Matthew Poole and continuators on Genesis 46

1 AND Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac .

Both in thankfulness to God for former favours, and especially for Iosephs preservation and happiness; and by way of supplication to God for his direction in this great case, whether he might leave the promised land of Canaan and go into the idolatrous and impious land of Egypt; and for his protection and blessing as well in his journey as in Egypt.

Whom Isaac honoured and served, and who had constantly protected and provided for Isaac and confirmed his covenant with him. He mentions Isaac rather than Abraham, partly for Isaacs honour, to shew that though Isaac was much inferiour to Abraham in gifts and graces, yet God was no less Isaacs than Abrahams God, and therefore would be his God also notwithstanding his unworthiness: and partly for his own comfort, because Isaac was Iacobs immediate Parent and had transferred the blessing of the Covenant from Esau to Iacob, and the validity of that translation depended upon Isaacs interest in God.

2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night , and said, Jacob, Jacob : And he said, here am I.

(i. e.) In that way or manner of visions which God affordeth to men by night and in their sleep. See Gen 20. 3. Iob 33. 15, 16. Mat. 1. 20. and 2. 13, 19. Act. 16 9. and 18. 9, &c.

He doubles the name both in token of his friendship and familiarity with him and to raise Iacobs attention. Compare Gen. 22, 11. 1 Sam. 3. 10.

3 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.

For here were many causes of fear; lest he should do evil in forsaking the promised and blessed land, and going to a place which had been incommodious to his grandfather, Gen. 12. 15. and forbidden to his father. Gen. 26. 2. lest he should expose his children to manifold perils, as, of being infected with the vices and particularly the Idolatry which reigned there above all other countries, and of being inveagled by the pleasantness and eminent fruitfulness of that soil to give up themselves to all manner of pleasures and to settle themselves there and give over all thoughts of returning to Canaan; and of being brought into that grievous bondage and affliction which was spoken of Gen. 15. 13. and lest some mischief should befal him or his in so long and dangerous a journey.

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 .

Though not in thy person, yet in thy body, Gen. 47. 29, 30. and 50. 5, 13. and in thy posterity, which are a part of thy self, or thy self multiplyed.

Shall close thy eyes; which office was usually performed by the nearest and dearest relations of the dying party among the Iews, Greeks and Romans. Hereby Iacob is assured that he should die in peace, and that Ioseph both now was alive, and should survive his father.

6 And 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.

And in Mesopotamia. But Canaan onely is here mentioned, because here they got the far greatest part of them, which by a Synecdoche is put for the whole.

Marginal references: Josh. 24. 4. Psal. 105. 23. Isa. 52. 4.

7 His sons, and his sons sons with him, his daughters , and his sons daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

Either, his daughter, Dina[illegible: 1+ letters], the plural number for the singular, as ver. 23. Gen. 21. 7. Numb. 26. 8. or Dina[illegible: 1+ letters] and her daughters; for grandchildren are commonly called their grandfathers children or sons or daughters: or his daughters in law, his sons wives.

8 And these are the names of the children of Israel which came into Egypt , Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacobs first born.

This Genealogy is both here and elsewhere described exactly and particularly, as well to shew the faithfulness of God in the performance of his promise concerning the vast multiplication of Abrahams seed, and that in so short a time; as to distinguish the tribes; which was of great importance and necessary for the disposal of the Kingdome and Priesthood and above all for the discovery of the true Messias. Compare this following catalogue with that Numb. 26. and 1 Chron. 6. and 7. and 8,

Marginal references: Exod. 1. 1. and 6. 14. Numb. 26. 8. & 1 Chro. 5. 1.; Numb. 26. 5.

10 And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad , and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman .

Who is not mentioned in those parallel places, because he was then dead and that without issue.

Which is here mentioned as a brand upon him, and as an intimation that the rest of them, except Iudah, married to persons of a better race.

Marginal references: Exod. 6. 15. 1 Chron. 4. 24.; Or, Nemuel.; Or, Jarib.; Or, Zerah.

12 And the sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah and Pharez, and Zerah, but Er, and Onan died in the land of Canaan . And the sons of Pharez were Hezron, and Hamul .

And therefore are contained in the following number, ver. 15.

Who, though they seem to have been born in Egypt, yet are here set down amongst those who came into Egypt, because they came thither in their fathers loyns, as Levi is said to pay tithes in Abraham, Heb. 7. 9. And the children may as well be said to come thither in their Parents, as their father Iacob is said to return from thence, ver. 4. in his children. Obj. If this be the sence, why should these two be mentioned rather than the grandchildren of the other brethren, who came into Egypt in the same manner! Ans. This may be done either, 1. From some special excellency or eminency in them above the rest, as Hezron was eminent for being the progenitour of the Messiah, and Hamul might be so for some other cause though unknown to us. Or 2. Because they were the first grand-children that were born in Egypt, and it may be all that were born whilst Iacob lived there, and therefore are not unfitly named with Iacob and allotted to him, as Iosephs two eldest sons Ephraim and Manasseh were by Iacob appropriated to himself, and reckoned as his immediate sons, when all the rest of Iosephs sons were excluded from that priviledge, Gen. 48. 5, 6. And the like may be said of the other two Grandchildren mentioned ver. 17.

Marginal references: 1 Chron. 2. 3. and 4. 21. Chap. 38. 3.; 1 Chron. 2. 5.

15 These 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.

This is true properly and immediately of the sons, who were indeed born there, but improperly and mediately of the Grandchildren, which are as truly said to be born of Leah in Padan, as to be born of her at all, because they were indeed born of them which were born of her and that in Padan.

To wit, which came into Egypt as before; so that Er and Onan are excluded, as dying before this journey into Egypt, ver. 12. Daughters is here put for daughter, as ver. 7. because Dinah was all the Daughters which Iacob had. Heb. all the souls, sons and daughters, being reckoned together with their father.

21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah; and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard .

Whereof part seem to be born before his coming to Egypt, and part in Egypt, Benjamin being now but twenty and four years old.

Marginal references: 1 Chron. 7. 6. and 8. 1.; Num. 26. 38, 39.; Ahiram.; Shupham.; Hupham.

26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loyns , besides Jacobs sons wives, all these souls were threescore and six .

Heb. thigh, which is here put for the secret parts between the thighs, which are called sometimes the feet, as Gen. 49. 10. Deut. 28. 57. Ezek. 16. 25. for the like reason, because they are between the feet. From this Eastern manner of speech came that passage in the Greek fables concerning Ba[illegible: 1+ letters]hus being born out of Iupiters Thigh.

So many they are excluding Iacob, as the common Parent, and Ioseph and his two sons, as being in Egypt before Iacobs coming thither: which four being included they make up 70, as it is ver. 27.

Marginal references: Exod. 1. 5.; Heb. thigh.

27 And 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.

He doth not say, which came with Iacob into Egypt, because some of them came thither before him, and others with him, some in their persons, and some in their Parents. As for the difficulty arising from comparing this place with Act. 7. 14. it will be more fit to speak of it when we come to that place.

Marginal references: Deut. 10. 22. See Acts 7. 14.

28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen , and they came into the land of Goshen.

Heb. to prepare, or to teach him, the way before his face, i. e. before his coming, to Goshen; i. e. to shew him where it was, and into what part of it he should come and settle himself; or, to give notice unto Ioseph of his approach, before his face or coming into Goshen.

29 And 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.

And doubtless fell down before him with all that reverence which children owe to their Parents, and in this posture Iacob falls upon his neck, &c. Of which posture see Gen. 33. 4. and 45. 14. Luk. 15. 20. Act. 20. 37.

30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die , since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

Now I expect no greater happiness upon earth and therefore am content to die. Compare Luk. 2. 29.

34 That ye shall say, Thy servants trade hath been about cattel from our youth, even untill now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen ; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians .

In which design and choice [illegible: 1 word] shews both his prudence and piety. He brings them not to Court, where it had been easie for him to have put them all into the best places and offices of the Court; and as he is not ashamed to own himself a brother to shepherds, which were contemptible among the Egyptians, so he seeks not to advance them higher, but continues them in their employment, and placeth them in [illegible: 1 word]: whereby, 1. He kept them together which was very convenient for them in many respects. 2. He secured them both from envy, and as far as he could, from the corruption of their Religion and Manners which was likely to follow their mixture with the Egyptians, and especially their being at the Court, 3. He put them into a capacity of returning to Canaan, when God gave them opportunity.

Either▪ 1. Because they did both kill and eat those creatures which the Egyptians adored. Or. 2. Because of the fresh remembrance of the horrid cruelties lately committed there by the Phoenician Shepherds, who as some very antient writers affirm, were seated in Egypt in great numbers and had arrived to great power, and waged a cruel War with other Egyptians, wherein they wasted divers Cities, and burned their Temples, and barbarously murdered a multitude of people. And therefore it is no wonder if the calling of Shepherds was grown out of use and credit among them. True it is, the Egyptians had some Sheep and other Cattle, G[illegible: 1+ letters]n. 47. 6, 17. Exod. 8. 26. and 9. 3. which they kept for delight or profit by their milk, wool, &c, or for sale to others, but they did not use them, as other Shepherds generally did, kill and eat them. And it is probable that they committed even the keeping of their Sheep and Cattle to those strangers which were dispersed among them, and looked upon the employment as too vile and mean for any Egyptian. And though Pharaoh offered it to Josephs brethren as a favour to be Rulers over his Cattle, Gen. 47. 6. that might proceed onely from hence because he saw them firmly resolved upon that course of life and therefore could not bestow any higher preferment upon them.