Year 1, Day 45: Genesis 46

Jacob’s Reaction

There honestly isn’t a whole lot going on in Genesis 46, so this might be a good day to catch a breather and wrap up some loose ends. 

First, notice that Jacob hesitated in going to Egypt until he is visited by God and told that it is okay to do so.  Remember that Abraham went to Egypt and got himself into trouble.  Remember that Isaac was forbidden from going to Egypt.  Jacob is cautious for good reason.  Also notice that after he receives the vision from God Jacob is obedient to God and we hear scripture change his name back to Israel again.

Second, notice that in Jacob’s vision he is promised that although he will go to Egypt it will actually be Joseph himself that brings Jacob up out of Egypt to bury him in the land of Abraham and Isaac.  This is important for a few reasons.  First, it shows that God is faithful in his promises to Abraham as the generations go by.  It also helps set up the anticipation of the Exodus so that Abraham’s people all come home to Canaan.  Third, it shows Jacob that restoration will occur between him and his favorite son.  Joseph will bury his father.  Although it is a morbid thought, it no doubt is a comforting thought for a father to know that his treasured – and once lost – son will be the one to bury him as he buried his own father.

Genealogy

As for the genealogy, let’s simply say that it is remarkable how we went from Isaac (1) to Jacob and Esau (2) to the twelve sons (12) to now 70 sons of the twelve (70).  In a mere four generations we have seen population explosion from 1 to 70 – and this also gives us a foretaste of the population explosion the Hebrew people will have when they are allowed to dwell in the fertile region of Goshen.  Goshen is in the delta region of the Nile, and deltas are usually the most fertile region of a river system.  Thus, when we transfer from Genesis to Exodus and see the massive numbers of Hebrew people in only a few hundred years, this should not surprise us!

Joseph and Pharaoh

As for the words between Pharaoh and Joseph, much has been said in commentaries about Joseph using his cunning to get the fertile places for his family.  Many make a case for Joseph using the fact that his people are shepherds to their advantage.  By this, I mean that people say that since the Egyptians considered shepherds abhorrent, Joseph uses this to convince Pharaoh to give Jacob’s sons land that is far away from the Egyptian people.  In this manner, the descendants of Israel may preserve their heritage and not be corrupted by Egyptian lifestyle. 

I don’t buy the argument, although I accept in the end that I may certainly be wrong.  As I have said before, Goshen is an incredibly fertile land.  I find it hard to believe that if Goshen really was as incredibly fertile as it is reported that Goshen would not have plenty of Egyptians already living in it.  In fact, I find it hard to believe that Goshen would not have already been a major place for agricultural production.  I cannot buy into the idea that Joseph convinces Pharaoh to let his family go to Goshen so that they can “be alone” and not become “polluted by the ways of the Egyptians.”  If Goshen was that fertile, surely the Egyptians knew about it and occupied it.

Rather, what I think we actually see here is Pharaoh showing great respect for Joseph’s faithfulness.  Joseph’s family goes to Goshen because it is fertile and because Pharaoh wants to be generous to Joseph.  Pharaoh desires to give to Joseph because it is only through Joseph’s closeness to God that Egypt is saved in the famine!  In fact, in Genesis 47 we will see hints at the fact that the Hebrew people are not going up to Goshen to be alone but rather to go up to Goshen and help develop the land to make it more productive than it already is. 

The Egyptians were known in the ancient world of being very accommodating of foreigners, especially foreigners with talents the Egyptians did not possess themselves.  In this chapter we see that Pharaoh is presented with a group of people who are highly skilled at doing a job that the Egyptians think is abhorrent.  Of course Pharaoh is going to take them in and use them to the best of his advantage!  What Joseph presents to Pharaoh is a blessing, because now Egypt can have livestock resources without the Egyptians having to shepherd the flocks themselves. 

This is a complete win-win scenario for Pharaoh.  He is happy to set up Joseph’s people in the fertile region where they can be productive.  Yes, Joseph uses his family’s shepherding heritage to the best advantage, but it is not in a deceptive manner so that the Hebrew people can be alone.  Rather, it is so that his people can prosper in addition to keeping a good relationship with Pharaoh.

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