105. 23; Isai. 52. 4. b Ex. 1. 1. & 6. 14; into the Land of Egypt. his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. (3) And he said, I am God, the God of a Josh. 24. 4: Ps. sons' sons with him, his daughters, and thy father fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: (4) 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. (5) And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and Num. 26.5. 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. (6) And they took their cattle, and their goods, which e 1 Chr. 6. 1. they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, "Jacob, and all his seed with him: (7) his sons, and his (8) And these are the names of the Num. 26. 8; 1 children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. (9) And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. (10) And 'the sons d Ex. 6. 15; 1 Chr. of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. (11) And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (12) And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and 4. 24. 1 Chr. 2. 3. & 4. sheba, as both Abraham and Isaac had built altars there for Jehovah's worship (chap. xxi. 33, xxvi. 25), and, moreover, it lay upon the route from Hebron to Egypt. (3) I am God, the God of thy father.Heb., I am the El, the Elohim of thy father. This is the last revelation given to Jacob, nor is any other supernatural event recorded until the vision of the burning bush (Exod. iii. 4). It is brief, clear, and decisive, and every clause is weighty. Jacob is to migrate into Egypt, his race is to grow there into a nation, so that the stay there would be long; God's presence and blessing will accompany and remain with them, and finally will bring them back to the promised land. For himself, too, there is the promise that Joseph will tend his sick bed and be with him at his death. (4) Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. Both among the Jews and Greeks it was the duty of those nearest in blood to close the eyes of a deceased relative. The promise conveyed the assurance that Jacob would die peacefully, surrounded by his friends. For the fulfilment see chap. 1. 1. (6) Their goods.-These are not the vessels spoken of contemptuously by Pharaoh (chap. xlv. 20), but their personal property, of which they would naturally have much which they would not be willing to leave behind. Abraham had brought large wealth with him from Haran (chap. xii. 5), some of which may have even come from Ur-Chasdim, and much had been gathered since. The patriarchs would leave their household stuff behind, but all valuables, and the records of their house, and their tôldôth, they would carefully carry with them. They came into Egypt.-For a full account of the scene depicted on the tomb of Khnumhotep at Beni-hassan, and which at one time was identified with the arrival of the sons of Jacob, see Tomkins, Times of Abraham, 110-114. (7) His daughters.-See Note on chap. xxxvii. 35. GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE ISRAELITES. (8) These are the names of the children of Israel which came into Egypt.-This document, consisting of verses 8-27, is one that would be of the highest importance to the Israelites, when taking possession of Canaan, being as it were their title-deed to the land. Accordingly we find that it is drawn up in a legal manner, representing as sons some who were really grandsons, but who took as heads of families the place usually held by sons. We next find that it represents them as all born in Canaan, not in a natural sense, but as the rightful heirs of the country. Technically every head of a family was born in Canaan, and thus the danger was obviated of an objection to the possession of this rank being accorded to one born in Egypt. As a matter of fact Pharez (verse 12) was an infant when taken down into Egypt. (See chap. xxxviii. 29, and Excursus on Chronology of Jacob's life.) It is difficult enough to find time sufficient for his birth in the interval between the return from Padan-Aram, and the descent into Egypt; for the birth of his two sons, Hezron and Hamul, there is no space whatsoever. In verse 21 Benjamin has ten sons assigned him, but he was at most about thirty years of age when he went into Egypt, and some of these sons are expressly said elsewhere to have been his grandsons. Commentators have indeed endeavoured to show that Benjamin might have been a few years older, but they do this by upsetting their own conclusions previously arrived at; and there is no process which so legitimately produces scepticism as the re-statement by commentators of the facts so marshalled on each occasion as to suit the apparent exigencies of the passage before them, but in a manner irreconcilable with previous difficulties. The genealogical table of the twelve patriarchs is thrice given in Holy Scripture: here, in Num. xxvi., and in 1 Chron. i.-viii. See also Exod. vi. 14-16, where only Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are given. (9) Reuben has four sons: Hanoch, Phallu, Hezron, Carmi. In these the genealogies all agree. (10) Simeon has six sons, namely Jemuel, Ohad, Zohar, Num. xxvi. 12, 13. 1 Chron. iv. 24. Jamin, (omitted) Jachin, Zerah, Shaul. Jamin, (omitted) Jarib, Zerah, Shaul. Jewish tradition represents Shaul as being really the son of Dinah by a Canaanite father, Shechem, but as adopted by Simeon to save his sister's honour, yet with a note that he was of half Canaanitish blood. (11) Levi has three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (12) Judah has five sons, of whom Er and Onan die prematurely. The names of the other three are Shelah, Onan died in the land of Canaan. And ja 1 Chr. 7. 1. c ch. 41. 50. the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, Or, prince. of the Israelites. daughter, and these she bare unto Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his a 1 Chr. 7. 6. & 8. 1. Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel Huppim, Hupham, Ard, (given as grandson) do. do. Thus in Numbers Benjamin has only five sons, but Naaman and Ard are also heads of families, and are described as sons of Bela. In Chronicles Benjamin is first described as having three sons, among whom appears Becher with numerous descendants, though omitted elsewhere, and then as having five sons, one of whom, Nohah, has a name completely different from any of those in the other three documents. And not only is Bela described as the father of Gera, Naaman, Muppim (called Shephuphan), Huppim (called Huram), and Ard (called Addar); but also of Abihud, Abishua, Ahoah, and another Gera. (22) All the souls were fourteen.-Made up of Joseph and two sons, and Benjamin and ten sons. (23) Dan has one son, Hushim, called Shuham in Num. xxvi. 42. No genealogy of this tribe is given in Chronicles. (24) Naphtali has four sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, Shillem. Num. xxvi. 48, 49. 1 Chron. vii. 13. (25) All the souls were seven.-Made up of Dan and one son, and Naphtali and four sons. Excepting Benjamin, the other genealogies do not offer any great difficulties; for variations in the spelling of names are too common to cause surprise, and names would be omitted whenever in later times the family had ceased to have a representative. Thus, probably, no member of the tribe of Dan returned from the Captivity with an authenticated genealogy, and therefore in Goshen as Shepherds. Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. (31) And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; (32) and 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. (33) And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? (34) That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been his chariot, and went up to meet Israel metale. are about cattle from our youth even until his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. (30) And Israel said unto Joseph, no mention of them is made in the book of Chronicles. The utter confusion in the genealogy of Benjamin is the natural result of the ruinous war narrated in Judges xx., xxi.; but when that tribe produced a king, the utmost care would be taken to remedy, as far as possible, the destruction of documents caused by that struggle; and the genealogy in 1 Chron. viii. is the royal pedigree of King Saul. (26) All the souls were threescore and six.This total is obtained by omitting Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph's two sons. If we include these, the whole number becomes threescore and ten, as in verse 27. In the LXX. the names of five grandsons are added to verse 20, and thus the total is made seventy-five, as quoted by St. Stephen in Acts vii. 14. ARRIVAL OF JACOB IN EGYPT. (28) To direct his face unto Goshen.-Joseph does not bring his brethren into the narrow and populous Nile Valley which formed Egypt proper, because they could not have maintained there an isolated mode of life. But this was indispensable for them if they were to multiply into a nation fit to be the guardians and depositories of a growing revelation, until the fulness of the time should come, when the world would be ready to receive the perfect knowledge of God's will. As the Egyptians were an agricultural people, and hated sheep and shepherds (verse 34), the Israelites would run no danger of being absorbed by them so long as they continued to devote themselves to their old pursuits. As Goshen was admirably suited for a pastoral life, they would remain there as distinct and separate from the rest of mankind as they had been in Canaan. (29) He fell on his neck.-Most of the versions and commentators understand this of Joseph throwing himself on Jacob's neck, but Maimonides says that a son would not take so great a liberty with his father. The Authorised Version seems to understand it of Jacob, and this gives the best and most natural sense. The preceding words literally are, and he appeared unto him: that is, came into his presence; whereupon Jacob fell on his neck, and wept there "again and again." of 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. (30) Now let me die.-Heb., I would die this time (chap. ii. 23), after I have seen thy face, &c. Calmly will Jacob wait for death now that the great longing of his soul has been satisfied. (32) The men are shepherds.--As Joseph's object was to keep his brethren isolated in Goshen, he instructs them not to conceal their occupation, because Pharaoh on knowing it would not wish them to dwell in Egypt itself. (34) For every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.-This is probably a remark of the narrator, and it is confirmed by the monuments, which generally represent shepherds as unshaven and ill-dressed. Necessarily the Egyptians had sheep and cattle (chap. xlvii. 16, 17), and even Pharaoh had herds (chap. xlvii. 6); but the care of them was probably left by the peasantry to the women and children, while the men busied themselves with the cultivation of their fields. We need not go far to seek for the cause of this dislike. The word "abomination," first of all, suggests a religious ground of difference; and not only did shepherds probably kill animals worshipped in different Egyptian districts, but their religion generally was diverse from that of the fixed population. But next, men who lead a settled life always dislike wandering clans, whose cattle are too likely to prey upon their enclosed land (see Note on chap. iv. 8), and who, moving from place to place, are usually not very scrupulous as to the rights of property. Such nomades, too, are generally lower in civilisation, and more rude and rough, than men who have fixed homes. subjugation of Egypt by the Hyksos was possibly subsequent to the era of Joseph; but we now know from Egyptian sources that there was perpetual war between Egypt and the Hittites, and probably raids were often made upon the rich fields on the banks of the Nile by other Semitic tribes dwelling upon its eastern frontier; and as all these were regarded as shepherds, there was ground enough for the dislike of all nomades as a class, even though the Egyptians did not disdain to have cattle themselves. But as the land in the Nile Valley was arable, the cattle kept would only be such as were useful for agriculture, whereas they formed the main wealth of the Israelites. The Joseph's Father and Brethren GENESIS, XLVII. before Pharaoh. are come unto thee: (6) 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: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make 1 Heb., how many them rulers over my cattle. are the days of CHAPTER XLVII.-(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. (2) And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. (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. (4) 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 a Heb. 11. 9. 13. land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. (5) And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren XLVII. JOSEPH PRESENTS HIS FATHER AND Brethren TO PHARAOH. (1) Behold, they are in the land of Goshen.Though Joseph had all along wished this to be the dwelling-place of his brethren, yet it was necessary to obtain Pharaoh's permission; and at present Joseph only mentions that they had halted there. In verse 4 they ask for the necessary consent. (2) Even five men.-As the number "five" appears again and again in this narrative (chaps. xliii. 34, xlv. 22), it may have had some special importance among the Egyptians, like the number seven among the Jews. (3) Also our fathers.-Joseph had instructed them to add this (chap. xlvi. 34), because occupations were hereditary among the Egyptians, and thus Pharaoh would conclude that in their case also no change was possible in their mode of life. (4) To sojourn.-Joseph's brethren ask for permission only for a temporary stay. Apparently, too, in spite of the famine, there was pasture for cattle in Goshen. They had been able hitherto to keep them alive even in Canaan; and probably the Nile, though it did not overflow, yet on reaching the delta lost itself in swamps, which produced a great quantity of the marsh grass described in chap. xli. 2. We find in this chapter that not only were Pharaoh's herds intact, but also those of the people. (7) Jacob blessed Pharaoh.-The presentation of Jacob to Pharaoh seems to have been a much more solemn matter than that of Joseph's brethren. Pharaoh looks upon them with interest as the brothers of his vizier, grants their request for leave to dwell in Goshen, and even empowers Joseph to make the ablest of them chief herdsmen over the royal cattle. But Jacob had attained to an age which gave him great dignity: for to an Egyptian 120 was the utmost limit of longevity. Jacob was now 130, and Pharaoh treats him with the greatest honour, and twice accepts his blessing. More must be meant by this than the usual salutation, in (7) And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. (8) And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, 1How old art thou? (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 pilgrim age. (10) And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. (11) And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a posses which each one presented to the king prayed for the prolongation of his life. Pharaoh probably bowed before Jacob as a saintly personage, and received a formal benediction. (9) My pilgrimage.-Heb., my sojournings; and so at end of verse. The idea of a pilgrimage is a modern one. Even in 1 Peter ii. 11" pilgrim " means in the Greek a stranger who has settled in a country of which he is not a native. So, too, here Jacob was not a pilgrim, for he was no traveller bound for religious motives to some distant shrine, but he was a sojourner, because Canaan was not the native land of his race. Few and evil.-Evil certainly: for from the time when he deceived his father, Jacob's life had been one of great anxiety and care, in addition to his many sorrows. If he had gained wealth in Haran, it had been by great industry and personal toil, aggravated by Laban's injustice. On his return, there was the double terror of Laban's pursuit behind and Esau's menacing attitude in front. He had then long lain ill at Succoth, waiting till time healed his sprained hip. His entry into the promised land had been made miserable by his daughter's dishonour and the fierce conduct of his sons. And when his home was in sight, he had lost his beloved Rachel; and finally, been compelled to remain at a distance from his father, because Esau was there chief and paramount. His father dies, and Esau goes away; but the ten years between Isaac's death and the descent into Egypt had been years of mourning for Joseph's loss. All these troubles had fallen upon him, and made his days evil; but they were few only in comparison with those of his father and grandfather. In Pharaoh's eyes Jacob had lived beyond the usual span of human existence; but to himself he seemed prematurely old. His end came after seventeen years of peaceful decay spent under Joseph's loving care. The land of Rameses.-See Note on chap. xlv. 10. Though the LXX. take "land of Rameses" as equivalent to Goshen, it was more probably some special child is rished. nou 2 Heb., according Joseph Buys the Land. 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 sion in the land of Egypt, in the best for why should we die in thy presence? 3 Heb., led them. district of it, for, as we have seen, Goshen was a territory of vast extent. Raamses (Exod. i. 11) is the same word, though the Masorites have given it different vowels; but whether such a town already existed, or whether when built it took its name from the district, we cannot tell. If there were such a place, it would at this period be a poor village, consisting of a few shepherds' huts; but long afterwards, in the days of King Rameses II., "it was the centre of a rich, fertile, and beautiful land, described as the abode of happiness, where all alike, rich and poor, lived in peace and plenty."-Canon Cook, Excursus on Egyptian Words, p. 487. It deserved therefore its description as "the best of the land." (12) According to their families.-Heb., according to the "taf." This, as we have seen above, means "according to the clan or body of dependants possessed by each one." Dan, with his one child, would have been starved to death if the allowance for himself and his household had depended upon the number of his "little ones," which is the usual translation of this word in the Authorised Version. (See margin.) JOSEPH'S POLICY IN EGYPT. (16) Give your cattle.-As the people were in want of food, and their land incapable of cultivation as long as the Nile ceased to overflow, this was a merciful arrangement, by which the owners were delivered from a burden, and also a portion of the cattle saved for the time when they would be needed again for agricultural purposes. As the charge of so many cattle in time of dearth would be a very serious matter (1 Kings xviii. 5, 6), we now see the reason why Pharaoh wished the ablest of Joseph's brethren to be employed in the task; and probably while there was no food for them in the Nile Valley, there would still be grass in the alluvial soil of the delta, which men used to move about with cattle would be able to find. (18) When 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 ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: (19) wherefore 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. (20) And 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 Pharaoh's. (21) And as for the (17) Horses flocks... herds... asses. -The mention of horses is a most important fact in settling the much-debated question as to the dynasty under which Joseph became governor of Egypt. When Abram went there, horses do not seem as yet to have been known (see Note on chap. xii. 16), but oxen and asses were common, and the former indigenous in the country (Maspero, Histoire Ancienne, pp. 11, 12). The horse was introduced by the Hyksos, according to Lenormant, Les Prem. Civilisations, i., 306 ff.; Rawlinson, Egypt, i., 74; and the first representation of one is drawing the war-chariot of the king who expelled them. The "flocks are expressly said in the Hebrew to be sheep. This, too, is important; for while goats were indigenous in Egypt, sheep do not appear in the most ancient monuments, though they were introduced at an earlier date than horses. (18) The second year. Not the second year of the famine, but the year following that in which they had given up their cattle. (20) So the land became Pharaoh's.-Joseph has been accused of reducing a free people to slavery by his policy. Undoubtedly he did vastly increase the royal power; but from what we read of the vassalage under which the Egyptians lived to a multitude of petty sovereigns, and also to their wives, their priests, and their embalmers, an increase in the power of the king, so as to make it predominant, would be to their advantage. The statement made here that the land in Egypt belonged entirely to the king is confirmed by Herodotus and other Greek authorities. The same is the case in India at this day; only, instead of the rent being a fifth part of the produce, it is in India a fixed annual sum, which is settled at comparatively distant intervals. In Burmah the agriculturists hold their land directly from the Crown. (21) He removed them to cities. Joseph's object in this measure was most merciful. As the corn was stored up in the cities, the people would be |