (Adam, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) are the emphasis in this first book of the Old Testament, with each of their narrative stories opening with a divine commission from God to these men, and closing with the fulfillment of prophetic words concerning the divine commissions. This structure suggests that the author of the book of Genesis wrote under the office of the prophet in that a prophecy is given and fulfilled within each of the genealogies of these six primary patriarchs. Furthermore, all the books of the Old Testament were written by men of God who moved in the office of the prophet, which includes the book of Genesis. We find a reference to the fulfillment of these divine commissions by the patriarchs in Heb 11:1-40. The underlying theme of the Holy Scriptures is God’s plan of redemption for mankind. Thus, the book of Genesis places emphasis upon these men of righteousness because of the role that they play in this divine plan as they fulfilled their divine commissions. This explains why the genealogies of Ishmael (Gen 25:12-18) and of Esau (Gen 36:1-43) are relatively brief, because God does not discuss the destinies of these two men in the book of Genesis. These two men were not men of righteousness, for they missed their destinies because of sin. Ishmael persecuted Isaac and Esau sold his birthright. However, it helps us to understand that God has blessed Ishmael and Esau because of Abraham although the seed of the Messiah and our redemption does not pass through their lineage. Prophecies were given to Ishmael and Esau by their fathers, and their genealogies testify to the fulfillment of these prophecies. There were six righteous men did fulfill their destinies in order to preserve a righteous seed so that God could create a righteous nation from the fruit of their loins. Illustration As a young schoolchild learning to read, I would check out biographies of famous men from the library, take them home and read them as a part of class assignments. The lives of these men stirred me up and placed a desire within me to accomplish something great for mankind as did these men. In like manner, the patriarchs of the genealogies in Genesis are designed to stir up our faith in God and encourage us to walk in their footsteps in obedience to God.

The first five genealogies in the book of Genesis bring redemptive history to the place of identifying seventy nations listed in the Table of Nations. The next five genealogies focus upon the origin of the nation of Israel and its patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

There is much more history and events that took place surrounding these individuals emphasized in the book of Genesis, which can be found in other ancient Jewish writings, such as The Book of Jubilees. However, the Holy Scriptures and the book of Genesis focus upon the particular events that shaped God’s plan of redemption through the procreation of men of righteousness. Thus, it was unnecessary to include many of these historical events that were irrelevant to God’s plan of redemption.

In addition, if we see that the ten genealogies contained within the book of Genesis show to us the seed of righteousness that God has preserved in order to fulfill His promise that the “seed of woman” would bruise the serpent’s head in Gen 3:15, then we must understand that each of these men of righteousness had a particular calling, destiny, and purpose for their lives. We can find within each of these genealogies the destiny of each of these men of God, for each one of them fulfilled their destiny. These individual destinies are mentioned at the beginning of each of their genealogies.

It is important for us to search these passages of Scripture and learn how each of these men fulfilled their destiny in order that we can better understand that God has a destiny and a purpose for each of His children as He continues to work out His divine plan of redemption among the children of men. This means that He has a destiny for you and me. Thus, these stories will show us how other men fulfilled their destinies and help us learn how to fulfill our destiny. The fact that there are ten callings in the book of Genesis, and since the number “10” represents the concept of countless, many, or numerous, we should understand that God calls out men in each subsequent generation until God’s plan of redemption is complete.

We can even examine the meanings of each of their names in order to determine their destiny, which was determined for them from a child. Adam’s name means “ruddy, i.e. a human being” ( Strong), for it was his destiny to begin the human race. Noah’s name means, “rest” ( Strong). His destiny was to build the ark and save a remnant of mankind so that God could restore peace and rest to the fallen human race. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning, “father of a multitude” ( Strong), because his destiny was to live in the land of Canaan and believe God for a son of promise so that his seed would become fruitful and multiply and take dominion over the earth. Isaac’s name means, “laughter” ( Strong) because he was the child of promise. His destiny was to father two nations, believing that the elder would serve the younger. Isaac overcame the obstacles that hindered the possession of the land, such as barrenness and the threat of his enemies in order to father two nations, Israel and Esau. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, which means “he will rule as God” ( Strong), because of his ability to prevail over his brother Esau and receive his father’s blessings, and because he prevailed over the angel in order to preserve his posterity, which was the procreation of twelve sons who later multiplied into the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus, his ability to prevail against all odds and father twelve righteous seeds earned him his name as one who prevailed with God’s plan of being fruitful and multiplying seeds of righteousness.

In order for God’s plan to be fulfilled in each of the lives of these patriarchs, they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply. It was God’s plan that the fruit of each man was to be a godly seed, a seed of righteousness. It was because of the Fall that unrighteous seed was produced. This ungodly offspring was not then nor is it today God’s plan for mankind.

Outline Here is a proposed outline:

1. The Generation of the Heavens and the Earth Gen 2:4 to Gen 4:26

a) The Creation of Man Gen 2:4-25

b) The Fall Gen 3:1-24

c) Cain and Abel Gen 4:1-26

2. The Generation of Adam Gen 5:1 to Gen 6:8

3. The Generation of Noah Gen 6:9 to Gen 9:29

4. The Generation of the Sons of Noah Gen 10:1 to Gen 11:9

5. The Generation of Shem Gen 11:10-26

6. The Generation of Terah (& Abraham) Gen 11:27 to Gen 25:11

7. The Generation Ishmael Gen 25:12-18

8. The Generation of Isaac Gen 25:19 to Gen 35:29

9. The Generation of Esau Gen 36:1-43

10. The Generation of Jacob Gen 37:1 to Gen 50:26

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Calling of the Patriarchs of Israel We can find two major divisions within the book of Genesis that reveal God’s foreknowledge in designing a plan of redemption to establish a righteous people upon earth. Paul reveals this four-fold plan in Rom 8:29-30: predestination, calling, justification, and glorification.

Rom 8:29-30, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

The book of Genesis will reflect the first two phase of redemption, which are predestination and calling. We find in the first division in Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:3 emphasizing predestination. The Creation Story gives us God’s predestined plan for mankind, which is to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth with righteous offspring. The second major division is found in Gen 2:4 to Gen 50:25, which gives us ten genealogies, in which God calls men of righteousness to play a role in His divine plan of redemption.

The foundational theme of Gen 2:4 to Gen 11:26 is the divine calling for mankind to be fruitful and multiply, which commission was given to Adam prior to the Flood (Gen 1:28-29), and to Noah after the Flood (Gen 9:1). The establishment of the seventy nations prepares us for the calling out of Abraham and his sons, which story fills the rest of the book of Genesis. Thus, God’s calling through His divine foreknowledge (Gen 11:27 to Gen 50:26) will focus the calling of Abraham and his descendants to establish the nation of Israel. God will call the patriarchs to fulfill the original purpose and intent of creation, which is to multiply into a righteous nation, for which mankind was originally predestined to fulfill.

The generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob take up a large portion of the book of Genesis. These genealogies have a common structure in that they all begin with God revealing Himself to a patriarch and giving him a divine commission, and they close with God fulfilling His promise to each of them because of their faith in His promise. God promised Abraham a son through Sarah his wife that would multiply into a nation, and Abraham demonstrated his faith in this promise on Mount Moriah. God promised Isaac two sons, with the younger receiving the first-born blessing, and this was fulfilled when Jacob deceived his father and received the blessing above his brother Esau. Jacob’s son Joseph received two dreams of ruling over his brothers, and Jacob testified to his faith in this promise by following Joseph into the land of Egypt. Thus, these three genealogies emphasize God’s call and commission to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their response of faith in seeing God fulfill His word to each of them.

1. The Generations of Terah (& Abraham) Gen 11:27 to Gen 25:11

2. The Generations Ishmael Gen 25:12-18

3. The Generations of Isaac Gen 25:19 to Gen 35:29

4. The Generations of Esau Gen 36:1-43

5. The Generations of Jacob Gen 37:1 to Gen 50:26

The Origin of the Nation of Israel After Gen 1:1 to Gen 9:29 takes us through the origin of the heavens and the earth as we know them today, and Gen 10:1 to Gen 11:26 explains the origin of the seventy nations (Gen 10:1 to Gen 11:26), we see that the rest of the book of Genesis focuses upon the origin of the nation of Israel (Gen 11:27 to Gen 50:26). Thus, each of these major divisions serves as a foundation upon which the next division is built.

Paul the apostle reveals the four phases of God the Father’s plan of redemption for mankind through His divine foreknowledge of all things in Rom 8:29-30, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Predestination – Gen 1:1 to Gen 11:26 emphasizes the theme of God the Father’s predestined purpose of the earth, which was to serve mankind, and of mankind, which was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with righteousness. Calling – Gen 11:27 to Gen 50:26 will place emphasis upon the second phase of God’s plan of redemption for mankind, which is His divine calling to fulfill His purpose of multiplying and filling the earth with righteousness. (The additional two phases of Justification and Glorification will unfold within the rest of the books of the Pentateuch.) This second section of Genesis can be divided into five genealogies. The three genealogies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob begin with a divine calling to a patriarch. The two shorter genealogies of Ishmael and Esau are given simply because they inherit a measure of divine blessings as descendants of Abraham, but they will not play a central role in God’s redemptive plan for mankind. God will implement phase two of His divine plan of redemption by calling one man named Abraham to depart unto the Promised Land (Gen 12:1-3), and this calling was fulfilled by the patriarch. Isaac’s calling can also be found at the beginning of his genealogy, where God commands him to dwell in the Promised Land (Gen 26:1-6), and this calling was fulfilled by the patriarch Isaac. Jacob’s calling was fulfilled as he bore twelve sons and took them into Egypt where they multiplied into a nation. The opening passage of Jacob’s genealogy reveals that his destiny would be fulfilled through the dream of his son Joseph (Gen 37:1-11), which took place in the land of Egypt. Perhaps Jacob did not receive such a clear calling as Abraham and Isaac because his early life was one of deceit, rather than of righteousness obedience to God; so the Lord had to reveal His plan for Jacob through his righteous son Joseph. In a similar way, God spoke to righteous kings of Israel, and was silent to those who did not serve Him. Thus, the three patriarchs of Israel received a divine calling, which they fulfilled in order for the nation of Israel to become established in the land of Egypt. Perhaps the reason the Lord sent the Jacob and the seventy souls into Egypt to multiply rather than leaving them in the Promised Land is that the Israelites would have intermarried the cultic nations around them and failed to produce a nation of righteousness. God’s ways are always perfect.

1. The Generations of Terah (& Abraham) Gen 11:27 to Gen 25:11

2. The Generations Ishmael Gen 25:12-18

3. The Generations of Isaac Gen 25:19 to Gen 35:29

4. The Generations of Esau Gen 36:1-43

5. The Generations of Jacob Gen 37:1 to Gen 50:26

Divine Miracles It is important to note that up until now the Scriptures record no miracles in the lives of men. Thus, we will observe that divine miracles begin with Abraham and the children of Israel. Testimonies reveal today that the Jews are still recipients of God’s miracles as He divinely intervenes in this nation to fulfill His purpose and plan for His people. Yes, God is working miracles through His New Testament Church, but miracles had their beginning with the nation of Israel.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Genealogy of Jacob The genealogies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have a common structure in that they open with God speaking to a patriarch and giving him a commission and a promise in which to believe. In each of these genealogies, the patriarch’s calling is to believe God’s promise, while this passage of Scripture serves as a witness to God’s faithfulness in fulfilling each promise. Only then does the genealogy come to a close.

Gen 37:1 to Gen 50:26 gives the account of the genealogy of Jacob, Isaac’s son. Heb 11:21-22 reveals the central message in this genealogy that stirs our faith in God when Jacob and Joseph gave redemptive prophecies, saying, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.” As Abraham’s genealogy begins with a divine commission when God told him to leave Ur and to go Canaan (Gen 12:1), and Isaac’s genealogy begin with a divine commission predicting him as the father of two nations (Gen 25:23), so does Jacob’s genealogy begin with a divine encounter in the form of his son Joseph’s two dreams. These dreams make it clear that Jacob’s divine commission was to bring his clan of seventy souls into Egypt through Joseph for four hundred years while the people multiply into the nation of Israel. This genealogy closes with the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, which means “prince of God,” because his destiny was to father a multitude of godly seed. He fathered the twelve sons, or “princes,” who multiplied into the twelve tribes of Israel. His ability to father twelve righteous seeds earned him his name as a prince of God, as a man who ruled over a multitude of godly seed. The Scriptures testify to Jacob’s faith in God’s promise that Joseph would rule over his brethren by the fact that he followed his son into Egypt (Gen 49:22-26), and he blessed the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh (Heb 11:21-22). The fact that Jacob died in a ripe old age testifies that he fulfilled his destiny as did his fathers, Abraham and Isaac.

The Story of Joseph The last story in the origin of the nation of Israel that is recorded in the book of Genesis is the story of Joseph. Perhaps there is no other Old Testament story so moving as when he reveals himself to his brothers. There are many truths that are taught to us in this great Bible story. We learn that if we will serve the Lord amidst persecutions, God will always bring someone into our lives to bless us. Joseph had the favour and blessings of his father as a young man in the midst of his brothers’ persecutions. He then had the blessings of Potipher as a young man in Egypt. He found the favour of Pharaoh as an adult.

God gave Jeremiah some friends who stood by him and blessed him during the most difficult times in his ministry. God gave Daniel three friends in his Babylonian captivity. God gave to Paul men like Timothy and Luke to stand by him during times of persecution and even imprisonment. But for Joseph, he often stood alone, totally trusting in God.

The Chronology of the Life of Joseph – Jacob was one hundred thirty (130) years old when he went to Egypt.

Gen 47:9, “And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”

Jacob died at the age of 147.

Gen 47:28, “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.”

Joseph became ruler in Egypt at the age of 30.

Gen 41:46, “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph had two sons by the age of 37.

Gen 41:50, “And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.”

Joseph was 39 when his family comes to Egypt.

Gen 45:11, “And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.”

Therefore, Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born.

Also, Joseph died at the age of 110 (Gen 50:22; Gen 50:26)

Gen 50:22, “And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.”

Gen 50:26, “So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.”

Joseph as a Type and Figure of Christ Jesus In many ways we can see Joseph as a type and figure of the Lord Jesus Christ. Note some comparisons:

1. Joseph was Jacob’s beloved son, just as Jesus was the Heavenly Father’s beloved son.

Mat 3:17, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

2. Joseph was given a coat of many colours, which was similar to the seamless robe worn by Jesus Christ, of which the Roman soldiers cast lots (Joh 19:23-24).

Joh 19:23-24, “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.”

3. Joseph took bread to his brothers, just like Jesus was sent as the bread of life to His people.

Mat 15:24-26, “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.”

4. Joseph was rejected by his brothers like Jesus was rejected by His people, the Jews.

5. Joseph was thrown in the pit in Gen 37:24. This is like Jesus’ death on the cross (Psa 16:10)

Gen 37:24, “And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.”

Psa 16:10, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

6. When Joseph was betrayed by his brethren and sold as a servant. Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot for thirty pieces of sliver.

7. Joseph became a servant in the house of Potiphar, just like Jesus Christ took form of a servant (Php 2:7) and (Psa 105:17).

Gen 37:36, “And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.”

Gen 39:1, “And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.”

Psa 105:17, “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:”

Php 2:7, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”

8. Joseph was sent to Egypt to deliver the house of Jacob (Israel) (Gen 45:7-8) like Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to deliver them.

Gen 45:7-8, “And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Mat 15:24, “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

9. Joseph was lifted up by Potiphar, then brought down into prison, then raised up by Pharaoh at his right hand. This is like Jesus being brought down to the grave, and then being raised to the right hand of the Father.

10. Joseph was exalted as ruler under Pharaoh, like Christians at the right hand of the Father in heaven today.

11. Some scholars suggest that Joseph’s marriage to the Egyptian is a type of Christ’s marriage to the church (especially to the Gentile church). He had two sons, which symbolizes the salvation of the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

12. Joseph’s brothers bowed down to Joseph during the famine (Gen 42:6) like Israel will bow down to Jesus one day (Rom 11:26). Israel shall be saved through the Deliverer.

Gen 42:6, “And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.”

Rom 11:26, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”

13. Joseph revealed himself to his brothers on their third trip to Egypt. The ten brothers finally coming to Joseph and recognising him and receiving an inheritance is like Israel turning to and recognising Jesus and all being saved.

Rom 11:26, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”

Jesus will reveal Himself to the Jews after the Church is raptured at His Second Return, thus, a third return.

14. All nations came and bowed down to Joseph, as all nations will someday come and bow down at the throne of the Lord Jesus.

15. Joseph was ruler over Egypt and the whole world, just as Jesus will reign in Zion as king of kings over the earth.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Gen 46:28 Comments – According to Gen 45:18, the land of Goshen was the best land in Egypt.

Gen 45:18, “And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt , and ye shall eat the fat of the land.”

Gen 46:34 “for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians” – Comments – The Egyptians were husbandmen, but not with sheep, as the Hebrews. Theirs were cattle, horses, asses, etc. A sheep tends to graze close to the ground and ruins a pasture so that cattle cannot graze on it. So cattle and sheep by their nature are not compatible.

Gen 47:17, “And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.”

Gen 47:7 “Jacob blessed Pharaoh” Comments – The fact that Jacob blessed Pharaoh was an indication that Jacob was a greater man than Pharaoh (note Heb 7:7).

Heb 7:7, “And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.”

Gen 47:9 “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years” Comments – Scholars note that Jacob describes his life as a pilgrimage because he and his fathers were sojourners in the land of Canaan, living a nomadic life as shepherds.

Gen 47:9 “few and evil have the days of the years of my life been” Comments – Jacob describes his life as “few and evil.” Scholars note that “few” means he has lived a shorter life than his fathers, and “evil” means that he has suffered much affliction in comparison to Abraham and Isaac. [257]

[257] John Gill, Genesis, in John Gill’s Expositor, in e-Sword, v. 7.7.7 [CD-ROM] (Franklin, Tennessee: e-Sword, 2000-2005), comments on Genesis 47:9.

Gen 47:11 “in the land of Rameses” – Comments – This was the Egyptian name for the area called “Goshen” by the Hebrews.

Gen 47:26 “unto this day” Comments – The phrase “unto this day” would probably refer to Moses’ day if he is the author of the book of Genesis.

Gen 47:28 Comments – Jacob was one hundred and thirty years old when he came into the land of Egypt.

Gen 47:28 Comments – Note that Jacob died at a much earlier age than his father Isaac at 180 years old (Gen 35:28) and his grandfather Abraham at 175 years old (Gen 25:7). Perhaps Jacob died at an earlier age because he grieved for his son Joseph for so many years, and because his life was mixed with much affliction.

Gen 47:31 “And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head” – Comments – Note how this phrase is quoted in the New Testament using the LXX translation:

Heb 11:21, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff .”

Brenton, “And he said, Swear to me; and he swore to him. And Israel did reverence, leaning on the top of his staff.”

Gen 48:4 “and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession” – Scripture References – Note similar verses:

Gen 17:8, “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Act 7:5, “And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him , when as yet he had no child.”

Gen 48:5 “are mine, as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” – Comments – Jacob called Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as belonging to Jacob, just as Jacob’s first and second born sons Reuben and Simeon were his.

Gen 48:5 Comments – Manasseh and Ephraim became two of the twelve tribes of Israel, being named with the twelve sons of Jacob. This seems to be a double portion blessing upon Joseph, which only the firstborn received. This is seen in Gen 48:22.

Gen 48:22, “Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.”

Thus, in this passage, Jacob gave the double blessing of the firstborn to Joseph instead of to Reuben.

Gen 48:6 “and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance” – Comments – Jacob saw the twelve tribes of Israel as possessing the land of Canaan according to their divisions.

Gen 48:6 Comments – The rest of Joseph’s sons after these first two shall be named as being in the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim.

Gen 48:5-6 Comments Joseph’s Double Portion – Jacob claimed the perpetuation of his own names and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, not through his son Joseph, but thru his two grandsons. Manasseh and Ephraim would father entire tribes in their own names, thus giving Joseph a double portion of the inheritance.

Gen 48:9 Comments – Jacob would have normally blessed his son Joseph. However, since Joseph’s two sons were now to be numbered with the twelve, Jacob proceeded to bless them.

Gen 48:9 Scripture References – Note a similar verse:

Heb 11:21, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”

Gen 48:22 Comments – The giving of a special portion by Jacob to his favorite son Joseph was a reflection of the customs of his day. The Code of Hammurabi, believed by some scholars to have been written by a Babylonian king around 2100 B.C., impacted its culture for centuries. It is very likely that Jacob based this decision upon law 165 of this Code, which says, “If a man give to one of his sons whom he prefers a field, garden, and house, and a deed therefore: if later the father die, and the brothers divide the estate, then they shall first give him the present of his father, and he shall accept it; and the rest of the paternal property shall they divide.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Jacob and Five of his Sons Presented to Pharaoh

v. 1. Then Joseph came, and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. This was the formal and official notification of their arrival in Pharaoh’s domain.

v. 2. And he took some of his brethren, out of their total number, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

v. 3. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers. As Joseph had foreseen the question of Pharaoh, so his instruction to his brothers had just covered the case.

v. 4. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land, to live here only a while as strangers, are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

v. 5. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee;

v. 6. the land of Egypt is before thee, in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; he might give them places to live in whatsoever part he considered most excellent for their purposes, in the land of Goshen let them dwell. It is a fine bit of tact on the part of Pharaoh in yielding to Joseph the right and the decision as to the settlement in Goshen. And if thou knowest any men of activity among them, able, energetic men, then make them rulers over my cattle, they were to be given positions as chief herdsmen.

v. 7. And Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, after the first part of the audience had terminated so successfully, and set him before Pharaoh, presented him to the king; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. It was not an ordinary, humble greeting, but a true priestly blessing.

v. 8. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? an inquiry of courtesy.

v. 9. And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. The expression is purposely chosen to indicate extension, duration. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. The complaint of Moses is here anticipated: “Yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away,” Psa 90:10. The age of Jacob, although he did not die as soon as he expected, did indeed fall much short of that of Abraham and Isaac, and in addition, his shorter life had brought him much grief and sorrow. The believers have no guarantee of immunity against the troubles of this earth, but, on the contrary, very often are obliged to carry an unusual measure, and they bear them willingly in the fear of God.

v. 10. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. If the princes of the world grant to the believers a place where they may live and worship in peace and security, they will receive the blessings of the Lord in return.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

Gen 47:1

Then Joseph cameliterally, and Joseph went, up to the royal presence, as he had proposed (Gen 46:31)and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come cut of the land of Canaan;as thou didst desire (Gen 45:17, Gen 45:18)and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen (vide Gen 45:10).

Gen 47:2

And he took some of his brethren, even five men,literally, from the end, or extremity, of his brethren; not from the weakest, lest the king should select them for courtiers or soldiers (the Rabbis, Oleaster, Pererius, and others); or the strongest and most handsome, that the Egyptian monarch and his nobles might behold the dignity of Joseph’s kindred (Lyre, Thostatus, and others); or the youngest and oldest, that the ages of the rest might be therefrom inferred (Calvin); but from the whole body of his brethren (Gesenius, Rosenmller, Keil, Kalisch, et alii) he took five teenand presented them unto Pharaoh (cf. Act 7:13).

Gen 47:3

And Pharaoh said unto his (i.e. Joseph’s) brethren, What is your occupation? (vide Gen 46:33). And they said unto Pharaoh,as directed (Gen 46:34)Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

Gen 47:4

They said moreover (literally, and they said) unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come;an unconscious fulfillment of an ancient prophecy (Gen 15:13)for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks (it was solely the extreme drought that had caused them for a season to vacate their own land); for the famine is sore (literally, heavy) in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell (literally, and now might thy servants dwell, we pray, the future having here the force of an optative) in the land of Goshen.

Gen 47:5, Gen 47:6

And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee (cf. Gen 20:15); in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell. Wilkinson thinks it possible that Jacob’s sons “may have asked and obtained a grant of land from the Egyptian monarch on condition of certain services being performed by themselves and their descendants”. In the land of Goshen let them dwell. Robinson (Gen 1:1-31 :78, 79) speaks of the province of es-Shar-Kiyeh, which corresponds as nearly as possible with ancient Goshen, as being even in modern times exceedingly productive and thickly populated. And if thou knowest any men of activity among them,literally, and if thou knowest, and there be among them, men of strengthchayil, from chul, to twist ( ), the idea being that of strength as of twisted ropethen make them rulers over my cattleliterally, and thou shelf make them masters of cattle over that which belongs to me. “The shepherds on an Egyptian estate were chosen by the steward, who ascertained their character and skill previous to their being appointed to so important a trust”.

Gen 47:7

And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. It has been thought that Jacob’s presentation to the Egyptian king was deferred till after the monarch’s interview with his sons because of the public and political character of that interview, relating as it did to the occupation of the land, while Jacob’s introduction to the sovereign was of a purely personal and private description. And Jacobin reply probably to a request from Pharaoh (Tayler Lewis), but more likely sua sponteblessed Pharaoh. Not simply extended to him the customary salutation accorded to kings (Rosenmller, Kalisch, Alford, and others), like the “May the king live for ever!” of later times (2Sa 16:16; 1Ki 1:25; Dan 2:4; Dan 3:9, &c.), but, conscious of his dignity as a prophet of Jehovah, pronounced on him a heavenly benediction (Murphy, ‘Speaker’s Commentary,’ and others)hoe verbo non vulgaris et profana salutatio notatur, sed pia sanctaque servi Dei precatio (Calvin).

Gen 47:8, Gen 47:9

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?literally, How many are the days of the years of thy life? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage (literally, of my sojournings, wanderings to and fro without any settled condition) are an hundred and thirty years. Since Joseph was now thirty-seven years of age (Gen 45:6), it is apparent that he was born in his father’s ninety-first year; and since this event took place in the fourteenth year of Jacob’s residence in Padan-aram (Gen 30:25), it is equally apparent that Jacob was seventy-seven years of age when he left Beersheba after surreptitiously securing the patriarchal blessing (Gen 28:1). Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. As Jacob’s life fell short of that of his ancestors in respect of duration, so it greatly surpassed theirs in respect of the miseries that were crowded into it.

Gen 47:10

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh (as he had done on entering the royal presence),

HOMILETICS

Gen 47:1-10

Jacob and his sons before Pharaoh.

I. JOSEPH‘S BRETHREN BEFORE PHARAOH (Gen 47:1-6).

1. Their arrival announced (Gen 47:1). “My father and brethren are come out of the land of Canaan, and behold they are in the land of Goshen.”

2. Their persons presented (Gen 47:2). “He took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them to Pharaoh. The import of this selection of five is explained in the exposition.

3. Their occupations declared (Gen 47:3). In answer to the king’s interrogation they replied that they were shepherds. They had no desire to deceive, although they had learnt that persons of their trades were not commonly regarded with favor. Joseph indeed had convinced them that in this instance honesty would be the best policy; but even had it been precisely the reverse there is no reason to suppose they would have attempted any sort of prevarication.

4. Their purpose explained (Gen 47:4). It was not their intention to settle permanently in Egypt, but only to find in it a temporary shelter during the years of famine. But while man proposes God disposes.

5. Their wish stated (Gen 47:4). “Now, therefore, let thy servants dwell in Goshen.” Though Joseph might have had sufficient power to accord them this favor, it was only courteous to ask it from Pharaoh. “Honor to whom honor is due,” is the dictate of right feeling as well as of true religion, and men seldom find themselves the losers by practicing politeness.

6. Their request granted (Gen 47:6). Pharaoh at once responded” The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell.” Nay, Pharaoh even exceeded their desires or expectations.

7. Their promotion indicated (Gen 47:6). “If thou knowest any men of activity among them, make them rulers over my cattle.” “Seest thou a man diligent in business? he shall stand before kings!”

II. JOSEPH‘S FATHER BEFORE PHARAOH (Gen 47:7-11).

1. The old man‘s blessing. “And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” This was

(1) a valuable gift. Once before he had sent a present to one whom he regarded as of vice-regal dignity; but now, when standing in the royal presence, he does not think of material offerings, but presents what must ever be beyond rubies, the intercession of a saintly heart with God on a fellow-creature’s behalf. If the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, the simple benediction of an aged saint cannot profit little.

(2) Earnestly given. This was shown by the promptitude with which it was bestowed. Immediately the venerable patriarch is ushered into the royal presence he breaks forth into the language of benediction, as if the inward emotion had just been trembling on the heart’s lip and ready at the first agitation to overflow. And he for whom he prays was a benefactor indeed, but a monarch and a heathen; and so are Christ’s people taught to pray for all men, for kings and such as are in authority, for unbelieving, as well as believing, and not for friends and benefactors solely, but likewise for enemies and persecutors.

(3) Solemnly confirmed. Spoken on the first entrance to the regal mansion, it was tremblingly re-uttered on departure. Never before had such a prayer been heard within an Egyptian palace. Yet the halls of princes no more than the novels or peasants are unsuitable for intercessions and supplications. Everywhere and always should be the saint’s motto in regard to prayer.

2. The old man‘s history. Gazing with tender interest on the venerable form of the patriarch as, leaning on the arm of his son, he softly steps across the threshold of the magnificent reception hall, the royal Pharaoh, probably struck with his aged and feeble appearance, kindly inquires, “How many are the days of the years of thy life?” to which Jacob with equal circumlocution, with perhaps a little of the garrulousness that is so natural and becoming in the old, but also with a true touch of pathos, replies, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the lives of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” His existence on the earth he characterizes as having been

(1) A perpetual pilgrimage, a constant wandering, a continual sojourning, which in his case it had really beenfrom Beersheba to Padan-aram, from Padan-aram to Canaan, from one location in the land of promise to another, and finally from Canaan to Egyptbut which is no less true of all men’s lives; “here we have no continuing city.”

(2) A short pilgrimage. Adding them up one by one, the days of the years of his pilgrimage might seem to be many; but in the retrospect they appeared what they really were, few and soon numbered; as life, which to the young in prospect looks long, to the old in retrospect is ever short. How amazing is the difference which a change of standpoint produces in the view which the mind takes of man’s existence on the earth, as of other things! and how important that we should bear this in mind when numbering our days!

(3) A sad pilgrimage. Not only had the days of Jacob’s years been few, but they had also been evil, filled with trouble, sorrow, and vexation, more even than that- of any of his predecessors. It was one more testimony to the fact that not only is man born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward, but that it is only through much tribulation that a child of God can enter the kingdom.

Learn

1. That prudence becomes a counselor. This was strikingly exemplified in Joseph’s conduct in presenting his brethren before Pharaoh.

2. That honesty advances a suppliant. In the long run Joseph’s brethren were better served by their perfect integrity and straightforwardness in Pharaoh’s presence than they would have been by resorting to duplicity and equivocation.

3. That piety adorns the old. How beautiful ‘does the character of Jacob, the aged wanderer, appear as it stands before us in Pharaoh’s palace, in the westering sunlight of his earthly pilgrimage! “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it he found in the way of righteousness.”

HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY

Gen 47:1-10

The presentation to Pharaoh.

I. TESTIMONY TO POWER OF CHARACTER. Joseph’s influence. The five brethren selected perhaps with a view to their appearance, and in the number five, which was regarded as a significant number among the Egyptians. The monarch’s reception of the strangers due to Joseph’s influence. Generally diffused. There is much graciousness in the heathen monarch, although partly to be ascribed to national characteristics, for the Egyptians were a very different race from the Canaanites; still we may believe that the conduct of Pharaoh was mostly due to the effect of Joseph’s ministry and personal exemplification of the religious life. One true man is a great power in a country.

II. A conspicuous EXAMPLE of Divine grace. The old patriarch is presented. He plainly impressed the monarch as extremely aged, perhaps indicating that the centenarian was a great rarity then among heathen nations. His long life was a long course of gracious dealings. The effect of a religious life in prolonging the years is exemplified. It is said that since Christianity obtained its legitimate, or more of its legitimate influence in Europe, the average length of human life has been doubled. Yet, as Jacob confesses, he is not as old as his fathers. His life had been a pilgrimage in a wilderness. His days few and evil, compared with what they might have been. Seventeen years longer they were lengthened outa testimony to the effect of peace and prosperity in preserving life when it is under the blessing of God. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. The less is blessed of the greater. The two princes stood face to facethe prince of Godthe prince of Egypt.

III. A PROPHETIC PACT: the world shall be blessed through the heirs of the Divine promise. Jacob had much to be thankful for; and although he thanked God first, he teaches us by his example not to forget the claims of fellow-creatures in our gratitude, even though they be separated from us in faith and religion.R.

HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY

Gen 47:9

The discipline of life.

Few and evil, yet 130 years; and how many blessings temporal and spiritual had been received during their course. We need not suppose him unthankful. But blessings do not of themselves make a man happy. Some worm may be at the root. And in Jacob’s case early faults cast a shadow over his whole life. The remembrance of early deceit, his natural shrinking from danger, his family cares, his mourning for Rachel (Gen 48:7) and for Joseph, gave a tinge of melancholy not entirely to be taken away even by receiving his son as it were from the dead. The retrospect of his life seemed that of a suffering man.

I. ABIDING SORROW IS THE FRUIT OF EARLY FAULTS, THOUGH REPENTED OF (1Co 15:9). It does not necessarily imply separation from God, or doubt of personal salvation. If “a godly sorrow,” it works repentance, i.e. a more complete turning to God. But just as early neglect of the laws affecting bodily health produces a lasting effect, however carefully these laws may be attended to in after years, so neglect of God’s moral and spiritual laws produces sorrow, varying in kind, and in the channel by which it comes, but bearing witness to the truth of God’s unceasing watchfulness.

II. THE DISCIPLINE OF LIFE IS NOT IN ANGER, BUT FOR OUR PURIFICATION. Thus suffering may be a blessing. But for sorrow Jacob might have sunk into taking his ease. His besetting danger was worldly carefulness (Gen 30:41). So sorrow, from outward circumstances or from inward reflection, often brings us nearer God. It teaches the vanity of earth that we may realize the blessedness of the inheritance above; that frail and weary we may cling more closely to the promises of the rest which remaineth (Heb 4:9).

III. THIS LIFE IS INTENDED TO BE A PILGRIMAGE, NOT A REST. Its blessedness consists not in present enjoyment, but in preparation for the rest to come (Luk 12:20, Luk 12:21). We are reminded that there is a goal to be reached, a prize to be won (1Co 9:24; 1Pe 1:3-9), and that the time is short, that we may put forth all our efforts (Ecc 9:10) to overcome Besetting faults and snares of worldliness. A pilgrim (Heb 11:14) is seeking a country not yet reached. The remembrance of this keeps the life Godward. True faith will work patience and activity; true hope will work cheerfulness under hindrances, and, if need be, under sufferings. And the love of Christ (Joh 14:2, Joh 14:3), and the consciousness that we are his, will constrain us “to walk even as he walked.” For what are you striving? to lade yourself with thick clay? To gain honor, renown, admiration, bodily enjoyment? or as a pilgrim (Num 10:29) walking in Christ’s way, and doing Christ’s work?M.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

EIGHTH SECTION

Israels emigration with his family to Egypt. The settlement in the land of Goshen. Jacob and Pharaoh. Josephs political Economy. Jacobs charge concerning his burial at Canaan.

Genesis 46, 47

1And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said Jacob, Jacob. 3And he said, Here I am. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again; and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. 5And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the Wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 7His sons, and his sons sons with him, his daughters, and his sons daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. 8And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacobs first-born. 9And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch [initiated or initiating, teacher], and Phallu [distinguished], and Hezron [Frst: blooming one, beautiful one], and Carmi [Frst: noble one, Gesen.: vine-dresser]. 10And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel [day or light of God], and Jamin [the right hand, luck], and Ohad [Gesen.: gentleness; Frst: strong], and Jachin [founder], and Zohar [lightening one, bright-shining one], and Shaul [the one asked for] the son of a Canaanitish woman. 11And the sons of Levi; Gershon [expulsion of the profane?], Kohath [congregation of the consecrated?], and Merari [harsh one, severe one, practiser of discipline?]. 12And the sons of Judah; Er [see Gen 38:3], and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron [see Gen 5:9], and Hamul [sparer? gentle one, delicate one]. 13And the sons of Issachar; Tola [worm, cocus-worm, one dressed in crimson cloth, war-dress], and Phuvah [=Phuah, utterance, speech, mouth], and Job [= , see Num 26:29; 1Ch 7:1, returner], and Shimron [keeping, guarding]. 14And the Sons of Zebulun; Sered [escaped, salvation], and Elon [oak, strong one], and Jahleel [waiting upon God]. 15These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. 16And the sons of Gad; Ziphion [beholder, watchman, the seeing one], and Haggi [Chaygai, the festive one], Shuni [the resting one], and Ezbon [Gesen.: devoted; Frst: listener], Eri [watchman], and Arodi [descendants], and Areli [heroic]. 17And the sons of Asher; Jimnah [fortune], and Ishuah [like], and Isui [alike, one to another? twins?], and Beriah [gift], and Serah [abundance], their sister; and the sons of Beriah; Heber [company, associate], and Malchiel [my king is God]. 18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. 19The sons of Rachel Jacobs wife; Joseph and Benjamin. 20And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim1 [see chap. 1, etc.], which Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah priest of On, bare unto him. 21And the sons of Benjamin were Belah [see Gen 14:2, devourer], and Becher [young camel? youth], and Ashbel [sprout], Gera [=, fighter?], and Naaman [loveliness, graceful], Ehi [brotherly], and Rosh [head], Muppim [adorned one, from ], 22and Huppim [protected], and Ard [ruler? from ]. These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. 23And the sons [the son] of Dan; Hushim [the hastener]. 24And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel [alloted by God], and Guni 25[hedged around, protected ], and Jezer [image, my image], and Shillem [avenger]. These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob; 26all the souls were seven. All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacobs sons wives, all the souls were threescore and six: 27And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls; all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. 28And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face2 unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. 31And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his fathers house, I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my fathers house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me: 32And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. 33And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? 34That ye shall say, Thy servants trade hath been about cattle from our youth, even until now, both we and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Gen 47:1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. 2And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 3And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy 4servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. They said, moreover, unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. 5And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. 7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses [Ramses, son of the sun. The name of several Egyptian kings], as Pharaoh had commanded. 12And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his fathers household with bread, according to their 13families3 [Bunsen: To each one according to the number of his children]. And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt, and all the land of Canaan, fainted4 by reason of the famine. 14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaohs house. 15And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. 16And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. 17And they brought their cattle unto Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for their flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses; and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. 18When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: 19Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. 20And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaohs. 21And as for the people, he removed them to cities5 from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. 22Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: where fore they sold not their lands. 23Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day, and your land, for Pharaoh; lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. 24And it shall come to pass, in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. 25And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaohs servants. 26And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaohs. 27And Israel dwelled in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions6 therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. 29And the time drew nigh that Israel must die; and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 30But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. 31And he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the beds head.

PRELIMINARY REMARKES

1. The transplantation of the house of Israel to Egypt under the divine sanction in the genesis of the people of Israel, and under the protection afforded by the opposition to each other of Egyptian prejudice and Jewish custom; this being with the definite reservation, confirmed by an oath, of the return to Canaan. Such is the fundamental idea of both chapters.

2. Knobel finds a manifold difference in the history contained in chapters 4648, between the ground scripture as it is accepted by him, and the amplification of the later editor. According to the Elohist (he says), Manasseh and Ephraim are said to have been youths already, whilst here, that is, in the amplification, etc., they appear as boys (Gen 48:8-12). In the narrative of the Elohist, Jacobs request respecting his burial is directed to all his children, whilst here it is made to Joseph only (Gen 47:31). And this is held up as a discrepancy! See another specimen of this critical dust-raising, p. 336. Here again Knobel knows not how to take the significancy of his . Even , Gen 47:23, must answer as proof of a second Jehovistic document.

3. Ch. 47 and 48 are taken by Delitzsch as belonging to the superscription, as containing Jacobs testamentary arrangements.

4. The contents: 1) Jacobs departure, Gen 46:1-7; Genesis 2) Jacobs family, Gen 46:8-27; Genesis 3) the reunion and mutual salutation in the land of Goshen, Gen 46:28-34; Genesis 4) introduction of Josephs brethren and his father Jacob to Pharaoh; grant of the Goshen territory; the induction and settlement of the house of Israel, Gen 47:1-12; Genesis 5) Josephs administration in Egypt, Gen 48:13-22; Genesis 6) Israel in Egypt and the proviso he makes for his return to Canaan, even in death, Gen 48:2731.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1. Jacobs departure (Gen 46:1-7).And Israel took his journey.Even as Israel he had a human confidence that he might follow Josephs call to Egypt. But as a patriarch he must have the divine sanction. Until this time he might have doubts. When he halted at Beer-sheba (the place of Abrahams tamarisk tree, and of Isaacs altar) he offered sacrifice to the God of his fathersa peace offering, which, in this case, may also be regarded as a thankoffering, an offering of inquiry, or in fulfilment of a vow. It must be remembered that Isaac once had it in view to journey to Egypt, had not God forbidden him. And so, in the last revelation that Jacob received, in the night-vision, there comes to him a voice, saying, Jacob, Jacob; just as Abraham had to be prepared by a decisive prohibition in the repeated call, Abraham, Abraham, Gen 22:11, so, in a similar way, must Jacob here be prepared for going onward to Egypt. The revelation which Abraham had, Genesis 15, might seem dark to him. Its import neither held him back nor urged him forward on the journey. The transplantation of his house to Egypt was a bold undertaking. On this account the God of his fathers, the Providence of his fathers, reveals himself to him as God El, the powerful one,7 with whom he may safely undertake the journey, notwithstanding the apparent inconsistency that he is leaving the land of promise. The main thing in the divine promise now is, that he is not only to become a mighty people in Egypt, but that he shall return to Canaan. The latter part might be fulfilled in the return of his dead body, but this would be as symbolic pre-representation of the fact that Israels return to Canaan should be the return of his people. The firmness of the departure appears in the fact that Israel, with wives and children, allows himself to be placed on Egyptian wagons, and that they took with them all the movable property that they possessed in Canaan. The picture of such a migration scene upon the monument of Beni Hassan is described by Hengstenberg, Moses and Egypt, p. 37, etc. Jacob is now to die in Egypt; this death, however, in a foreign land, is to have the alleviation that Joseph shall put his hand upon his eyes. This last service of love was also customary among other ancient nations (comp. Hom. II. xi. 453, etc.8). Knobel. Concerning the wagons, see Delitzsch, p. 562.

2. Jacobs house (Gen 46:8-27). Three things are here to be considered: 1) The number 70; 2) the enumeration of the children and grandchildren who may have been born in Egypt; 3) the relation of the present list to the one given Numbers 26, and 1 Chronicles 2. The numbering of the souls in Jacobs household evidently points to the important symbolic number 70. This appears in its significance throughout the history of the kingdom of God. It is reflected in the ethnological table, in the 70 elders of Moses, in the Jewish Sanhedrin, in the Alexandrian version of the LXX, in the 70 disciples of our Lord, in the Jewish reduction of the heathen world to 70 nations. Ten is the number of the completed human development, seven the number of perfection in Gods work; seventy, therefore, is the development of perfection and holiness in Gods people. But between the complete development and the germ there must be a correspondence; and this is the family of the patriarch, consisting of seventy souls. The number seventy is the mark by which the small band of emigrants is sealed and stamped as the holy seed of the people of God. Delitzsch. On the mariner in which the number 70 is formed out of the four columns, Leah, Zilpah, Rachel, Bilhah, see Delitzsch, p. 563; Keil, p. 270. It is to be observed that Dinah, as an unmarried heiress, constitutes an independent member of the house, just as Serah, daughter of Asher (Gen 46:17); whilst it may be supposed, in respect to the other daughters and granddaughters, that by marriage they became incorporated with the families and tribes that are mentioned. The fact that a son of Simeon is specially mentioned as the son of a Canaanitish woman, shows that it was the rule in Jacobs house to avoid Canaanitish marriages, though the Ishmaelitish, Keturian, and Edomitic relationship still stood open to them. Keil. The ancient connection, however, with Mesopotamia, Laban had impaired, if not entirely interrupted. A similar enumeration, Exo 1:5; Deu 10:22; whilst the LXX, and, after it, Act 7:14, presents the number 75, by counting in the five sons of Ephraim and Manasseh according to 1Ch 8:14 (see note by Keil, p. 271), an enumeration by which the persons named are still more distinctly set up as heads of families.

As to what farther relates to the sons of Pharez, the sons of Benjamin, etc., it is clear that when it is said of Jacob, that he brought all these souls to Egypt, it must have the same meaning as when it is said of his twelve sons, that he brought them out of Mesopotamia, though Benjamin was born afterwards in his home. The foundation of the Palestinian family state was laid on the return of Jacob to Canaan, whilst the formation of the Egyptian family state, and of its full patriarchal development, was laid when he came to Egypt. The idea goes ahead of the date. Baumgarten urges the literal conception; but the right view of the matter is given by Hengstenberg. For a closer discussion of the question see Keil, p. 271, and Delitzsch, p. 564; especially in relation to the difficulties of Knobel, p. 340. Keil: It is clear that our list contains not only Jacobs sons and grandsons already born at the time of the emigration, but besides this, all the sons that formed the ground of the twelve-tribed nation,or, in general, all the grand-and great-grandchildren that became founders of mischpa-hoth, or independent, self-governing families. Thus only can the fact be explained, the fact otherwise inexplicable, that, in the days of Moses, with the exception of the double tribe of Joseph, there were, in none of the tribes, descendants from any grandson, or great-grandsons, of Jacob that are not mentioned in this list. The deviations in the names, as given in Numbers 26, and in Chronicles, are to be considered in their respective places. We refer here to Keil, p. 272; Delitzsch, p. 565.

3. Their re-union and greetings in the land of Goshen. Gen 46:28-34.And he sent Judah.Judah has so nobly approved himself true and faithful, wise and eloquent, in Josephs history, that Jacob may, with all confidence, send him before to prepare the way. Judahs mission is to receive Josephs directions, in order that he himself may be a guide to Israel, and lead him unto the land of Goshen. Joseph, however, hastens forward to meet his father in Goshen, and to greet him and his brethren.And he presented himself to him.Keil: otherwise generally thus used in speaking of an appearance of God, is here chosen to express the glory in which Joseph went to meet his father.9 But surely it was less the external splendor, in itself considered, than the appearance of one beloved, long supposed to be dead, but now living in glorious prosperity.Now let me die.This joyful view of death is not to be overlooked; it is opposed to the common notion respecting the Jewish view of the life beyond the grave. Such language shows that Jacob recognizes, in Josephs reappearance, the last miraculous token of the divine favor as shown to him in this world.I will go up to Pharaoh.Knobel explains the expression from the fact, that the city of Memphis, being the royal residence, was situated higher than the district of Goshen. Keil explains it ideally as a going up to court. This view becomes necessary if we regard Tanais as the capital, which is, however, rendered somewhat doubtful by the expression itself, if it is to be taken literally.That ye shall say, thy servants trade hath been about cattle.This instruction shows Josephs ingenuousness, combined with prudent calculation. His brethren are frankly to confess their occupation; Joseph even sets them the example before Pharaoh, although, according to his own explanation, shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians, that is, an impure caste. By this frankness, however, they are to gain the worldly advantage of having given to them this pastoral district of Goshen, and at the same time, the theocratic spiritual benefit of dwelling in Egypt, secured, by this distinction of castes, from all impure mingling with the Egyptians themselves. Knobel lays stress upon the word , in distinction from , because sheep and goats were not generally used for sacrifice by the Egyptians, because their meat did not belong to the priestly royal dish, and because wool was considered by the priests to be unclean, and was, therefore, never used for the wrapping of the dead. But the conclusion drawn from this, that keepers of sheep and goats had been especially (a thing tabooed), cannot be established. This, in a very high degree, was the case only with herdsmen of swine (Herod. ii. 47), who, nevertheless, together with the herdsmen of cattle, were numbered in the seven castes (Herod. ii. 164), and both together called the caste of shepherds, (Diod. i. 74). The name is only a naming a potiori (from the better part). Delitzsch. According to Grant (Travels, ii. 17), the herdsmen are represented on the monuments, as long, lean, distorted, sickly formsa proof of the contempt that rested upon them. Josephs theocratic faithfulness preferred for his people contempt to splendor, provided that under the cover of this contempt, they might remain secluded and unmixed (see Heb 11:26). For the cause of this dis-esteem, see Keil, p. 274; Knobel, p. 341.

4. The presentation of Josephs brothers, and of his father, to Pharaoh. The grant of the land of Goshen. The induction and settlement. Gen 47:1-12.Some of his brethren.() This has been interpreted as meaning some of the oldest, and some of the youngest, or, in some such manner; but there is no certainty about it; since the expression may mean any part as taken (cut off) from a whole. As Joseph could not present all his brethren to Pharaoh, he chooses five, a number of much significance to the Egyptians (see Gen 43:34). Pharaoh again shows himself, in this case, a man of tact and delicacy. Of the young men he asks the nature of their occupation; of old Jacob he inquires his age. Especially well does he manage in not immediately granting to Josephs brethren their petition to be allowed to settle in Goshen, but leaves it to Joseph, so that he appears before his brethren in all his powers, and their thanks are to be rendered unto him instead of Pharaoh. Joseph, at the same time, receives full power to appoint proper men from among them as superintending herdsmen (magistros pecoris).See Knobel, who thinks that this petition was more suitable for the chief of the horde (sic). Yet he quiets himself by the fact that in other places the narrator brings forward the sons of the aged father; as though this were not an obviously proper proceeding. Still he will have it that the ground Scripture, as he calls it, reports but one introduction of Jacob.And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.When he came into his presence and when he left him. There is something more here than a mere conventional greeting. Jacob had every inducement to add his blessing to his thanks for Josephs treatment, for the stately invitation, and for the kind reception. Besides, an honorable old age is a sort of priesthood in the world.Of my pilgrimage.Jacobs consciousness of the patriarchal life, as a pilgrimage in a foreign land, must have developed itself especially in his personal experience (see Heb 11:13, etc.).Few and evil.That is, full of sorrow. Jacob speaks of his life as of something already past. This is explained from his elevated state of soul. He is ready to die. In such presentiment of death, however, he is mistaken by almost seventeen years; for he died at the age of one hundred and forty-seven. His father, Isaac, also had thought to make his testament much earlier (see Gen 27:1, etc.). In fact, the age of Jacob fell much short of that of Abraham (one hundred and seventy-five), and that of Isaac (one hundred and eighty).In the land of Rameses.(Heroon-polis.) Gen 45:10, it is called Goshen. It is here named after a like-named place in Goshen (Exo 1:11); and thus we are already prepared for the departure afterwards, which started from Rameses (Exo 12:37; Num 33:35). Concerning the country of Goshen, see Keil, p. 276; Delitzsch, p. 572.

5. Josephs administration of the affairs of Egypt (Gen 47:13-26). This proceeding of Joseph, reducing the Egyptians, in their great necessity, to a state of entire dependence on Pharaoh, has been made the ground of severe reproach; and, indeed, it does look strange at first. The promotion of earthly welfare, and of a comfortable existence, cannot excuse a theocratic personage in bringing a free people into the condition of servants. But the question here is whether Joseph really acted in an arbitrary manner. He was not a sovereign lord of the storehouses, but only Pharaohs servant. As such, ho could not demand of Pharaoh views that in their aspect of liberality lay beyond his horizon; besides it is to be considered that the people themselves desired to save their lives at the price of their freedom. The point we are mainly to look at is that Joseph was not at liberty to give the corn away, and, to say nothing of Pharaohs right, he might thereby have opened so wide the door of a wasteful squandering, as to have produced a universal famine. We are also to suppose that Joseph was urged, step by step, to these measures, by the pressing consequences of the situation; but that he tried to mitigate, as much as posible, the dependence that necessarily followed, by an assessment of the fifth part, leaving four-fifths to them. The principal aim of the narrative is to show, in the first place, the advantages of the Israelites in comparison with the Egyptians; how splendidly the former were provided for. Again, Joseph might have yielded to the urgency of the circumstances, all the more freely from the consideration, that the future of Israel would be more secure by thus having a favorable position among a depressed, rather than a haughty and oppressive people. But, at all events, even in this relation, divine retribution surpasses, in its severity, the measure of human understanding. When afterwards the Israelites were held in bondage by the Egyptians, it may remind us of the fact, that, through Joseph, the Egyptians themselves had been made servants to Pharaoh, however pure may have been his motive.Herds of cattle.The expression shows that the fair value of the cattle is here kept prominently in view; since denotes property acquired.And as for the people they demanded.Concerning the different readings, Gen 47:21, where the LXX and the Samaritan, and others, with Knobel, read instead of , see note, Keil, p. 277. We must not, however, suppose, with Delitzsch, a translocation of the people from one place in Egypt to another in its remotest part, but the distributing of the present crown peasants into the different towns of their respective districts throughout the whole land. The ground of this was that, for the present, they must get their sustenance from their granaries in the cities, and that, afterwards, these became the places in which they were to deliver the fifth part.Had a portion assigned them.We understand this of the land of the priests, not of their portion of the provision which is mentioned afterwards.Ye shall give the fifth part.This was no heavy tax; and there was a benefit in it, that it tended to produce an habitual carefulness in respect to the unfruitful years. That a provision, in such cases, had heretofore been wanting in Egypt, is evident from the destitution of the people. Joseph may, therefore, be looked upon, in all this, as a wise man striving with the necessities of famine, so sore an evil in ancient times.10

The accounts which Herodotus (ii. 109), and Diodorus (i. 73), have given concerning the national economy of ancient Egypt, seem to refer to dispositions of a later date, at whose basis, nevertheless, may have lain these measures of Joseph, even as the latter may have been grounded on still older relations and peculiarities. The main view to be taken in respect to this economy is, that the king, in connection with the priest and warrior castes, possessed the land (Diod. Sic.), whilst the peasants and tradesmen had land subject to rent. Now if Joseph changed the feudal system, formerly existing, into one of servitude, it is to be remembered that the former was not so favorable, nor the latter so unfavorable, as that which existed in still later times. The feudal peasant was already under an absolute authority, and was obliged, e.g., at the beginning of the seven years of plenty, to give the fifth part; whilst the servants, as they are afterwards called, were only persons put under a more definite direction in the management of their economic relations. For more on this, see Keil, p. 278, on the tax relations of the East, and also Knobel, p. 346. Gerlach maintains that the Egyptians did not become bondsmen in this transaction, but were only brought into a feudal relation to Pharaoh. It is said, however, expressly, that Joseph bought not only their land, but themselves, their bodies. It is true, a distinction may be made between this, and an entire bodily subjection; and, therefore, may it be called servitude or dependence.

6. Israel in Egypt. His proviso. His return in death to Canaan. Gen 47:27-31.And they had possession therein.Personal appropriation and outward extension.And Jacob lived.The narrative prepares us very circumstantially for Jacobs death, as an event of great moment to his people.Put thy hand under my thigh.See Genesis 23 Joseph is to confirm by an oath his promise to bring his remains home to Canaan. Because Jacob exacts this of all his sons collectively (see Genesis 49), Knobel, as usual, discovers a discrepancy. It is, however, the same determination, only more fully developed in the latter passage. After Josephs promise, Jacob prays upon his bed. The fulfilment of his last wish has been secured.And Israel bowed himself.We must think of him as sitting up in his couch; it is, therefore, incorrect when Keil says, he turned towards the head of the bed, in order to worship, while lying with the face turned towards the bed. The Vulgate which Keil quotes, says the reverse: adoravit Deum conversus ad lectuli caput. The idea is, that, kneeling, he bows himself in the bed, with his face turned towards the head. The LXX seems to have read for (ham–mat–teh for ham–mit–tah) caused by a mistake of the vowels to the unpointed consonants, and the consideration that Jacob is not represented as sick and confined to his bed until the next chapter. By this LXX interpretation: (which we also find in the Syriac, the Italian, and Heb 11:21), there is suggested the rich and beautiful thought, that Jacob celebrates the completion of his pilgrimage (Gen 47:9) in prayer and thanksgiving. If we take it in the other sense, having no greater evidence, and less significance, the turning to the beds head in a kneeling posture is the one natural to the body, if we imagine the beds head to be the higher part. At the same time, it seems here expressed that Jacob, in praying, turns away from the world, and from men to God, as the facing and turning of the priest at the altar expresses the same idea symbolically. Von Bohlen maintains that the question has nothing to do with praying. It means, he says, that Jacob was sinking back upon his pillow, as David, 1Ki 1:47, whilst Joseph put his hand under his thigh. For such an occasion, however, the word (generally denoting adoration) would seem unhappily chosen, and is easily misunderstood. Delitzsch takes the two representations together (as denoting in one the act of prayer and the oath ceremonial).

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Jacobs halt at Beer-sheba furnishes a proof again of the distinction between human certainty, and that derived from the divine assurance. Thus John the Baptist knew already of the Messianic mission, before his baptism, but it was not until the revelation made at the baptism that he received the divine assurance which he needed as the forerunner of Christ. In our day, too, this distinction is of special importance for the minister of the gospel. Words of divine assurance are the proper messages from the pulpit.
2. The God of Israel is also the mighty God of Jacobthe same God who commanded the one to stay, the other to go.
3. Not until Jacob had again made sure and sealed his patriarchal covenant-relation with God, is he able to set forth, with joy and confidence, on a journey, with his whole family, into a strange and dangerous world.
4. Exegesis, as in other places, hastens too rapidly over the significance of these Biblical names. Though some are quite doubtful, others have an unmistakable importance, opening, by their connections, a view revealing the spirit of the respective families, and of their fathers. Thus the names of Reubens sons express a sanguine hope (initiated, distinguished, etc.). In the names of Levis sons, we may recognize the three leading traits of hierarchical rule. And so in many other cases.

5. Dinah had to atone for her former freedom, and the fanatical severity of her brothers, by a joyless single life. But she has the honor, along with Serah, of being reckoned among the founders of the house of Israel in Egypt. Together with the development of the theocracy, there is unfolded the gradual elevation of woman. The idea of female inheritance here presents itself.

6. Judah, the fathers minister to Joseph. By his faithfulness, strength, and wisdom, he has risen in the opinion of his father, and thus it is that Jacobs divine illumination shows itself especially in respect to the tribe of Judah,becoming a revelation full and clear in the blessing pronounced Genesis 49.

7. Jacobs and Josephs reunion, full of unspeakable emotion expressed in tears and in embraces. To Jacob, Joseph appears as one who had come from the realm of the dead.
8. Jacobs declaration: now let me die, presents another aspect in the contemplation of death and Hades, different from that which is usually raised through the more common speech respecting it in Old-Testament times. The men of the Old Testament describe Sheol as a gloomy region; but this comes from their fear of descending into it before they hare seen the full tokens of grace, or have received that peace of the Lord which giveth rest. When they have had a sight of these, they die willingly; it is then a lying down to sleep,a going home to the fathers. In general, however, it is true that this terrified legal consciousness of death predominates over the Old-Testament evangelical consciousness of unconditional resignation in hope.

9. The instructions that Joseph gives his brethren show us that this ancient statesman clearly comprehended the truth, that the highest ingenuousness, and the purest frankness, is, at the same time, the highest wisdom (see the instructions of Christ to the apostles, Matthew 10). This wisdom of Joseph, it is true, was not the wisdom of this world. It was a divine wisdom, that he thus placed the house of Israel in Egypt under the protection of Egyptian contempt. By thus giving them a lowly position, he secured their worldly welfare, whilst promoting their theocratic prosperity.

10. Pilgrim in youth, pilgrim in age, always a wrestler,Jacob just touches upon his sufferings, as far as it is meet for Pharaoh to hear. The feeling of his wonderful deliverances shows itself movingly in his blessing upon Josephs sons. The idea of the spiritual pilgrimage of believers upon earth appears very distinctly in this picture of Jacobs life, which he sketches before Pharaoh.
11. The last thought of Jacob, erstwhile in Mesopotamia, and now in Egypt, is that of going home. There he wishes to return, even in death itself. And yet Canaan was not his true and proper home; though it was for him the type and pledge of the everlasting rest (see Hebrews 11).

12. The transplantation of Israel had for its aim the negative and positive advancement of the people of God. Negatively: It must be transplanted from Canaan if it would escape being ruined spiritually by mingling with the people of the land, or bodily, through premature wars with them. Positively: In Egypt they were parted from heathenism by a double barrier, namely, their foreign race, and their reputation as a caste impure; but here they found sustenance and room for their enlargement as a people upon its fertile soil; at the same time, they were drawn out, through the Egyptian culture, to development of their mental powers. In Egypt were they prepared for their transition from the nomadic to the agricultural state.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

See Doctrinal and Ethical. Jacobs last pilgrimage.Jacobs house.Jacob and Josephs reunion.Jacobs joy in death.Jacob before Pharaoh.Israel in Goshen.Taube (Gen 47:7-10): Jacobs life: 1. As a mirror of the miseries of human life in general; 2. as a mirror especially of a true and blessed pilgrimage.

First Section. (Gen 46:1-7.) Starke: This departure to Egypt is often spoken of; Num 20:14-15 : Jos 24:4; Psa 105:23; Isa 52:4; Jer 31:2; Act 7:15.This is the last appearance with which God favored Jacob.

Gen 46:3. Jacob might be afraid: 1. On account of his personal safety (advanced years); 2. on account of the prohibition to Isaac (Gen 26:2); 3. on account of his descendants (Egypt a heathen country); 4. on account of servitude threatening them (as predicted Gen 15:13); 5. on accouut of leaving Canaan, the promised land; 6. Abrahams experiences, Gen 12:12 (see Jacobs declaration Gen 45:28).A Christian should enter upon his journeys with God accompanying.Bibl. Tub.: God guides his people on their ways.Cramer: Jacob an example of the fortune and pilgrimage of believers.Schrder: The answer of God is in reply to his distressing anxiety,to his flesh and blood, as we may regard it; therefore does he call him by his more human name: Jacob! Jacob! Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes; the last service of love that the nearest kindred could perform to the dying (Tob 14:15). See Robinson on the halting of the wagons at Beersheba.

Second Section. (Gen 46:8-27.) Starke: The use of this accurate catalogue of the children of Israel; it shows the separation of the tribes, and marks the tribe of the Messiah. It gives a clearer view of the peoples increase, and thus shows the fulfilling of the divine promise.Ohad, Numbers 26 and 1Ch 4:21, not counted here; probably died without issue.(Gen 46:15. The numbers do not sum up to more than thirty-two. The Rabbins remove the difficulty by saying, God must be counted in, since he said that he would go down with them. But this is not necessary. It would be better to say, Jacob and his children, etc.)

Gen 46:21. On the difference between this and 1Ch 8:6, and Num 26:38-39, in respect to Benjamins children, see the explanation in the respective places. The genealogies are important.Bibl. Wirt.: The true church of God is a small number, but let no one stumble thereat. God takes good care of his elect, and knows all their names.Schrder: The fact that Egypt is the hiding-place for Israel, shows that the relation was not one-sided only; if Israel was something for the heathen, it is also clear that the heathen, on the other hand, had their mission for Israel (Baumgarten).The full people of Israel consisted of twelve sons, and seventy souls, and the Christian church consisted of twelve apostles, and seventy disciples (Roos).

Third Section. (Gen 46:28-34.) Starke: (In the land of Goshen; after several weeks spent on a journey of forty or fifty miles).Joh 16:20.Was Josephs joy great when he saw again his father, how great will be the joy of Gods children when they meet each other again in glory!Schrder: Now the patriarch is ready to die, for in Joseph he beholds the fulfilment of all the promises.

Gen 46:33. To be sure, is to win. Right ahead, is the motto of the good rider (Valer. Herb.). The pride of the world makes small estimate of what God regards as highest (Baumgarten). Thus began already in the house of Jacob, at its entrance into Egypt, that reproach of Christ which Moses afterwards esteemed greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (Roos). This antipathy of the Egyptians towards the shepherd-people was a fence to them, such as was afterwards the law of Moses (Roos).

Fourth Section. (Gen 47:1-12.) Starke: Gen 47:1. Joseph does not ask particularly for Goshen, yet he knows in what manner to arrange it, that Pharaoh may readily perceive how much he would be obliged to him for the grant of that district.(Gen 47:2. ; some translate it from the extremes, that is from the oldest and the youngest; others understand it as referring to those who were of least account. Their idea is that Joseph meant to prevent Pharaohs employing them as soldiers.)Calvin: Se quis aliter pure Deo servire non potest quam si mundo se ftidum reddat, hic omnis facessat ambitio. A Christian must not be ashamed of the humble condition in which God may have placed him.Muscul.: Pharaoh does not inquire after Jacobs piety, religion, and godly walk, but only after his age.Seventeen years. As long as he had sorrowfully cared for Joseph, so long Joseph, in return, cared for him. Earthly benefits God repays by spiritual blessings; 1Co 9:11.Cramer: God bestows much on the man who has many children.Schrder: Very proper that they remain in the border district until everything is settled. In the midst of the Egyptians, the Israelites are ever as strangers in the land.Heim: The patriarch standing before Pharaoh. The patriarch and the priest of Gods church before the king of the mightiest and most civilized state at that time in the word.

Fifth Section. (Gen 47:13-26.) Starke: Gen 47:13. A divine punishment of the Egyptians. (They would not otherwise have regarded Josephs example in the sparing use of the corn; some, perhaps, would have scouted his predictions).

Gen 47:16. Joseph said: Fidelity to Pharaoh requires that I should not let you have the corn for nothing.Freiburger Bibel: Slavery is against the law of nature.Our daily bread, a great proof of the divine beneficence.(Gen 47:22. Circumstances sometimes excuse. If Joseph favored the heathen priests it was in obedience to the express commands of Pharaoh.)Schrder: Concerning Goshen. It was for the most part a prairie country, adapted to the grazing of cattle, and yet there were fertile agricultural portions (Hengstenberg).See Robinsons account of Goshen, or the province Surkijeh, p. 620.In the enumeration of Egyptian herds, horses come first, Exo 9:3; for their raising was especially proper for the country.Sheep, held sacred by the Thebans.Asses, were sacrificed to Typhon.The fifth, a religious political revenue, whose relation to tithes (double fifths) is obvious. The tax of a fifth is small in a fertile land like Egypt, where harvests are from thirty to a hundred fold.)(Robinson compares Josephs conduct with that of Mohammed Ali (p. 623), who made himself sole owner of all the property in Egypt; but the great difference between them is obvious.)The double tithe in Israel was probably a Mosaic imitation. As Pharaoh provides by a fifth for the sustenance of the priests, so also Jehovah (Hengstenberg).

Sixth Section. (Gen 47:26-31.) Starke: Bibl. Tub.: It is right that a certain part of what the land produces should be given to the lord.11

Gen 47:30. Thus Jacob testifies to the resurrection of the dead, as one who awakes from sleep.Schrder: Jacob dies as the last of the patriarchs, and his death is the conclusion of this historical introduction, or history of the beginning. He dies, moreover, in a foreign land. That makes it the more important and conclusive event. (In the expression: have found grace, there comes into consideration: 1. That it has not the same weight, nor the same subordinate sense, as it would have in occidental speech; 2. that Jacob here asks a favor of Joseph which might seem to him as coming in collision with his Egyptian duty.)Heim: Jacob had reached a lovely evening of his wearisome and troubled life; but it might be said of him: Forgetting the things that are behind, I reach forth unto the things that are before.

[Note on the Interview between Jacob and Pharaohthe Patriarchal Theologythe Idea of the Earthly Life as a Pilgrimage.Commentators have bestowed much study upon the genealogical register in the preceding chapter, the meaning of its proper names (in most cases not easily determined), and the question, whether all the descendants of Jacob there mentioned were born before the migration. This is valuable, indispensable, it may be said, to a right knowledge of the Scriptures; but it has led many to pass very slightly over those scenes of touching beauty, and most exquisite tenderness, that are presented in Josephs meeting with his father (already alluded to in the note, p. 633), and in the interview between Jacob and Pharaoh, Genesis 47 : And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. What a picture of life and reality have we here! The feeble patriarch, leaning upon the arm of his recovered son, is led into the presence of the courteous monarch, who receives him, not as an inferior, nor as a dependent even, but with all the respect due to his great age, and with a reverent feeling that in this very old man, the representative, as it were, of another age, or of another world, there was something of a sacred and prophetical character. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. It is probable that Pharaoh asked his blessing. At all events, there is something in the kindliness of his reception that induces Jacob to bestow his patriarchal benediction upon him; and doubtless the king received it, not as a formality, or with a mere feeling of courtly condescension, but as something that had a divine value for himself and his kingdom. Throughout this narrative of Joseph there is a life-likeness in the character of Pharaoh that shows him to us as one of the most veritable objects presented in history. And what an air of reality in all these scenes here so exquisitely portrayed! What a power of invention do they exhibit (if we concede to them no higher excellence); what skill in the art of pictorial fiction,that peculiar talent so cultivated in modern times, and which, it is supposed, has only reached its perfection in our own day. It is this,inconsistent as it may seem with all we know of the most early writings,or it is the most natural and exact drawing from the very life. There is something here in the internal evidence which the sound mind intuitively perceives, and on which it confidently relies. It is no invented tale. The picture stands out vividly before us; age has not dimmed its colors; remoteness of scene, and wide diversity of life and manners, cannot weaken its effect. It produces a conviction of reality stronger than that which comes, often, from narratives of events close to our own days, or even cotemporary. Away over the chasm of time we look directly into that old world. We see the figures distinctly moving on that far-off ancient shore. It is brought nigh to us in such a way that we could almost as well doubt our senses, as think of calling it in question. At all events, no mythical theory can explain it. We are shut up to a very sharp issue, a very stringent alternative: It is the very truth, the very life, in the minutest feature of its close limning, or it is the most monstrous, as it is the most circumstantial, and consciously inventive, lying. No higher criticism, as it is called, can ever make satisfactory, to a truly thoughtful mind, the comparison sometimes drawn between these Bible stories and the cloudy fables that characterize the early annals of other ancient nations. Study well the striking contrasts. The lives of the pilgrim patriarchs, so clear in their lifelike portraitures, the wild Scandinavian legends, the wilder Hindoo myths, presenting not simply the supernatural, for there are connections in which that is most crediblemore credible even than its absencebut the unnatural, the horrible, the monstrous, the grotesque; what affinity between these? The clear, statistical story of Joseph, the picture of the veritable Pharaoh,the shadows of Ion, of Dorus, of Cadmus, that flit across the dim page of the earliest Hellenian history; what sane mind can trace any parallel here? There is no escaping the issue, we may say again. It is sharp and decisive. The reasoning is curt and clear. Absolute fiction in these Bible stories, with a skill surpassing that of Defoe, Scott, or Thackeray,absolute forgery, with a conscious intent to deceive in every particular, or absolute truth, self-verifying, is the only alternative. It is not such a forgery; it is not such an artful fiction; the most extreme rationalist shrinks from affirming this; it is, therefore, the truth, and nothing but the truth. We may reverently use the imagination in attempting to fill up some parts of the picture, but we may not disturb the graphic outline. How very clear it is in the passage, specially before us. Imagination needs no help. We can almost see them, the stately monarch, the very aged man, the beloved son now in the strength and glory of manhood,they stand out as vividly as anything now on the canvas of our present history. We may as well doubt of Csar and Alexander, yea of Napoleon and of Washington, as of Jacob, Joseph, and Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? The English translation here, in departing from literalness in the question, has marred the effect of the answer, the peculiar language of which is suggested by it, or, at least, strictly connected with it. The Hebrew is, which we have reason, from what Diodorus says of their views of life (lib. i. 51), to regard as an Egyptian as well as a Shemitic idiomHow many are the days of the years of thy life (or, lives)? It is a drawing out of the phrase to make it intensive. It suggests the long years of the earthly sojourning, enhanced by the thought of the many days of which they are composedor days taken in that indefinite way so common in the early languages to denote times or periods. In what perfect harmony with this is the answer? We see in it the old mans garrulousness (using the term in its most innocent and natural sense), the feeling of personal importance which the very old exhibit, and rightly exhibit, in view of their surpassing length of years. They love to dwell on it, and to state it minutely, extending their words as though in some proportion to the long time through which memory looks back. How strongly we are reminded here of the Grecian Nestor, except that there is a holiness and a moral grandeur about Jacob, to which the old Homeric hero, in his garrulous worldliness and boasting, makes no approach. They are alike in the senile reduplication of their words. Not, however, like the frequent Nestoric prelude, , O that I were young again, but in a prolonged strain of solemnity and sadness comes the slow reply: The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the lives of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage. We can see the old man as he says this, leaning on his staff, and supported by his son; we can almost hear the tones of his trembling voice, the pauses of his slow utterance, the seemingly tautological yet most emphatic sound of his repetitions. Few and evil; alas! how ancient is this style of speech! How from the very beginning dates this wailing language so full of the feeling that some great evil has befallen humanity, and that our earthly life, in its best condition, is but a pilgrimage of sorrow. It has not come from the worlds later experience. The farther we go back, even into what would seem to be the very youth of our race, the louder and clearer is the voice. It is not confined to t he Scriptures. It meets us everywhere in the earliest heathen writings, but without the placid resignation that is so evident in the most striking Biblical examples. Compare the Odyssey, xviii. 130.

,

Sophocles, dipus Tyrannus, 1186,

,

,

,

.

So Pindars Pyth. viii. 99. Compare Job 7; Job 14; Psa 103:15; Gen 18:27 (who am but dust and ashes,); the same, Job 30:19; Job 42:6; Sir 10:9 (why is dust and ashes proud); and other passages too numerous for quotation.

Among the most natural and truthful things in this narration is the respect shown by Pharaoh to Jacob. It might be accounted for by that courteousness and sense of justice which seems so characteristic of this monarch, as also by his great friendship for Joseph. But there is something more in the case, and having a deeper ground. It is a feeling of reverence which makes him desire the patriarchs blessing. Respect for age was more felt, and more lauded as a virtue, in the ancient world, than in the modern, although it still holds, and nothing but a most dissolute civilization can break it up. There is, moreover, something of awe with which we look upon a very old man, a centenarian or upwards, one who has gone far beyond the ordinary limit of human life. It affects us as a strange spectacle. There seems to be something unearthly about him, superhuman, almost supernaturalas though he belonged to another age, or world. So to the young Telemachus appeared the aged Nestor who had survived three generations of men (Odyss. iii. 246),

,

like an immortal, as I gaze, does he stand out before melike one seen in vision, to give the full force of that peculiar word or as something transcending the ordinary humanity. This feeling was heightened by the fact that the Egyptians, as compared with the nomadic patriarchs, were not a long-lived people. Jacob, although he bad not attained unto the days of the years of the life of his fathers, was to them a remarkably old man. Pharaoh had, probably, never before seen a case of such extreme longevity. Herodotus (iii. 23) learns, from the Egyptians, of an thiopian people, among whom some reached the age of one hundred and twenty years, but the manner in which it is narrated shows that it was regarded as remarkable and exceptional, confirming the idea that such advanced age was unknown among the Egyptians themselves.

The matter however, of deepest interest, and most worthy of note in this answer of Jacob, is its pilgrim tone: The days of the years of my pilgrimagefew and evil have they been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage. Who can deny the fairness of the apostles reasoning (Heb 11:14): Now they who say such things declare plainly (, make it very manifest) that they seek a countrythat they long () for a better country, even a heavenlyconfessing themselves to be strangers and sojourners upon earth ( , men away from home). Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God (not of the nonexistent, or the perished, Mat 22:32), for he hath prepared for them a citya city which hath foundations, stable, enduring, that passeth not away. This language of pilgrimage is not resolvable into the unmeaning, like a worn-out modern metaphor, or a mere poetical sentimentality. Such use of words would be wholly inconsistent with the character of the patriarchs, and their stern ideas of reality. It was not a pilgrimage simply in respect to the old home whence they came out; for thither, as the author of the epistle to the Hebrews most pertinently observes (Gen 11:14), they could, at any time, have returned. That certainly was not the better country they were seeking. No going back to Mesopotamia, the region of the fire-worshipping idolatry; rather go down to Egypt, the land of dreams and symbols, yea, down to Sheol evenever pressing on their pilgrim-way with unabated confidence in the covenant God. He would be with them wherever they went. Into whatever regions they might pass, known or unknown, there would be the , the angel Redeemer, to deliver them from all evil. It was no metaphor except as a transfer from a lower to a higher sense. The true pilgrim idea is inseparable from the term constantly employed. No word in the Hebrew language maintains a more clear and emphatic sense: , a sojourning, a tarrying, a pilgrimage, from , to turn aside by the way, to tarry as a stranger, ever denoting a temporary instead of a settled residence. It is a staying in a land which is not ones home. So, to the patriarchs, even Canaan is called , the land of their pilgrimages. To their descendants, or to the Israelitish nation taken collectively, as a corporate historical entity, it was a , a settled earthly inheritance, but to them, individually, it was not the rest provided for the people of God, and this language was ever to remind them of it. Their only inheritance was the promise, of which the Canaanitic was the type, and of this they became heirs through faith , Heb 7:12. For examples of such use of , and , see Gen 17:18; Gen 28:4 (the land in which thou art a stranger), Psa 119:54; Psa 39:13; 1Ch 29:15; Lev 17:22 (the stranger dwelling in the midst of you), Deu 5:14; Deu 24:14, and many other places. The idea is ever present, that of a stranger tarrying in a strange land; and this language of the patriarchs has been taken up by later writers, thus becoming predominant among the grave pictures of the Old-Testament saintly life. See 1Ch 29:15; Psa 39:13, strangers before thee, and sojourners as all our fathers were. The words are also used of lodging in an inn, or dwelling temporarily in a tent, and this calls up the passage before quoted from Diodorus Siculus (Excursus on Sheol, p. 587), showing that some such an idea of life being a pilgrimage was not altogether unknown to Pharoh, and to the early Egyptians. The other conception of life, as a transient dwelling in a tent, gives an inexpressible sublimity to some of the Old-Testament declarations, evidently accommodated to it, and intended to denote the security of the everlasting rest: From the ends of the earth do I cry unto thee (from this distant earth, this remote and foreign land); O that I might dwell in THY tabernacle of the eternities ( ), O that I might find shelter under the covert of thy wings, in the secret place of thy presence! Psalms 61.

As Canaan was not the rest, so neither was Sheol, whether regarded as the grave merely, or some strange state of continued being, lying beyond. No mere sentimentality about the sepulchre as a place of repose from lifes weariness could answer to these grave declarations of grave men, much less that monstrosity of conception which would connect the ideas of rest and utter non-existence. Sheol lay in the road of their pilgrimage. Through this unknown regionso very dark then, so obscure even yet,they had to pass; but only as a part of their appointed journey. The city which had foundations, lay still beyond. But why, it may be asked, as it often has been asked, did not the patriarchs, and the pious Bible writers who followed them, say more about this better country, instead of only, now and then, giving a glimpse of it in some pious ejaculation? It may be answered, that perhaps their hearts were too full of it to say much about it. They had the pilgrims reticence in the midst of frivolous and unsympathizing strangers. These old men of faith had that precious thing so pleasing unto God as the only root of any true human virtue, and which made these uncultivated Old-Testament heroes, imperfect as they were in some things, fairer in His sight than an Epictetus, a Seneca, or an Antonine, with all their lauded and refined morality. They had this precious faith, but they did not weave it into dogmas, or construct from it systems of heartless ethical speculation. They did not talk of their spirituality; and yet, even in the few things they said, what approach is made to them by the modern rationalist, or our flippant litterateur, who calls them gross, and pronounces their views so defective as measured by the later progress in all elevated and refined thinking? Who hears, or expects to hear, from critics of this class, the utterance of any longing desires for the better country? How strange it would sound to hear them say: I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord, or to make, in earnest, the declaration that they regarded themselves as pilgrims and sojourners upon this unsatisfying earth!
Again, a reason of their silence may have been the reserve arising from the thought of the dark and unknown journey yet to be made before their pilgrimage was wholly ended. Their views of Sheol were sombre, because Sheol (in its true sense) was to them, perhaps, a stronger, a sterner, if not a clearer reality, than it has become to us with those confident expectations of an immediately perfect state that have placed the old doctrine, with much valuable Scripture connected with it, almost wholly in the background of our theology. But to understand their language we must go back to their standpoint, dark and inadequate as it may seem to us. As death was not non-existence in any view (see note on the earliest ideas of death, p. 274), but a state of being, however strange,not the opposite of being, at all, but of active life,so Sheol was the continuance, the prolongation of the judicial death pronounced upon man, not a state following it. Deliverance from one was deliverance from the other. Their pilgrimage led them through this shadowy place, and though they still trusted to their covenant God, they knew not when, nor where, nor how that deliverance should be. Sheol was not their home, their language implies that; it was not the end of their journey. They did not talk of going to Heaven, or to glory; these ideas, as we now hold them, had not yet come in; and yet, if we may take many expressions in the Psalms as the language of the Old-Testament religious experience, there was ever the thought of a divine presence, of a nearness unto God, of the support and guidance of the redeeming Goel, whatever ideas of locality, of time, or of condition, might be present or wanting to the conception. As their eyes grew dim in death, their hope grew stronger, though, perhaps, no more definite than before. Hence Jacobs ejaculation, coming in so strangely, and so suddenly, whilst presenting the visions he had of his sons worldly destiny. To cheer his dying heart, there seems to have mingled among these far-off yet earthly pictures, as they crowded upon the seers mind, a ray still more remote, from the other side of Sheol. What else could he have meant in that remarkable interruption of the prophetic series: , for thy salvation have I waited, Jehovah (Gen 49:18). What salvation? nothing, surely, in this life. It was no deliverance from Laban, or Esau, no expectation of worldly security, such as followed his vision upon the stone pillow at Bethel. That was all past and gone. Sheol was before him, but Jacob still trusts the angel of the covenant, and this dying ejaculation shows that there was with him, then and there, in some way, the presence of the nameless power that had met him at Peniel. What meaning in it all, unless that power, and that guide, was expected to go with him through the still darker journey? The supposition that this sudden exclamation refers to something seen in vision in respect to Dan and Samson (an opinion derived from its place among the blessings which it interrupts), seems the merest trifling,with all respect, be it said, to the learned commentators who have held it. Even if we regard the whole as an ecstatic dream, there must be some consistency in it.

The whole patriarchal theology may be summed in one great article, trust in the covenant God,a trust for life, a trust for death, for the present being, or for any other being. There was something exceedingly sublime in this faith. They were like men standing on the border of an immense ocean, all unknown as to its extent, its other shore, if it had any, or its utter boundlessness. Ready to launch forth at the divine command, they had the assurance that all would be well, whatever might be their individual destiny, since this covenant God was also the God of their fathers, who must, therefore, in some way, live unto Him, that is, they must have yet a being that would make them the proper subjects of such a covenant relationship. Still Sheol had a gloomy aspect; it was associated with the idea of penalty; Death and Hades went together; the one was but a form of the other, a carrying out of the great sentence. Though a part of their pilgrimage, the way was very dark. Not with rapture, therefore, but with calm confidence, did they go down into its unknown depths, still holding fast the hand of the redeeming angel, who in death, as well as in the active earthly life, would deliver them from all evil. They knew that this Redeemer lived (Job 19:25), and they felt that in some way, they knew not how, his life was theirs. He could quicken them, and bring them up again from the depths of the earth (Psa 71:20). Thus their hope took the form of a waiting, until the wrath should turn ( , Job 14:13), and the dread penalty, in some way, be satisfied. Thus Job says: all the days of my appointment (there) will I wait, until my change shall comemy halipah, my reviviscence or renewal (see how the word is used Psa 90:5; Psa 102:27). So Psa 16:10, Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, Psa 49:8-16, No man can redeem his brother; yet God will redeem my soul from the hand of Sheol, for He will take me. Let the rationalist say what he will of this language, the taking out of the hand, and the preventing, for a brief and unimportant time, the hand from seizing, can never be made to mean the same thing. To the same effect Psa 31:6, Into thy hands do I trust my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me (rescued, ransomed me), Jehovah, God of truthof covenant-faithfulness. Sometimes it seems to take the form of a hope that this Goel, this angel of the covenant, would be personally with them in Sheol. There is good, reason for thus interpreting the passage Psa 23:4, as referring rather to Sheol itself, the spirit-world, or world of the dead, instead of a state of sorrow in this life, or a drawing near unto death, as is commonly supposed. For places in which (tzalmaveth, there rendered shadow of death) is put for death itself, or the state of the dead, see Job 38:17 ( , gates of tzalmaveth), Gen 10:22, compared with Job 28:3, and especially Job 28:21; Job 28:23. Such a rendering seems necessary to the climax intended Psa 23:4 : Even in the valley of tzalmaveth, in the land of the shades, the terra umbrarum, I will fear no evil (comp. Gen 48:16), for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they shall comfort me, restore me, revive me, and hence the Syriac , for reviviscence, resurrection. In Hades they are still with the Shepherd and Bishop of Souls.

This patriarchal faith, in its pilgrim aspect, seems a strange thing to our modern conceptions; but there is a view of it which may lead us to regard it as even a stronger, if not a better, faith than our own. Involved in the very essence of all spiritual religion are two great truths: 1. The being of a God, a moral governor who treats man as something above the plane of nature, that is, enters into a covenant with him; and, 2. the existence of the human soul in another life, as grounded, in its ultimate perfection at least, upon such covenant. The first of these is also first in value and importance. It is the first lesson in the catechism of theology. It must be learned thoroughly, or the second, by itself, as the mere idea of continued spiritual existence, becomes a perversion, and may be a source even of dangerous imaginative error. The patriarchs were educated chiefly in this greater and more fundamental dogma, belief in God, trust in God, submission to God, whatever might be the human destiny. Nothing can be purer or more lofty than their theism when viewed alone; though, as has been before remarked, it is never wholly separate from some form of the other doctrine. The purity with which men hold the second must depend upon the thoroughness of their initiation into this prime idea of a God to be trusted, in life, in death, in light, in darkness, and to whose sovereign wisdom and goodness there must be an implicit resignation, whatever may be known or unknown in respect to his dealings with the finite being he has created. To this state Job was brought, when, at the close of the long drama, he fell upon his face before God, and said unto Him (, unto me, not, concerning me) that right thing for which he was commended, rather than for any superiority in the previous argument. Hence it is that this first truth takes precedence, not in rank only, but in the time order of revelation, though the second, in its rudimentary state, may be almost coeval with it. The one is fully developed, while the other is in its germ. As best expressing the contrast, the editor would venture here to quote from something he has elsewhere written (Article on the Closing Chapters of the Book of Job, Mercersburg Review, Jan. 1860): The patriarchs were first instructed in that first and greatest chapter in theology. Is there not something in modern experience to show the evil of reversing this order of ideas, of making the subordinate primary, of coming to regard the human spiritual destiny too much as the chief thought in religion, and the belief in a God as something ministerial or mediate to it? We refer not now to that naturalistic form of spiritualism which has lately become so rife among us, but to much that appears in the better thinking of the religious world. We may yet learn from the Old Testament. We may see a glory in its theism thus standing alone in its sublimity. Boast as we may of our progress in theology, unless this order of ideas is preserved in all its purity, our belief, our reverence, our highest thought of God, may fall below that of the Syrian pilgrim, or of that ancient son of the East whose sufferings and experience are recorded in attestation of this first and greatest of truths. We must guard against such tendency, or there is danger that our re-ligio,our view of the bond between the infinite and the finite soul,may become nature instead of covenant,a dreamy sentimentality instead of faith.T. L.]

Footnotes:

[1][Gen 46:20.The LXX have added, after Manasseh and Ephraim, a verse seemingly from 1Ch 7:14, but differing so much, both from the Hebrew of that place, and from the LXX itself, that it can hardly be recognized. No other ancient version has it. It is not in the Samaritan, which, in most cases of variance, has been made to conform to the LXX. If it was in some old Hebrew copies, it had clearly been put in to carry out the line of Joseph; and this shows us how explanatory scholia, referring to later things, may have got a place, and some of them an abiding place, in the text of Genesis.T. L.]

[2][Gen 46:28., to show the wayinf. Hiphil of . This makes a very good sense here, but there is some reason for doubting it, since the LXX render , as though they had read here, as well as just below. To the LXX, as usual, the Samaritan is conformed, and gives twice. The Syriac has , to appear unto, or be seen, which shows that the translator read (for ), Hophal infinitive of the verb , or regarded as being the same defectively written. This has some support from what immediately follows in Gen 46:29, (Niphal of ), and appeared, or presented himself to him. The Targum of Onkelos renders it to meet him; which shows also the reading , like that of the LXX.T. L.]

[3][Gen 47:12. . This is sometimes a phrase of comparison, or proportion, as also (see Lev 25:52; Num 6:21; Exo 12:4, etc.), yet here it is more expressive taken literally, to the mouth of the little ones, preserving the sense of proportion, yet showing, at the same time, Josephs pathetic careseeing to the wants and providing appropriate food even for the youngest in the great company.T. L.]

[4] [Gen 47:13. . The Textus Samaritanus has (), which Rosenmller condemns as a mere gloss. It seems, however, to be the same word, only with a different orthography, for ; and so all the old interpreters regarded iteither reading , or regarding as equivalent to it; LXX , failed, fainted; Syriac , was desolate. Literally, if we read , the land was weary, faint. So the Greeks use the verb of lands and cities as well as of persons. Such a poetic transfer has great pathos. So also, in Hebrew, is the verb , to rest, transferred to the land. Comp. Lev 26:34-35. As also other verbs by the same or an opposite figure; Isa 24:4, , mourning, withering, is the land, languid and wasting the world. There is no need of supposing a different root, as Gesenius does, or of comparing it with , which is quite a different word. See in the dipus Tyrannus of Sophocles, 26, the description of a land wasting with famine and pestilence:

.

T. L.]

[5][Gen 47:21. , transferred it (the people) to cities, etc. The LXX read here , which is good Hebrew, notwithstanding what Rosenmller says about it, and render accordingly, , made them serve him as servants, which would not, however, be slavery, in the sense of man-ownership, according to the most modern notion, but, rather, an increase of their civil subjection. The Samaritan has the Hebrew corresponding to this; but the whole argument of Gesenius on that codex goes to show that it is everywhere a conforming to the LXX, rather than an older text whence the readings of the LXX were derived. See on this passage his tract De Pentateuchi Samaritani Origine, etc. p. 39. The Hebrew gives a clear and satisfactory sense, as it stands, and the whole aspect of the case proves that the change was from that reading rather than to it. The Targum agrees with the Hebrew. So does the Syriac, only with more clearness, having, instead of the single word , a repetition, , from city to city, or rather, from farm to farm. Raschi says he did this to break up their title by destroying the residence as a memorial of ownership, and so preventing seditions, as Grotius also remarks upon the place. The common reading is confirmed by Josephus, Antiq. Jud. ii. 7, 7.T. L.]

[6][Gen 47:27. . The Niphal form, with its passive, reflexive, or deponent sense, makes the expression here correspond exactly to the technical language of the English common law in regard to the holding of landthey were seized of itthe passive of the habendum et tenendum in the language of a grant. Compare Jos 22:9, , the land of their holding of which they were seized, as tenants in fee, having had livery of seizin given to them, , by the hand of Moses. Compare also Num 32:30, , and they were seized (that is, they had possession given them) in the midst of you. In the verse before (Gen 42:26), Joseph is said to have given them possession (acting doubtless as agent or attorney to the king, the chief lord, or holder in capite), that is, livery of seisin, in some such manner, or with some such ceremonies as are described in our old common-law books. , and Joseph put it for a decreea memorial of the grant, , unto this day, that is, in feein perpetuum. It is interesting to notice how strikingly similar have been the law-language and ceremonies of different ages. Compare the prophetical, or spiritual, grant, Psa 2:8, where has the same emphasis, the nations for an inheritance, the ends of the earth for a holding forever.T. L.]

[7][Our English translation, I am God, fails here in not giving the article (), or any emphasis of expression equivalent to it. The best way would have been to give the name itselfI am Elas elsewhere there is given the name El Shaddai, or else the meaning of the name as Lange renders itI am the Mighty One, the God of thy fathers.T. L.]

[8][See also the Odyssey xi. 426; xxiv. 296, and a very touching passage to the same effect in the Electra of Sophocles, 1138.T. L.]

[9] [The right view of (appeared unto him) is necessary to determine the meaning of what follows: and he Jell upon his neck, etc. Who fell? It is not so clear that the subject of the verb is Joseph, although it is so taken by the LXX, the Vulgate, and most of the translators. In our English version, as in that of Luther, it is left ambiguous, though both convey the impression that it was Joseph. The Jewish commentators differ. Rashi makes it Joseph, and raises the query, why Jacob did not fall upon his sons neck and kiss him; for which he gives reasons from the Rabbins that are hardly intelligible. Maimonides, on the other hand, makes Jacob the grammatical subject. It would not have been according to the ancient notions of reverence for the son to have first fallen on his fathers neck and kissed him. The proper action, he says, would have been to have kissed his hand, and then to have waited for the fathers embrace. Joseph, he intimates, appeared to him in all his glory. At first he did not recognize him, but as soon as he saw who it was (Heb., as expressed passively, appeared, became visible unto him) he fell, etc. We may think Maimonides other reason to be inconclusive in this case, but the grammatical one is entitled to much attention. The easy and natural rule is that where there are a number of verbs connected, the subject of the first belongs to them all unless there is a change direct, or implied in some way, in the number, gender, or idiom. Had been like the rest of the verbs, there would have been no ground for such a supposition. It is, however, passive or deponent; he appeared unto him (badly rendered, presented himself), or became visible or known to him. The Targum of Onkelos translates by , was revealed to him. In such case the grammatical object of the verb preceding may become the real subject of the one that follows; and it must be looked for here in the pronoun () which represents Jacob. This makes a change as though it had been said actively, and he (Jacob) recognized him, and fell en his neck, etc. The verb is Niphal, corresponding to the Syriac , which is used for it here, and is employed to denote a subjective appearance. Thus, in the Peschito Version of the New Testament, it corresponds to the Greek , and is even used for (he recovered sight), taken in this passive or subjective aspect. As in Mar 10:52; Joh 9:15, where, in the Syriac, Jesus is the subject of the verb, and the blind mans seeing, or seeing again, is most strikingly expressed by saying, he became visible unto himthat is, Jesus standing before him, as the first object on which the new eye fell. Compare, also, in the Greek, Luk 22:43, and an angel appeared () unto him, and he prayed, etc. The subject of is different, on this account, from, the grammatical subject of , and is derived from the preceding , although no other direct cause of change intervenes. In the spirit of this the late Arabic Version of Drs. Smith and Van Dyck has well rendered it , he appeared unto him, instead of , when he saw him, of a previous Arabic translation following the Vulgate. Of course, the rule stated and the apparent exception, become unimportant, and are both disregarded, when the context, of itself, prevents all ambiguity. The more carefully, however, the language is examined here, the more reason will there appear for regarding the father as the subject of the verb ; as in the parallel passage, Luk 15:20, where it is the father who sees the son, and who falls upon his neck, . It would have been the same had the construction been, and he appeared unto him.

But whatever view is taken, there is great pathos in the particle , commonly rendered again, and here, very tamely, in our English Version, a good while. In this passage it must have its primary sense of repetition, reiteration, as it appears in the Arabic, which the translator, Arabs Erpenianus, actually uses for it. So Rashi and Aben Ezra. They refer to Job 34:23, for not repeatedly (or continually) does God lay upon man. A better reference would be to Psa 139:18, when I awake, I am still with thee, , again and again with thee; or Psa 84:5, Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, they shall be still praising thee, evermore praising thee; as in Rev 4:8, They cease not day nor night saying, holy, holy, holy. He wept long, translates Luther, weinete lange, but it means more than this; he fell upon his neck and wept repeatedly,over and over again,unable to satisfy the , as Homer styles the luxury of grief even for remembered sorrows, much less the joy of tears at such a recognition. Affecting is it in either view, but most of all when we regard it as the long sobbings and long embracings of the aged father. The old eyes weeping! There is not in our human life a more touching scene, even when it comes from senile weakness, and not, as in this case, from recognitions that might draw tears from the stoutest manhood, and from the recollection of events whose pathetic interest the utmost invention of the novelist or the dramatist fails to imitate. With this passage in Genesis there may be compared the interview of David and Jonathan, 1Sa 20:41 : And they kissed one another, and wept, one with another, until David exceeded, , David autem amplius; his emotion went beyond all ordinary bounds. The expression seems to have much of the force of the particle in the passage before us. It is another example of the rhetorical fact, that the briefest and simplest language is ever the most affecting.T. L.]

[10][All this difficulty, about Josephs proceeding, vanishes when one studiously considers what the Egyptians would have done, or how fatal their free improvidence might have proved, without his sagacious political economy. There would have been no cattle to be sold; the lands would have been barren for the want of hands to till them. Each one for himself, without a common weal, and a wise ruler taking care of it, and taxing them for such care, there would not have been, in their future prospects, any stimulus to frugality, or industry. It is yet an unsettled question, whether unregulated individual cultivation of land, in small portions, or a judicious system of landlordism, for which, of course, there must be rent or tax, is the better method for the universal good. The twenty per cent. which Joseph exacted for the governmental care, was not a system of slavery; and it may have been far better than a much greater percentage, perhaps, to capitalists and usurers.T. L.]

[11][So says the European commentator. The American would rather say: to the government that protects its produce and the labor employed in its cultivation,presenting a similar idea, but in a more rational, as well as in a milder form.T. L.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The Patriarchal history is continued, mixed with an account of Joseph’s wise administration concerning the affairs of Egypt. Joseph having informed Pharaoh king of Egypt of his father’s arrival, and having introduced first some of his brethren, and then his father, to Pharaoh; the king ordered the best of the land for their accommodation. The famine still continuing, the Egyptians again apply to Joseph for bread, whose prudent conduct in the distribution of the same, endears him yet more and more to Pharaoh and all his people. After seventeen years residence in Egypt the Patriarch Jacob finding symptoms of his end approaching, sends for Joseph, and gives him charge concerning his burial.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Reader! so must JESUS present us before GOD and our FATHER, or we cannot come before him, Joh 14:6 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Jacob’s Retrospect of Life

Gen 47:7-9

I. Jacob had lived a long life as we should count it; one of half the length is as much as most men are able to look forward to. And he had lived a holy life; the one great sin of his youth had been punished by a long and hard discipline that had not been in vain. The father whom he had deceived had blessed him again without deceit; and the God of Bethel had been with him still ever since the hour of his first covenant with him. How could he complain of so long a life, so long a pilgrimage, that is, a journey away from home, as being one of too few days. Can the days of pilgrimage be too few? Is it not the object to reach home as soon as the pilgrim can? Or if few why were they evil? Step after step, year after year had brought him nearer to the City which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. Or if evil he means, not days of sin but days of suffering only much as he had suffered, was it not more than made up to him by blessings? Surely Jacob, when he had seen all his sons in peace together, had lived long enough and happily enough. Enough by our standard of judging, but not by his. There is no impatience in his words; but there is a holy discontent a lofty dissatisfaction with self. Not to be satisfied with the happiness or the holiness he had, with the work that he had done for God, so long as there was greater holiness attained, or more work elsewhere; while he was not the best, to count nothing that he had good such was the temper of Jacob, such of the apostle, and such of every true Israelite.

II. Let this be our temper too. We have, I trust, had our measures of God’s grace, and done some sort of service to Him in the year that has just gone by. And yet, were not its three hundred and sixty-five days, its fifty-two Sundays, too few for us? With all the grace, all the happiness that God may have given to any of, were not those few days evil? Have our days attained to the days of Him, our Father and Redeemer, in the days of His pilgrimage? If not, let us be no more content than Jacob was with what our life has been. He who, as at this time, was brought under God’s old law fulfilled the whole perfectly: if we with all the grace given us in the Gospel have our years stained with sin, what can we say but what Jacob said? Let us not be satisfied with less with less than the fulfilment of all righteousness, as Jesus fulfilled it. Until we have done this, let us think nothing done; while there is only a single sin on our conscience, however truly repented, however fully pardoned, let us confess the days of our years to be few and evil, and ourselves to be unprofitable servants.

III. And yet while we despise ourselves do not lose hope. Looking to Jesus we are humbled; but also looking to Jesus we are saved. Made like Him by the keeping of His commandments, however imperfectly, made one with Him by His own grace and love, we trust at last to be found in Him, righteous in His righteousness, though our own be nothing, when the few and evil days and years are past, and our pilgrimage finds its end in Mount Zion.

W. H. Simcox, The Cessation of Prophecy, p. 30.

References. XLVII. 8. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 280. XLVII. 8, 9. J. J. Blunt, Plain Sermons (3rd Series), p. 164.

The Greatness and Littleness of Human Life

Gen 47:9

The sense of the nothingness of life, impressed on us by the very fact that it comes to an end, is much deepened when we contrast it with the capabilities of us who live it. Had Jacob lived Methuselah’s age he would have called it short. This is what we all feel, though at first sight it seems a contradiction, that even though the days as they go be slow, and be laden with many events, or with sorrows or dreariness, lengthening them out and making them tedious, yet the year passes quick though the hours tarry, and time bygone is as a dream, though we thought it would never go while it was going, and the reason seems to be this; that, when we contemplate human life in itself, in however small a portion of it, we see implied in it the presence of a soul, the energy of a spiritual existence, of an accountable being; consciousness tells us this concerning it every moment. But when we look back on it in memory we view it but externally, as a mere lapse of time, as a mere earthly history. And the longest duration of this external world is as dust and weighs nothing against one moment’s life of the world within. Thus we are ever expecting great things from life, from our internal consciousness every moment of our having souls; and we are ever being disappointed on considering what we have gained from time past or can hope from time to come. And life is ever promising and never fulfilling; and hence, however long it be, our days are few and evil.

Men there are who, in a single moment of their lives, have shown a superhuman height and majesty of mind which it would take ages for them to employ on its proper objects, and, as it were, to exhaust; and who by such passing flashes, like rays of the sun, and the darting of lightning, give token of their immortality, give token to us that they are but angels in disguise, the elect of God sealed for eternal life, and destined to judge the world and to reign with Christ for ever. Yet they are suddenly taken away, and we have hardly recognized them when we lose them. Can we believe that they are not removed for higher things elsewhere?

Why should we rest in this world when it is the token and promise of another? Why should we be content with its surface instead of appropriating what is stored beneath it? To those who live by faith everything they see speaks of that future world; the very glories of nature, the sun, moon, and stars, and the richness and the beauty of the earth, are as types and figures witnessing and teaching the invisible things of God. All that we see is destined one day to burst forth into a heavenly bloom, and to be transfigured into immortal glory. Heaven at present is out of sight, but in due time, as snow melts and discovers what it lay upon, so will this visible creation fade away before those greater splendours which are behind it, and on which at present it depends. In that day shadows will retire, and the substance show itself.

J. H. Newman.

References. XLVII. 9. H. Woodcock, Sermon Outlines, p. 101. J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. iv. p. 214. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Genesis, p. 279. XLVIII. 1-7. H. W. Beecher, Sermons, 1870, p. 217. XLVIII. 3. J. Oates, The Sorrow of God, p. 81. XLVIII. 15,16. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxiii. No. 1972. F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis, p. 170. H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2261. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Genesis, p. 279. XLVIII. 19. B. R. Wilson, A Lent in London, p. 81. XLVIII. 21. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvii. No. 1630. XLIX. 3, 4. J. C. M. Bellew, Five Occasional Sermons, p. 19.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

The Last Days of Jacob

Genesis 47-49

We have seen Jacob a runaway, a stranger, a hireling, and a prince having power with God. His deceptions, his dreams, his prayers, his visions, are now closing; and the sunset is not without gorgeousness and solemnity. Every sunset should make us pray or sing; it should not pass without leaving some sacred impression upon the mind. The dying sun should be a teacher of some lesson, and mystery, and grace of providence. We shall now see Jacob as we have never seen him before. Who can tell but in the splendours of the sunset we shall see some points and qualities which have been heretofore concealed? Some men do seem to live most in their dying; we see more of them in the last mysterious hour than we have seen in a lifetime; more goodness, more feeling after God, more poignant and vehement desire for things heavenly and eternal. How is this to be accounted for? Base hypocrisy is not the explanation. We may be too ready to find in hypocrisy the explanation of death-bed experiences. Is there not a more excellent way, a finer, deeper, truer answer to the enigma of that sacred and most tragical moment? Who can tell what sights are beaming on the soul, what new courage is being breathed into the heart, timid through many a weary year? Who can tell what the dying see? We have yet to die! Even Christ was revealed by the Cross. We had not known Christ without the crucifixion. The agony came into his prayer when the trouble came into his soul.

The history is a simple one, yet with wondrous perspective. Seventeen years did Israel dwell in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and when he was a hundred and forty and seven years old, the time drew nigh that Israel must die. Who can fight the army of the Years? Those silent soldiers never lose a war. They fire no base cannon, they use no vulgar steel, they strike with invisible but irresistible hands. Noisy force loses something by its very noise. The silent years bury the tumultuous throng. We have all to be taken down. The strongest tower amongst us, heaven-reaching in its altitude, must be taken down a stone at a time, or shaken with one rude shock to the level ground: man must die. Israel had then but one favour to ask. So it comes to us all. We who have spent a lifetime in petitioning for assistance have at the last but one request to make. “Take me,” said one of England’s brightest wits in his dying moments, “to the window that I may feel the morning air.” “Light, more light,” said another man greater still, expressing some wondrous necessity best left as a mystery. “Bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt,” said dying Jacob to his son Joseph, “but bury me in the burying-place of my fathers.” What other heaven had the Old Testament man? The graveyard was a kind of comfort to him. He must be buried in a given place marked off and sacredly guarded. He had not lived up into that universal humanity which says All places are consecrated, and every point is equally near heaven with every other point, if so be God dig the grave and watch it. By-and-by we shall hear another speech in the tone of Divine revelation; by-and-by we shall get rid of these localities, and limitations, and prisons, for the Lion of the tribe of Judah will open up some wider space of thought, and contemplation, and service. With Joseph’s oath dying Jacob was satisfied.

Now we come upon family scenes. Joseph will have his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim blessed, and for so sweet an office Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed. What hints of life’s mystery are there! The courteous old gentleman strengthened himself when he heard that princely Joseph was coming with his sons. How we can whip ourselves up to one other effort! How we can just blow the smouldering embers into a little flash and flame one last sparkle! the effort of desperation. Now the old man will tell his life-story over We wonder how he will begin, and where. It is a delicate matter to be autobiographical. Jacob is about to look backwards, and to relate the story of his own earthly career. Where will he begin? There are some graves we dare not rip open. What will he tell Joseph about his own early life? To the last he is a kind of inspired schemer; to the last he knows where to draw boundary lines, how to make introductions and exceptions. He will tell about the old blind Isaac? No. He will say how he ran away from Esau whom he had supplanted? No. What will he say then by way of beginning? He will begin at the second birth. That is where we, too, are called to begin. Do not celebrate the old natural fleshly birthday that was in reality death-day. Jacob will begin where he himself truly began to be, “God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me.” What a subtle narrator! What a gift in history! Not a word about the old homestead and old doings; but beginning with regeneration, when he threw off the old man and started up though with some rudeness of outline needing infinite discipline into a brighter, larger self. This is a mystery in Providence as revealing itself in the consciousness of the redeemed and sanctified soul. We should be in perpetual despair if we went back to our very earliest doings, and bound ourselves within the prison of our merely fleshly and earthly memories. Each of us has had a Luz in his way. Surely every soul calling itself in any degree right with God, or right in its desires at least towards God, has had a vision-place and a vision-hour, a place so sacred that other places were forgotten in its memory: an hour so bright that all earlier hours absorbed their paler rays in its ineffable effulgence. Now are we the sons of God. We began our true life when God began his life within the soul. So this well-skilled autobiographer will say nothing about other times. God himself has promised never to mention them to us. He says, Come, now, and we will gather up the sins as into one great stone, and plunge it into the infinite depths, and the billows shall keep it concealed for ever. We must not drag back the memory to days of murder, dissipation, blasphemy, and all wickedness. We begin our life where God began the life of the soul. Now, being free at the beginning, Jacob is eloquent. After getting over some sentences how the soul can flow away in easy copious speech! He told how Rachel died in the land of Canaan when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath, and how he buried her in the way and set a pillar upon her grave which he meant to stand evermore, thinking that all ages must weep over the woman whose soul departed as she travailed in birth with Benoni. Heedless ages! The pillars of the dead have no sanctity in their cold eyes, yet it does us good to think that many will cry about the spots which mark our own heartbreak. Surely every man must cry where we cried; surely our tears have consecrated some places; surely no fool can laugh where our soul nearly died.

Now a scene occurs which must have had the effect of a moral resurrection upon dying Jacob. Joseph set his sons in the order of their ages. He was so far a technicalist and a pedant that he would keep up the well-known law of succession by primogeniture. But Jacob guided his hands wittingly and crossed them so as to violate that sacred law. Joseph was displeased and said “Not so, my father, but otherwise”; and Jacob said “I know it, my son, I know it; but this is right,” Who can tell what passions surged through his own soul at that moment? What is this duplication of one’s life? What is this sudden enbodiment of shadows standing up and confronting us in a silence more terrible than accusatory speech, our other-selves, strange shadow-memories, actions which we could explain but may not: benedictions which express a philosophy which we dare not reveal in terms? A wonderful life is the human life yea, a life within a life, a sanctuary having impenetrable places in it. Others may see some deeds or shadows of deeds upon the window as they pass by, but only the man himself knows what is written in the innermost places of the silent soul.

Israel is now in a mood of benediction. We need but to begin some things in order to proceed quite rapidly and lavishly. So Jacob will now bless his own sons. We must read the benedictions as a whole. Months might be spent in the detailed analysis and criticism of the blessings, but even that detailed examination would leave us in almost total ignorance of the real scope and value of those benedictions as revelations of the quality of the mind and heart of the man who pronounced them. What a mind was Jacob’s, as shown in the various blessings pronounced upon his children! How discriminating those now closing eyes! How they glitter with criticism! How keen penetrating, even to the finest lines of distinction! Surely what we see in those eyes is a gleam of the very soul. This is no joint salutation or valediction; this is no greeting and farewell mixed up in one confused utterance. This is criticism. This is the beginning of a career of mental development which is the pride of human education and culture. How affectionate too! In nearly every line there is some accent of affection peculiar to itself. And how prophetic! The ages are all revealed to the calm vision and sacred gaze of this man who is more in heaven than upon earth. But this prophecy is no phantasy. We have accustomed ourselves now to a definition of prophecy which enables us in some degree to understand this way of allotment and benediction. Prophecy is based on character. We have already defined prophecy as moral prescience. Retaining the definition, we see in this instance one of its finest and clearest illustrations. This is no fancy painting. It is the power of the soul in its last efforts to see what crops will come out of this seed and of that; it is a man standing upon fields charged with seed, the quality of which he well knows, forecasting the harvest. Moral prophecy is vindicated by moral law. There was no property to divide. There was something better than property to give. What a will is this! It has about it all the force of a man being his own distributer not only writing a will like a testator, which is of no force until after the testator’s death, but already enriching his sons with an inheritance better than measurable lands. What have you to leave to your children? to your friends? You could leave an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not away, bright memories of love, recollections of sacred sympathy, prayers that lifted the life into new hope, forgiveness that abolished the distinction between earth and heaven, and made pardoned souls feel as if they had seen their Father in heaven; great will: eternal substance.

How Jacob’s conscience burned up in that sacred hour! He remembered the evil of his sons. He reminded Reuben of what he had done; he recalled the deed of shame, never to be spoken aloud by human tongue, wrought by Simeon and Levi in the land of Hamor the Hivite; and because their anger was fierce and their wrath was cruel, he divided them in Jacob and scattered them in Israel. “The evil that men do lives after them.” Simeon and Levi had forgotten what they did in their sister’s case. Jacob had not. In such a malediction there are great meanings, even so far as Jacob is concerned. Jacob knew the cost of sin. Jacob knew that no man can of himself shake off his sin and become a free man in the universe. The sin follows him with swift fate, opens its mouth like a wolf and shows its cruel teeth. No man can forgive sin. Who but God can wrestle with it? We fly from it, try to forget it; but up it leaps again, a foe that pursues unto the death, unless some Mighty One shall come to deal with it when there is no eye to pity and no arm to help. But presently Jacob will come to a name that will change his tone. How some faces brighten us! How the incoming of some men makes us young again! Jacob we have never seen until he comes to pronounce his blessing upon Joseph.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren” ( Gen 49:22-26 ).

We read this as a speech of words: it came from the original speaker like a sacrifice of blood. What a marvellous poem! How judgment blazes in it in certain directions! “The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him. They have hamstrung this noblest of the offspring of Israel. Did the “old man eloquent” look round upon the brethren as he said this: “and blessings shall be upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren”? What sharp darts fell upon the consciences of the listeners! There are benedictions that are judgments. We encourage some men at the expense of the destruction of others. Words have atmosphere, perspective, relations that do not instantly appear upon the surface of the speech. The singing of a hymn may be a judgment to some who hear it; a kind word may awaken burning memories in many consciences. We cannot tell what we say. We cannot follow the whole vibration which follows the utterance of our speech.

Now let Israel die. Bury the old man where he would like to be buried. Wherever such a man is buried, now that God has wrought the evil out of him, sweet flowers must grow; Eden must begin.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XXXI

JACOB AND HIS FAMILY MIGRATE TO EGYPT

Gen 46:1-47:27

Concerning this eventful migration, we consider just now several important matters:

IT WAS BY DIVINE APPOINTMENT This appears first from the revelation made to Abraham when he was yet childless (Gen 15:13-16 ); and here again in a vision to Jacob at Beer-sheba (Gen 46:1-4 ). There is much interplay of human passion and purpose (Gen 37:18-36 ) and natural causes, as the famine, and high above all God is reigning, making the envious brothers and Joseph their victim (Gen 46:4-7 ), the famine itself, the Midianite, Ishmaelite, Potiphar and wife, the prison, the butler and baker, and Pharaoh himself all subservient to his plan of the ages concerning the redemption of the race.

THE NUMBER OF THE IMMIGRANTS Two totals are given in the Hebrew text, sixty-six and seventy. The sixty-six are those descending from Jacob’s own loins and who went with him. This, of course, does not include Jacob himself, nor Joseph and his two sons, already in Egypt: they, added, make the seventy. In detail we have as descendants of Leah, his first wife: Reuben and four sons, five; Simeon and six sons, seven; Levi and three sons, four; Judah, three living sons, and two grandsons, six; Issachar and four sons, five; Zebulun and three sons, four; his daughter Dinah, one; total, thirty-two, Jacob himself making thirty-three. Of Zilpah, Leah’s maid, we have Gad and seven sons, eight; Asher, four sons, a daughter, and two grandsons, eight; total, sixteen. Of Rachel, Joseph, and two sons, three; Benjamin and ten sons, eleven; total fourteen. Of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, we have Dan and one son, two; Naphtali and four sons, five; total, seven. Then thirty-three plus sixteen plus fourteen plus seven equals seventy. You will observe that neither Jacob’s surviving wives, nor any of his sons’ wives, nor any slaves, nor other dependents, are counted in this register. Judging from the numerous following of Abraham and Isaac, the dependents must have been a little army. It is remarkable that only one daughter and one granddaughter appear in the list. When we compare ages that are expressly given, for example, Jacob 130 (Gen 47:9 ), and that all of the children except Benjamin were born in the sojourn of twenty years in Haran, we may agree with Murphy that the respective ages must have been at this time: Jacob 130; Joseph 30 (Gen 41:26 ) ; Reuben 46; Simeon 45; Judah 43; Naphtali 42; Gad 42; Asher 41; Issachar 41; Zebulun 40; Dinah 39; Benjamin 26. We must conclude that both Judah and his son married at about fourteen, and Benjamin, to have ten sons, must have married at fifteen.

But we now fall upon more serious difficulties, at least to some commentators. These arise from (1) the Septuagint Version of Gen 46 : which gives the number seventy-five instead of seventy, and Stephen in Act 7:14 , gives seventy-five. How shall we reconcile these accounts with the Hebrew? The explanation is not very difficult. The Septuagint, not inspired, itself explains the discrepancy between it and the Hebrew text by adding five additional names, descendants of Joseph’s children, Ephraim and Manasseh. The usual explanation of the passage in Acts is that Stephen merely quoted from the Septuagint. But this is more than doubtful. Stephen’s words, quoting from the American Standard Version, are: “And Joseph sent and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred, three score and fifteen souls.” In this seventy-five neither Joseph nor his children may be counted. We readily see how Jacob and sixty-six descendants, sixty-seven in all, are counted in the seventy-five, but where do we get the other eight? We must look for them in the words, “All his kindred.” But who are these? They may well be the surviving wives of Jacob and his sons, none of them given in the Genesis list. We know that two of Jacob’s wives are dead, Rachel, buried near Bethlehem (Gen 31:19 ), and Leah, buried in the cave of Machpelah (Gen 49:31 ). Judah’s wife was also dead (Gen 38:12 ), and possibly Reuben’s. But we may reasonably count that at least eight wives of Jacob and his sons were living, and this would better explain Stephen’s words, “All his kindred,” than to suppose that he quoted from the Septuagint.

But some critics find difficulties from another source, to wit: the enumerations in Num 26:5-51 , and in 1 Chronicles 4-8. The enumeration in Numbers, hundreds of years later, under different time conditions, deals with the later descendants of Jacob’s children, and would not naturally fit exactly into the Genesis list. It nowhere contradicts Genesis, and the slight variation in the spelling of certain names is easily explicable. The Chronicles enumeration, still more remote in time, and for other purposes, presents no difficulty except for one looking for discrepancies.

There is a difficulty in chronology concerning the length of the sojourn in Egypt, already considered in Gen 15:13 , and it will come up again in Exo 12:40 ; Act 7:6 ; and Gal 3:17 , which will be considered when we come to Exo 12:40 .

THE AFFECTING MEETING OF JACOB AND JOSEPH The sorrow of Jacob for the loss of Joseph has become proverbial in the East. It was a sorrow that could not be comforted: “I have grief like that which Jacob felt for the loss of Joseph” (see Arabian Nights, Vol. 2, pp. 112, 206, 222). Scriptural expressions of his sorrow are Gen 37:33-35 ; Gen 42:36-38 ; Gen 47:9 .

When his sons returned from Egypt and announced that Joseph was alive, he fainted. Note Gen 45:25-28 : “And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them; and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.” He was also greatly assured with these words of Jehovah, Gen 46:2-4 : “And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here Amo 1 . And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation; I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.”

Their affecting meeting is thus described in Gen 46:29-30 : “And Joseph made ready with his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen; and he presented himself unto him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, and thou art yet alive.” Under widely different circumstances our Lord, in the parable of the prodigal son, described the touching meeting of a long-separated father and son.

JOSEPH PRESENTS HIS FATHER AND BROTHERS TO PHARAOH Taking with him five of his brothers, after instructing them what to say, Joseph introduces them to Pharaoh, and so manages to secure the land of Goshen for them (Genesis 46-47:6). The advantages of the land of Goshen were these: (1) It was the best in Egypt for pasturage; (2) it isolated the children of Israel from the Egyptians, thus enabling them to preserve uncontaminated the exclusive religious faith, and hedged against giving offense to the Egyptians by either religion or occupation and tended to prevent intermarriage; (3) it was the frontier gateway into their Promised Land.

According to Herodotus (2:164), the Egyptians were divided into seven distinct classes or castes: Priests, warriors, cowherders, swine-herders, interpreters, boatmen and shepherds. Our text says: “Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” It is certain that Egyptian sculpture represents the shepherds in a most degrading way. So the two peoples would be mutually repulsive on many grounds. The favor accorded to Jacob’s family and dependents being attributable to the esteem of the royal family for Joseph, all the dreams of Joseph were thus fulfilled. His brethren now bow down before him, and the father is nourished by him.

JACOB AND PHARAOH (Gen 47:7-11 ) The meeting between these two men, so strongly alike in every way, presents both of them in a favorable light. Pharaoh is very courteous and Jacob is full of dignity. It is he that blesses Pharaoh. The sincerity of Jacob’s famous words has been questioned. “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are thirty and a hundred years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” Marcus Dods, on Genesis, quotes Lady Duff-Gordon: “Old Jacob’s speech to Pharaoh really made me laugh (don’t be shocked), because it is so exactly like what a fellah says to a pasha Jacob being a most prosperous man, but it is manners to say all that.” Lady Duff-Gordon may indeed be amused at the Oriental manners of her time, as the Orientals were doubtless amused at hers, only they were too polite to show it. But you might make a great sermon on Jacob’s words) and find in them evidences of deepest sincerity.

(1) He correctly represents his life as a “pilgrimage,” whose destination, rest and home, and reward, are in the world above, and so testifies the New Testament (Heb 11:8-10 ; Heb 11:13-16 ). It was from the New Testament Scriptures, descriptive of this feeling of the patriarch life, that Bunyan derived the idea immortalized in his Pilgrim’s Progress. There is no mere mannerism or perfunctory custom in Jacob’s reference to his life as a pilgrim. (2) It is strictly true that he had not attained to the days of his fathers. Relative fewness of days was his when compared with either patriarchal longevity, or eternity. (3) While brightened here and there by divine visitations, his days were full of evil. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with hardships and griefs. Remorse of conscience for his own sins clouded his life, and the chastening therefore was a heavy burden. His apprehension of Esau’s violence, his separation from his mother never to see her again in this life, his exile from home, and lonely, friendless life, counted much. No gem of literature is more exquisite, pathetic and tragic than his own simple statement to Laban of his twenty years of trial in Padan-Aram, as follows: “And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast holly pursued after me? Whereas thou hast felt about all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us two. These twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flocks have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes. These twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.” His troubles from the polygamy forced upon him were many. The sin of Reuben wounded him to the heart. The dishonor done to Dinah, and the violence of Simeon and Levi left lasting scars never to be forgotten. His anxieties about hostile neighbors never left him. His loss of his beloved Rachel was irreparable, and his loss of Joseph broke his heart. It was shallow pertness and affected smartness on the part of Lady Duff Gordon to ridicule a speech so eloquently and so sublimely true.

JOSEPH’S ADMINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS OF EGYPT (Gen 41:37-57 ; Gen 47:13-26 ) More than once has the world been surprised at the wise administration of national affairs by alien Jews, promoted for merit alone to the highest political offices. It commenced with Joseph’s rule over Egypt; it is followed by Daniel’s rule over Babylon, and Mordecai’s and Nehemiah’s influence at the court of Persia. We have modern examples in the sway of the Rothschilds over the finances of many nations, Disraeli in England creating the British Empire, and Judah P. Benjamin in the Confederate States. There are multitudes of examples on a smaller scale.

Joseph’s administration in Egypt gave it world pre-eminence. His bringing all the land to Pharaoh has been questioned. But it was not only an unavoidable expedient, but greatly simplified the government of a turbulent population, and gave to the people themselves a definite one-fifth tribute, instead of uncertain, oppressive taxation and much tyrannical oppression. If they paid the one-fifth, a land rent far cheaper than prevails here, their burdens were ended. His gathering the people into cities was to simplify the distribution of stores. There will doubtless always be difference of opinions about the wisdom of agrarian laws. The abolition of private ownership in land has been argued in our time and country by Henry George and his followers. A political economist will find it difficult to answer satisfactorily his Progress and Poverty. The accumulation of large landed interests, mines, minerals, timbers, oil, etc., in the hands of a few men, or irresponsible syndicates, menaces today the peace of the world. Isaiah prophesies woe to those who add house to house and land to land until there is no room for the people. Jefferson claimed that the earth in usufruct belongs to the living. Goldsmith well says in his Deserted Village:

III fares the land to hastening ills a prey,

Where wealth accumulates and men decay.

The Gracchi perished in trying to remedy the land evil in ancient Rome. The ancient Germans, according to Caesar, prevented private ownership of lands, as, according to Prescott, did the ancient Peruvians. England passed through the throes of this very burning question. It is certain that Egypt was happier under Joseph’s rule than ever before or since. So were the Peruvians under the land policy of the Incas. In the United States today the battle is on to the death to preserve to the people the water courses, the forests, the natural resources; and to relax the choking grasp of monopolies that prey, in selfish, insatiable greed, upon the very vitals of the people. Joseph, being an alien, did not attempt to destroy the landownership of the priesthood, the most plausible and yet the most dangerous monopoly known to a free people. Other nations have been compelled to abolish their ownership. The successful fight in Mexico on that point is the most notable in history. The priesthood held one-half the land in fee simple, and not only paid no taxes, but forced the people owning the other half to support them. They ruled the cradle, the grave and futurity itself. Their holidays drove labor from the calendar. This ownership in the Philippines constituted one-half of the gravest problems in our government of those islands, in the solution of which, mainly by President Taft when in charge there, more unwise statesmanship was displayed than was ever before exercised by our country’s rulers, the end of which in fateful consequences is not yet.

Under all circumstances, the administration of Egyptian affairs by Joseph is the wisest record in the annals of time. A writer cited by Marcus Dods mentions an inscription on the tomb of an Egyptian, supposed to refer to this famine in Joseph’s time: “When a famine broke out for many years I gave corn to the city in each famine.” Smith’s Bible Dictionary, article “Famine,” cites the only other seven years of famine known to Egyptian history. It lasted from A.D. 1064-1071.

QUESTIONS 1. What is the proof that Jacob’s migration to Egypt was of divine appointment?

2. Show the interplay of human passion, the natural causes and name the actors who played any part in this matter.

3. How do you reconcile the two totals of sixty-six and seventy given in the Hebrew text?

4. How do you reconcile the numbers in Gen 46:26-27 , with the addition of Gen 46:15 ; Gen 46:18 ; Gen 46:22 ; Gen 46:25 , and Act 7:14 ?

5. What difficulties from another source puzzle the critics and what the explanation?

6. What proverb is based on Jacob’s loss of Joseph?

7. What are the scriptural expressions of his sorrow?

8. How did the news that Joseph was alive affect him?

9. How was he assured in this matter?

10. Describe the affecting meeting of Joseph and Jacob. What New Testament illustration of this incident cited?

11. What land did Joseph secure for his father and brothers, and what the advantages of this land?

12. According to Herodotus, what were the classes of the Egyptians?

13. What was the position of the shepherd among the Egyptians, the evidence and how account for the favor accorded Jacob and his family?

14. What were his famous words to Pharaoh and what Lady Duff Gordon’s remark about them?

15. What evidences of the sincerity of his words?

16. What New Testament evidence that Jacob correctly represented his life as a pilgrimage?

17. In what famous allegory is this idea immortalized?

18. How old was Jacob when he stood before Pharaoh and how do his days compare with the days of the other patriarchs?

19. What the evidence that his days were full of evil?

20. Itemize Jacob’s troubles somewhat.

21. What ancient Jews became powerful in the affairs of foreign governments?

22. What modern ones have made their influence felt likewise?

23. What were the blessings of Joseph’s administration to the people?

24. What are agrarian laws? Who wrote Progress and Poverty and what was its aim?

25. Cite Isaiah’s prophecy in point.

26. What was Jefferson’s position on it?

27. What said Goldsmith about it?

28. Cite illustrations of this in ancient and modern history.

29. How does the administration of Joseph in Egypt compare with other administrations of like nature?

30. What is the meaning of “Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes”? (Gen 46:4 .)

31. The meaning of “And Pharaoh took off his ring and put it on Joseph’s hand”?

32. Cite other Bible instances of the use of the signet ring.

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Gen 47:1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they [are] in the land of Goshen.

Ver. l. Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh. ] This was great wisdom in him, to do nothing for his friends, though he were so great a favourite, without the king’s privity and approbation. There wanted not those that waited for his halting; envy attends upon honour, a and always aimeth at the highest; as the tallest trees are weakest at the tops. Melancthon tells us he once saw a certain ancient piece of coin, having on the one side Zopyrus, on the other Zoilus. It was an emblem of kings’ courts, saith he; b where calumnies accompany the well-deserving, as they did Daniel, Datames, Hannibal, c &c. Difficillimum inter mortales est gloria invidiam vincere, saith Sallust. d How potent that quick-sighted and sharp-fanged malignity is, we may guess by that question, Pro 27:4 .

a Scipioni obtrectabat Carbo; Alcibiadi Hyperbolus; Homero Zoilus; Ciceroni Clodius. Habuerunt et suos cucullos omnes docti et heroici.

b Manlii, loc. com., p. 414.

c Corn. Nepos, in Vita Datamis et Hannib.

d Sal., in Catilin.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)