Genesis 46

₁Jacob went away from Canaan with all his people. When he came to the town of Beersheba, he sacrificed_offerings to the God of his father Isaac. ₂That night Jacob dreamed that God called him and said: ‘Jacob.’ And Jacob answered: ‘Here I am.’ ₃God said: ‘I am God, the God of your father Isaac. Go to the land of Egypt and do not be afraid. I will give you many descendants in Egypt. They will become a big nation. ₄I will go with you to Egypt and I will bring you back here later. When you die, Joseph will close your eyes.’

₅Jacob went away from Beersheba. His sons let their father, their children and their wives ride on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent for them. ₆They took their animals and everything that they had in Canaan. Jacob and all his descendants went to Egypt with him and after some time they got there. ₇Jacob took his family to Egypt, his sons, his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters.

₈Here are the names of the Israelites, Jacob's sons, who went to Egypt.

There was Reuben, who was Jacob's oldest son. ₉Reuben's sons were Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi.

₁₀Simeon's sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul. Shaul's mother was a woman from Canaan.

₁₁Levi's sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

₁₂Judah's sons were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah. Er and Onan died in Canaan. Perez's sons were Hezron and Hamul.

₁₃Issachar's sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.

₁₄Zebulun's sons were Sered, Elon and Jahleel.

₁₅These were the sons that Leah had for Jacob in Paddan-Aram. She also had a daughter. Her name was Dinah. There were 33 people in all.

₁₆Gad's sons were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.

₁₇Asher's sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister's name was Serah. Beria's sons were Heber and Malkiel.

₁₈These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. There were 16 people in all.

₁₉Jacob's wife Rachel had 2 sons. They were Joseph and Benjamin.

₂₀Joseph married Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, a priest from the town of On. She had 2 sons for Joseph in Egypt. They were Manasseh and Ephraim.

₂₁Benjamin's sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.

₂₂These were the children that Rachel had for Jacob. There were 14 people in all.

₂₃Dan had one son. His name was Hushim.

₂₄Naphtali's sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

₂₅These were the sons of Bilhah, the servant girl that Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. There were 7 people in all.

₂₆Of the children and grandchildren of Jacob who went to Egypt, there were 66 in all. The wives of Jacob's sons also went with them, but they did not count how many women there were.

₂₇Joseph had another 2 sons who were born in Egypt. There were 70 people in Jacob's family who went to Egypt.

₂₈Jacob sent Judah to go to Joseph before him, to ask him where the land of Goshen was and later they came to Goshen. ₂₉Joseph told his servants to bring his war-chariot and he went to meet his father, Jacob. When he saw his father, he put his arms around him and he stood and cried with him for a long time.

₃₀Jacob said to Joseph: ‘Now I am happy, and now I can die. I have seen you again and I see that you are still_alive.’

₃₁Joseph said to his brothers and to his family: ‘I will now tell Pharaoh that my brothers and my family who were in Canaan have come to me. ₃₂I will tell him that you have cattle, sheep and goats, and you have brought all your animals with you. ₃₃When Pharaoh calls you and asks you what kind of work you do, ₃₄you must tell him: “We have been shepherds from the time when we were children. Our grandfathers and their fathers were also shepherds.”

If you say that you are shepherds, Pharaoh will say that you may live in Goshen. The Egyptians do not like shepherds, and they do not want to live near shepherds.’