✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Gênesis 46

ARC · Chapter 46/50

1E partiu Israel com tudo quanto tinha, e veiu a Berseba, e sacrificou sacrificios ao Deus de seu pae Isaac.

2E fallou Deus a Israel em visões da noite, e disse: Jacob, Jacob! E elle disse: Eis-me aqui.

3E disse: Eu sou o Deus, o Deus de teu pae; não temas de descer ao Egypto, porque eu te farei ali uma grande nação.

4E descerei comtigo ao Egypto, e certamente te farei tornar a subir, e José porá a sua mão sobro os teus olhos.

5Então levantou-se Jacob de Berseba, e os filhos de Israel levaram a seu pae Jacob, e seus meninos, e as suas mulheres, nos carros que Pharaó enviara para o levar.

6E tomaram o seu gado e a sua fazenda que tinham adquirido na terra de Canaan, e vieram ao Egypto, Jacob e toda a sua semente com elle,

7Os seus filhos, e os filhos de seus filhos com elle, as suas filhas, e as filhas de seus filhos, e toda a sua semente levou comsigo ao Egypto.

8E estes são os nomes dos filhos de Israel, que vieram ao Egypto, Jacob e seus filhos: Ruben, o primogenito de Jacob,

9E os filhos de Ruben: Hanoch, e Pallu, e Hezron, e Carmi.

10E os filhos de Simeão: Jemuel, e Jamin, e Ohad, e Jachin, e Zohar, e Shaul, filho de uma mulher cananea.

11E os filhos de Levi: Gerson, Kohath, e Merari.

12E os filhos de Judah: Er, e Onan, e Sela, e Perez, e Serah; Er e Onan, porém, morreram na terra de Canaan; e os filhos de Perez foram Hezron e Hamul.

13E os filhos de Issacar: Tola, e Puah, e Iob, e Simron.

14E os filhos de Zebulon: Sered, e Elon, e Jahleel.

15Estes são os filhos de Leah, que pariu a Jacob em Paddan-aram, com Dinah, sua filha: todas as almas de seus filhos e de suas filhas foram trinta e tres.

16E os filhos de Gad: Ziphion, e Haggi, Shuni, e Ezbon, Eri, e Arodi, e Areli.

17E os filhos de Asher: Imnah, e Ischva, e Ischvi, e Beria, e Serah, a irmã d'elles: e os filhos de Beria: Heber e Malchiel.

18Estes são os filhos de Zilpah, que Labão deu á sua filha Leah; e pariu a Jacob estas dezeseis almas.

19Os filhos de Rachel, mulher de Jacob: José e Benjamin.

20E nasceram a José na terra do Egypto Manasseh e Ephraim, que lhe pariu Asenath, filha de Potiphera, sacerdote de On.

21E os filhos de Benjamin: Belah, Becher, e Asbel, Gera, e, Naaman, Echi e Rosh, Muppim, e Huppim, e Ard.

22Estes são os filhos de Rachel, que nasceram a Jacob, ao todo quatorze almas.

23E os filhos de Dan: Husim.

24E os filhos de Naphtali: Jahzeel, e Guni, e Jezer, e Shilem.

25Estes são os filhos de Bilha, que Labão deu á sua filha Rachel; e pariu estes a Jacob; todas as almas foram sete.

26Todas as almas que vieram com Jacob ao Egypto, que sairam da sua côxa, sem as mulheres dos filhos de Jacob, todas foram sessenta e seis almas.

27E os filhos de José, que lhe nasceram no Egypto, eram duas almas. Todas as almas da casa de Jacob, que vieram ao Egypto, foram setenta.

28E enviou a Judah diante da sua face a José, para o encaminhar a Gosen; e chegaram á terra de Gosen.

29Então José apromptou o seu carro, e subiu ao encontro de Israel, seu pae, a Gosen. E, mostrando-se-lhe, lançou-se ao seu pescoço, e chorou sobre o seu pescoço longo tempo.

30E Israel disse a José: Morra eu agora, pois já tenho visto o teu rosto, que ainda vives.

31Depois disse José a seus irmãos, e á casa de seu pae: Eu subirei, e annunciarei a Pharaó, e lhe direi: Meus irmãos, e a casa de meu pae, que estavam na terra de Canaan, vieram a mim!

32E os varões são pastores de ovelhas, porque são homens de gado, e trouxeram comsigo as suas ovelhas, e as suas vaccas, e tudo o que teem.

33Quando pois acontecer que Pharaó vos chamar, e disser: Qual é vosso negocio?

34Então direis: Teus servos foram homens de gado desde a nossa mocidade até agora, tanto nós como os nossos paes; para que habitemos na terra de Gosen; porque todo o pastor de ovelhas é abominação aos egypcios.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jacob sets out for Egypt with his whole family after receiving confirmation from God at Beersheba; the complete genealogy of the seventy family members who went down to Egypt is listed, and Joseph goes to meet his father in Goshen.

Explanation

This chapter marks an important transition in the history of God's people: the family that began with Abraham's individual call now moves, as a group of seventy people, to Egypt — a movement that, though it may seem small at this moment, will be the starting point for the formation of the great nation of Israel, just as promised centuries before. God's reaffirmation to Jacob at Beersheba ('fear not... I will go down with thee into Egypt,' v. 3-4) shows that this move, though it might seem like a departure from the promised land, was part of the divine plan, not a detour from it. The emotional reunion between Jacob and Joseph, described with a long embrace and tears, brings an end to decades of separation and grief, giving Jacob the joy of seeing, before he died, that his most beloved son was alive and prospering. The lesson is that God's plans sometimes involve unexpected paths, but they are always safe under his care.

Fun facts

  • The number of seventy people who went down to Egypt with Jacob (v. 27) is explicitly picked up again at the beginning of the book of Exodus (Exodus 1:5), serving as a narrative bridge between the two books and marking the starting point for Israel's population growth in Egypt.
  • Joseph's instruction that his brothers identify themselves as 'men whose trade hath been about cattle' before Pharaoh (v. 34) was a deliberate strategy to ensure the family would settle apart in Goshen, since the Egyptians considered shepherding a despised occupation — which, ironically, would help preserve the separate identity of the Hebrew people.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Gênesis 46:1Before leaving Canaan for good, Jacob stops at Beersheba, the same place loaded with family history since Abraham, and offers sacrifices to the God of Isaac — a gesture of seeking divine approval before such a major step.
  2. Gênesis 46:2God calls Jacob’s name twice in a row in a night vision — a pattern of urgent calling that appears at other important moments in the Bible.
  3. Gênesis 46:3God reassures Jacob specifically about the fear of going down to Egypt, promising that there his family will become a great nation — the same promise made to Abraham, now applied to the move to a foreign land.
  4. Gênesis 46:4The promise that Joseph will put his hand on Jacob’s eyes is an old way of saying Joseph would be at his father’s side at the moment of death, closing his eyes — a farewell gesture only a child or very close relative performed. God is assuring Jacob he won’t die alone, far from his family.
  5. Gênesis 46:5Jacob leaves Beersheba, and his sons arrange to carry their father, the children, and the women in the wagons Pharaoh had sent specifically for this trip.
  6. Gênesis 46:6The family also takes along all the livestock and possessions gained during the years lived in Canaan — they don’t go to Egypt empty-handed.
  7. Gênesis 46:7All of Jacob’s descendants go down with him: sons, grandsons, daughters, and granddaughters — the whole family moves at once.
  8. Gênesis 46:8Here begins the full list of those who went down to Egypt, organized by mother — opening with Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
  9. Gênesis 46:9The list continues with Reuben’s four sons, the second generation already born within Israel’s line.
  10. Gênesis 46:10Among Simeon’s sons is Shaul, son of a Canaanite woman — a detail showing that even within Jacob’s own family there was already mixing with neighboring peoples.
  11. Gênesis 46:11Levi’s three sons — Gershon, Kohath, and Merari — will later give rise to the three great clans responsible for service at the tabernacle.
  12. Gênesis 46:12The list of Judah’s sons notes that Er and Onan had already died in Canaan, as told in chapter 38, and includes the grandsons born of Perez.
  13. Gênesis 46:13Next come Issachar’s four sons, another branch of Leah’s line.
  14. Gênesis 46:14Zebulun’s three sons close out this part of the list tied to Leah.
  15. Gênesis 46:15The summary closes the count of Leah’s children, including her daughter Dinah: in all, thirty-three people from this line went down to Egypt.
  16. Gênesis 46:16The list moves on to Gad’s seven sons, son of Zilpah, Leah’s maid.
  17. Gênesis 46:17Asher’s sons include their sister, Serah, a rare case of a named woman within these genealogical lists.
  18. Gênesis 46:18The summary confirms: the children of Zilpah, the maid Laban had given to his own daughter Leah, total sixteen people.
  19. Gênesis 46:19The list moves to the sons of Rachel, Jacob’s most beloved wife: Joseph and Benjamin.
  20. Gênesis 46:20Joseph already had two sons born in Egypt before the family’s arrival: Manasseh and Ephraim, from his marriage to Asenath.
  21. Gênesis 46:21Next comes the list of Benjamin’s ten sons, the youngest brother who nearly didn’t return from his last trip to Egypt in the previous chapter.
  22. Gênesis 46:22The summary closes Rachel’s line: fourteen people in all, counting Joseph, his two sons, Benjamin, and his ten sons.
  23. Gênesis 46:23Dan appears here with a single son, Hushim — unlike the other tribes in the list, which usually have several sons named in this census of the seventy who went down to Egypt with Jacob.
  24. Gênesis 46:24These four sons of Naphtali reappear, with the same names, in the census in the book of Numbers, taken decades later in the wilderness — showing the line of families descending from each of them.
  25. Gênesis 46:25The summary closes Bilhah’s line, the maid Laban had given to Rachel: seven people in all.
  26. Gênesis 46:26The expression “out of his loins” is a Hebrew way of saying they are his descendants, since the loins were associated with the ability to father children. The text is counting how many people of Jacob’s family went down to Egypt, not including the daughters-in-law.
  27. Gênesis 46:27The number seventy souls closes the symbolic count of Jacob’s whole family that entered Egypt. The names listed in the previous verses serve to justify this final sum, used as a marker of how many people would later become an entire nation.
  28. Gênesis 46:28Jacob sends Judah ahead of the group to notify Joseph and be guided to the region of Goshen — Judah takes on a leadership role that had already been growing since chapter 44.
  29. Gênesis 46:29Joseph personally prepares his own chariot and goes up to meet his father, embracing him and weeping for a long time — the reunion that closes the twenty-year cycle of separation.
  30. Gênesis 46:30Jacob says he can now die in peace, since he has seen with his own eyes that the son he had given up for dead is still alive.
  31. Gênesis 46:31Joseph tells his brothers he will formally announce the family’s arrival to Pharaoh, setting up the conversation that follows in chapter 47.
  32. Gênesis 46:32Before the meeting with Pharaoh, Joseph explains to his brothers that they should identify themselves as shepherds, since they brought their own flocks and possessions with them.
  33. Gênesis 46:33Joseph anticipates the question Pharaoh will likely ask about the family’s occupation — preparing his brothers to answer the right way.
  34. Gênesis 46:34Just as they avoided eating with Hebrews, the Egyptians also despised the shepherd’s trade — probably because they were a people more tied to settled agriculture, while shepherds like Jacob’s family lived on the move. Joseph tells his brothers to admit the trade right up front, which, even so, helps them get the isolated land of Goshen.

Chapters

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play