The Israelite Family Reunion in Egypt

Only four chapters to go!! ...Let it be known that I will not be ending this blog when I end Genesis. On the contrary, I plan on beginning writing Exodus the week following the end of Genesis.

Beresheet (Genesis) 46:1-4 "So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the Elohim of his father Isaac. Then Elohim spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, 'Jacob, Jacob!' And he said, 'Here I am.' So He said, 'I am Elohim, the Elohim of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.'"

It seems as though a great nation is already being built from Jacob, but they'll have a better chance in Egypt where there's food. Also, isn't it sort of strange that Yahuah is calling him by his original name, rather than the one He gave him? The whole change-names-in-the-middle-of-your-life-and-then-don't-worry-about-being-consistant thing is kind of annoying, but what can you do? Another thing; "Joseph will put his hand on your eyes." Is that a standard greeting, or the traditional gesture to do for the dead; close their eyes? Maybe we'll find out soon.

Beresheet 46:5-7 "Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. His sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt."

Considering he had eleven sons (that didn't disappear) and one daughter (that we know of)... If all of the above got married, that's twelve couples. We'll suppose for the sake of argument that each family had between three and five children. How about we guess on the upper end of the scale, and go with five. We'll also suppose that at least a few of these children also had children. We're up past sixty people moving to Egypt. Verses 8-25 confirm this, and include a short genealogy. We'll pick up again at 26.

Beresheet 46:26-27 "All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six persons in all. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy."

They're not counting the wives... If you count the women, you're likely up around ninety or maybe one-hundred.

Beresheet 46:28-30 "Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said to Joseph, 'Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive."

Remember the hugging thing, he's not literally jumping on an old man's neck and crying, but instead giving his dad, whom he hasn't seen in YEARS a hug. Also, Jacob isn't depressed anymore. Saying "let me die" isn't literally saying, "kill me." The best way to put it that I can think of is referencing a TV show I was watching with my family a week or two ago. In it, there are a girl and a guy who are in some serious danger and they're not entirely sure they'll make it through the night. The guy promises her that he'll get her back to her dad safe and sound, but she expresses her doubts, mentioning that if she knew for sure that they wouldn't make it, she'd have to kiss him just because they were dating and hadn't done that yet. So, like a gentleman, he obliged. "Now, I can die," she said. Not because she knew for certain that death was right around the corner, but because she had found happiness and was content in spite of the dangerous situation. Also, just so you don't worry about them, they made it home okay, and the dad didn't kill her boyfriend for keeping her overnight and smooching her. In a tree. In the wilderness. Surrounded by hungry dinosaurs.

Beresheet 46:31-34 "Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, 'I will go up and tell Pharaoh, sand say to him, "My brothers and those of my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have." So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, "What is your occupation?" that you shall say, "Your servants' occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers," that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.'"

...What? Shepherds are an abomination? Did they worship sheep or something? ...Probably. But whatever, they'll be getting their own plot of land in Egypt, and all should go just fine.

Things have finally looked up. Joseph's brothers aren't jealous or guilty anymore, Joseph isn't playing mind games anymore, Jacob isn't depressed anymore, Benjamin has a full brother again, and the whole family is back together again. Yay! Onward to 47!