Genesis 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ¹  in the days of Abraham. ²  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Genesis 44:1-34

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 44:2 Then put ³  my cup – the silver cup – in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed. ⁴ 

44:3 When morning came, ⁵  the men and their donkeys were sent off. ⁶  44:4 They had not gone very far from the city ⁷  when Joseph said ⁸  to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! ⁹  When you overtake ¹⁰  them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 44:5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup ¹¹  and use it for divination? ¹²  You have done wrong!’” ¹³ 

44:6 When the man ¹⁴  overtook them, he spoke these words to them. 44:7 They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things? ¹⁵  Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ¹⁶  44:8 Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 44:9 If one of us has it, ¹⁷  he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves!”

44:10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment! ¹⁸  The one who has it will become my slave, ¹⁹  but the rest of ²⁰  you will go free.” ²¹  44:11 So each man quickly lowered ²²  his sack to the ground and opened it. 44:12 Then the man ²³  searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! 44:13 They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

44:14 So Judah and his brothers ²⁴  came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there, ²⁵  and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 44:15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing? ²⁶  Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?” ²⁷ 

44:16 Judah replied, “What can we say ²⁸  to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? ²⁹  God has exposed the sin of your servants! ³⁰  We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”

44:17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of ³¹  you may go back ³²  to your father in peace.”

44:18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. ³³  Please do not get angry with your servant, ³⁴  for you are just like Pharaoh. ³⁵  44:19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ³⁶  The boy’s ³⁷  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ³⁸  and his father loves him.’

44:21 “Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see ³⁹  him.’ ⁴⁰  44:22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father ⁴¹  will die.’ ⁴²  44:23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 44:24 When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

44:25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ⁴³  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ⁴⁴  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. ⁴⁵  44:28 The first disappeared ⁴⁶  and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 44:29 If you take ⁴⁷  this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair ⁴⁸  in tragedy ⁴⁹  to the grave.’ ⁵⁰ 

44:30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. ⁵¹  44:31 When he sees the boy is not with us, ⁵²  he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 44:32 Indeed, ⁵³  your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’

44:33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. 44:34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see ⁵⁴  my father’s pain.” ⁵⁵ 

Genesis 46:1-34

The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt

46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. ⁵⁶  When he came to Beer Sheba ⁵⁷  he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 46:2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night ⁵⁸  and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!” 46:3 He said, “I am God, ⁵⁹  the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. ⁶⁰  Joseph will close your eyes.” ⁶¹ 

46:5 Then Jacob started out ⁶²  from Beer Sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little children, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent along to transport him. 46:6 Jacob and all his descendants took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they went to Egypt. ⁶³  46:7 He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, ⁶⁴  his daughters and granddaughters – all his descendants.

46:8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons:

Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.

46:9 The sons of Reuben:

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

46:10 The sons of Simeon:

Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar,

and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman).

46:11 The sons of Levi:

Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

46:12 The sons of Judah:

Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah

(but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).

The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

46:13 The sons of Issachar:

Tola, Puah, ⁶⁵  Jashub, ⁶⁶  and Shimron.

46:14 The sons of Zebulun:

Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

46:15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters numbered thirty-three in all. ⁶⁷ 

46:16 The sons of Gad:

Zephon, ⁶⁸  Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

46:17 The sons of Asher:

Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister.

The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.

46:18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.

46:19 The sons of Rachel the wife of Jacob:

Joseph and Benjamin.

46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ⁶⁹  bore them to him.

46:21 The sons of Benjamin: ⁷⁰ 

Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.

46:22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.

46:23 The son of Dan: Hushim. ⁷¹ 

46:24 The sons of Naphtali:

Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

46:25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.

46:26 All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons.) ⁷²  46:27 Counting the two sons ⁷³  of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy. ⁷⁴ 

46:28 Jacob ⁷⁵  sent Judah before him to Joseph to accompany him to Goshen. ⁷⁶  So they came to the land of Goshen. 46:29 Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. When he met him, ⁷⁷  he hugged his neck and wept on his neck for quite some time.

46:30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” ⁷⁸  46:31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, ⁷⁹  ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 46:32 The men are shepherds; ⁸⁰  they take care of livestock. ⁸¹  They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 46:33 Pharaoh will summon you and say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle ⁸²  from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, ⁸³  for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting ⁸⁴  to the Egyptians.”

[26:1]  ¹ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ² sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[44:2]  ³ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.

[44:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”

[44:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “the morning was light.”

[44:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the men were sent off, they and their donkeys.” This clause, like the preceding one, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

[44:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”

[44:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

[44:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[44:4]  ¹⁰ tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”

[44:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is this not what my master drinks from.” The word “cup” is not in the Hebrew text, but is obviously the referent of “this,” and so has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[44:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he, divining, divines with it.” The infinitive absolute is emphatic, stressing the importance of the cup to Joseph.

[44:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you have caused to be evil what you have done.”

[44:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “Why does my lord speak according to these words?”

[44:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to this thing.”

[44:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “The one with whom it is found from your servants.” Here “your servants” (a deferential way of referring to the brothers themselves) has been translated by the pronoun “us” to avoid confusion with Joseph’s servants.

[44:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.

[44:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”

[44:10]  ¹⁹ tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:10]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.

[44:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they hurried and they lowered.” Their speed in doing this shows their presumption of innocence.

[44:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:14]  ²³ sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.

[44:14]  ²⁴ tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.

[44:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “What is this deed you have done?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question. A literal translation seems to contradict the following statement, in which Joseph affirms that he is able to divine such matters. Thus here the emotive force of the question has been reflected in the translation, “What did you think you were doing?”

[44:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[is] fully able to divine,” meaning that he can find things out by divination. The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis, stressing his ability to do this.

[44:16]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.

[44:16]  ²⁸ tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”

[44:16]  ²⁹ sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.

[44:17]  ²⁹ tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[44:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “up” (reflecting directions from their point of view – “up” to Canaan; “down” to Egypt).

[44:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word into the ears of my lord.”

[44:18]  ³² tn Heb “and let not your anger burn against your servant.”

[44:18]  ³³ sn You are just like Pharaoh. Judah’s speech begins with the fear and trembling of one who stands condemned. Joseph has as much power as Pharaoh, either to condemn or to pardon. Judah will make his appeal, wording his speech in such a way as to appeal to Joseph’s compassion for the father, whom he mentions no less than fourteen times in the speech.

[44:20]  ³³ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

[44:20]  ³⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”

[44:21]  ³⁵ tn The cohortative after the imperative indicates purpose here.

[44:21]  ³⁶ tn Heb “that I may set my eyes upon him.”

[44:22]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the boy’s father, i.e., Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:22]  ³⁸ tn The last two verbs are perfect tenses with vav consecutive. The first is subordinated to the second as a conditional clause.

[44:26]  ³⁹ tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[44:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “go down.”

[44:27]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”

[44:28]  ⁴³ tn Heb “went forth from me.”

[44:29]  ⁴⁵ tn The construction uses a perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive to introduce the conditional clause and then another perfect verbal form with a vav consecutive to complete the sentence: “if you take…then you will bring down.”

[44:29]  ⁴⁶ sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. See Gen 42:38.

[44:29]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “evil/calamity.” The term is different than the one used in the otherwise identical statement recorded in v. 31 (see also 42:38).

[44:29]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

[44:30]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”

[44:31]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “when he sees that there is no boy.”

[44:32]  ⁵¹ tn Or “for.”

[44:34]  ⁵³ tn The Hebrew text has “lest I see,” which expresses a negative purpose – “I cannot go up lest I see.”

[44:34]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “the calamity which would find my father.”

[46:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”

[46:1]  ⁵⁶ sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.

[46:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.

[46:3]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the God.”

[46:4]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”

[46:4]  ⁶² tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.

[46:5]  ⁶³ tn Heb “arose.”

[46:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and they took their livestock and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[46:7]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “with him” here. This is omitted in the translation because it is redundant in English style (note the same phrase earlier in the verse).

[46:13]  ⁶⁹ tc The MT reads “Puvah” (cf. Num 26:23); the Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac read “Puah” (cf. 1 Chr 7:1).

[46:13]  ⁷⁰ tc The MT reads “Iob,” but the Samaritan Pentateuch and some LXX mss read “Jashub” (see Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1).

[46:15]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “all the lives of his sons and his daughters, thirty-three.”

[46:16]  ⁷³ tc The MT reads “Ziphion,” but see Num 26:15, the Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, all of which read “Zephon.”

[46:20]  ⁷⁵ sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.

[46:21]  ⁷⁷ sn The sons of Benjamin. It is questionable whether youthful Benjamin had ten sons by the time he went into Egypt, but it is not impossible. If Benjamin was born when Joseph was six or seven, he was ten when Joseph was sold into Egypt, and would have been thirty-two at this point. Some suggest that the list originally served another purpose and included the names of all who were in the immediate family of the sons, whether born in Canaan or later in Egypt.

[46:23]  ⁷⁹ tn This name appears as “Shuham” in Num 26:42. The LXX reads “Hashum” here.

[46:26]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “All the people who went with Jacob to Egypt, the ones who came out of his body, apart from the wives of the sons of Jacob, all the people were sixty-six.”

[46:27]  ⁸³ tn The LXX reads “nine sons,” probably counting the grandsons of Joseph born to Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 1 Chr 7:14-20).

[46:27]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two people; all the people belonging to the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.”

[46:28]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[46:28]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “to direct before him to Goshen.”

[46:29]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”

[46:30]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “after my seeing your face that you are still alive.”

[46:31]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”

[46:32]  ⁹³ tn Heb “feeders of sheep.”

[46:32]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “for men of livestock they are.”

[46:34]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”

[46:34]  ⁹⁶ sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.

[46:34]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.