Lesson 19
Jacob Moves to Egypt
Genesis 45–46
Introduction
In the next two chapters the narrative comes to a crescendo. Joseph reveals his true identity to
his brothers, Jacob regains a beloved son, and Jacob’s family moves to Egypt where they find
preservation and protection. Although the Joseph narrative is not complete, its ultimate purpose is. As
Joseph will later articulate (Genesis 50:20), God orchestrated events in such a way as to take Joseph to
Egypt where he would be a savior for his family. Despite the evil intended by the brothers, God’s
ultimate plan was their good. Joseph explains that he accepted the plan and will of God, and that he
would rejoice in it. Such faith is exemplary.
Day 1
Begin with prayer and then read Genesis 45:1–8.
1. What did Joseph do in verse 1?
2. Why do you think the brothers were “dismayed” after Joseph’s revelation?
3. Who does Joseph give credit (or blame) for sending him to Egypt?
4. Why does he believe God sent him to Egypt?
5. What does this teach you about God’s sovereignty?
6. How should we then respond to the difficult circumstances of our lives?
7. Is there something bad that has happened to you that you still wrestle with?
Commentary
Joseph Reveals Himself
Genesis 44 ends with Judah’s offer to exchange his freedom for that of Benjamin. Joseph did not
delight in the fear and suffering of his brothers, and this offer was just too much for him to take. He
broke down emotionally, and he sent everyone out of the room except his brothers. He was weeping
uncontrollably at the pain of his brothers. He was so loud in his wailing that people outside of his home
heard him!
But the important part of the passage was not his weeping, but his revelation to his brothers of
his true identity. “I am Joseph!” he cried out to them (v. 3). His first inquiry after this announcement was
concerning his father: “Is my father still alive?” In these words we see Joseph’s great love for Jacob. But
even more, in relation to the overall narrative, the writer is pointing attention back on Jacob. After all, it
is Jacob who is the favored son of Isaac, the “firstborn.” It is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that is
orchestrating events to fulfill His plan. We are now reminded that Jacob is the patriarch of note, not
Joseph, even though he is important to the story.
The text tells us that the brothers were “dismayed at his presence” (v. 3). The sense is that the
brothers were frightened. Who would not be? Here was the brother they had thrown into a pit and then
sold into slavery. Their earlier fears that the governor of Egypt might punish them for taking a silver cup
must have faded into the backdrop as they considered what a bitter brother, who was now the governor
of Egypt, might do to punish them for that crime. The brothers were speechless, frozen by fear.
God’s Plan Fulfilled
Despite the brothers’ fear, Joseph called them to himself and reassured them. He told them, “I
am your brother” (v. 4). Joseph did not lord his position over them; he was to them a brother, not a
master. Although they had sold him into slavery in Egypt, there was more to the story than their sin.
Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before
you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five
years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve
for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it
was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all
his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:5–8)
Joseph had a divine perspective on the events that had transpired. His trust in God allowed him
to see God’s plan and to accept the will of God as good and perfect. Yes, the brothers had sold Joseph
into slavery. But for Joseph the architect of his transfer to Egypt was God, not his brothers. From the
human perspective the story is a great tragedy of one brother who is sold by his other brothers because
of their jealousy and anger. But from the divine perspective the story is one of great triumph as God
used the evil of the brothers to bring about their “great deliverance.” The writer now explicitly states
what he has alluded to throughout the Joseph story: “It was not you who sent me here, but God.” God’s
plan is in full view for the brothers and for the reader to see.
Day 2
Begin with prayer and then read Genesis 45:9–24.
8. What does Joseph tell his brothers to do?
9. What does Joseph say that Jacob should do?
10. How does Joseph show his love for his brothers?
11. What do you think Joseph meant when he told his brothers, “See that you do not become troubled
along the way”? – v. 24
Commentary
A Plan to Preserve Israel
Joseph immediately set out to bring his father and the rest of his family to Egypt where they can
be saved from the famine that persists, and will persist for another five years. The plan is that Jacob’s
entire family would move to the land of Goshen where they can live in peace and sustenance. Joseph
understands this would not be a temporary move, as he says that Goshen will be home to “you and your
children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have” (v. 10).
Joseph intends to save the people of Israel by giving them a refuge in Egypt. God is continuing to
sovereignly orchestrate events to achieve His will of blessing for the children of Abraham.
Pharaoh’s Invitation
When the king of Egypt hears about Joseph’s brothers and father, and of Joseph’s plan for them
to all move to Goshen, the king was excited. We are not told why this is the case, we are simply told that
“it pleased Pharaoh and his servants” (v. 15). Pharaoh then devises an elaborate plan to welcome the
move and to facilitate it:
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go to the land
of Canaan, and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the
best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land. Now you are ordered, Do this: take
wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and
come. Do not concern yourselves with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
(Genesis 45:17–20)
Pharaoh not only welcomes Jacob and his family to Egypt, he also makes provision for them. He sends
supplies for the travel and even tells them there is no need to bring their material possessions because
all they could want or need is in Egypt already.
This is a remarkable turn of events. Jacob had sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain to help sustain
them during famine. Now, the king of Egypt is offering refuge, provision, and more blessing than they
could ever imagine. And in all of this, God is the author, not Joseph and not Pharaoh. Indeed, God is
good to His people.
The brothers went off to return to Canaan with this great news for Jacob. Jacob’s son Joseph,
whom he long believed to be dead, was in fact alive. And he was not only alive, he was ruler of Egypt.
And even more, he was providing for their preservation. What great news the brothers had to deliver!
But there was danger along the way. Not danger from thieves or wild animals, but danger from
each other. Knowing that the events might provide the occasion for fighting, Joseph reminds his
brothers, “Do not quarrel on the journey” (v. 24). Even in the midst of the unfolding of God’s plan, men
and women can, in their selfishness, look beyond God’s will to their own. The brothers could have
fought over who was to blame for their sins, or who would get to tell their father the good news, or who
would have the nicest place in Goshen. Or, more likely, they could have been tempted to fight over the
provisions Joseph has given to them. Benjamin was given more than the others. His father was given
great provisions for the journey. The brothers had already shown their predilection for jealousy (see
chapter 37), so Joseph wanted to remind them of the destruction a jealous heart can produce. His
warning was apparently heeded by the brothers.
Day 3 – Jacob Rejoices
Begin with prayer and then read Genesis 45:25–28.
12. What meaning might there be in the writer’s statement that the brothers “went up” out of Egypt?
13. What statement is made in verse 26 about Jacob’s response to the news that Joseph was alive?
14. What happened to Jacob in verse 27?
15. Can you think of news you heard when you were despondent that caused your spirit to be revived?
Commentary
When the brothers got back to Canaan they told Jacob the good news, but he did not believe
them. For all these years he had believed that Joseph was dead. That he was not only alive but also the
ruler of Egypt was just more than he could conceive. In an ironic twist of fate, the brothers returned to
tell Jacob that his son was gone in chapter thirty-seven, and here they return to tell Jacob that his son is
alive.
Once Jacob sees what the brothers have brought with them from Egypt, Jacob believes their
story. We are told that “the spirit of their father Jacob revived” (v. 27). Whatever anger, hurt, or
resentment there had been was removed. Jacob’s faith is renewed. But Jacob’s response to this reality is
of value. He says,
It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die. (Genesis 45:28)
Jacob is unconcerned with the provisions or even the invitation to dwell in Egypt. He is only concerned
with seeing his son again. This is a beautiful picture of a father’s love for his son. But just as Joseph’s
question about the well-being of his father shifted the reader’s focus to Jacob, here Jacob’s statement
about his son shifts the reader’s attention back to Joseph. The reason is quite simple: Joseph is the
means to God’s preservation of His people. If Jacob is the man of great faith, Joseph is the man of God’s
choosing. Joseph prefigures the seed of Abraham who will be a blessing not just to his own people but
to all peoples. Joseph is not that One, but he is a picture of what He will be like.
Day 4 – Israel Moves to Goshen
Begin with prayer and then read Genesis 46:1–34.
16. What did Jacob do in verse 1?
17. God gave a promise to Jacob in a vision; what was it?
18. Where can we find the promises of God to us?
19. Do you find it hard to believe God’s promises?
20. Whom does Jacob send to “point the way” to Goshen?
21. Why do you think Judah was chosen over the others?
22. What occupation did Joseph say his family had, and why?
23. God gave the children of Israel Goshen as a place of rest. Read Hebrews 4. What does it tell us about
the “rest” of God?
Commentary
Genesis 46 records the travels to Jacob and his family from Canaan to Egypt. The entire event is
cast in the shadow of the story of God’s encounters with the patriarchs. At several points the stories run
parallel. In the first place, God speaks to Jacob in a dream. This parallels the several occasions when God
spoke to Abraham in the same way. Even Jacob’s response to God—“Here I am”—is identical with
Abraham’s response to God (Genesis 22:1, 11. Also, see Jacob’s earlier encounter with the Lord in
31:11). Additionally, God tells Jacob in this vision to “go down to Egypt” (v. 3). Before, God had told Isaac
to not go to Egypt (Genesis 26:2). God says to Jacob that while in Egypt, “I will make you a great nation”
(v. 3). These are the same words spoken by God to Abraham (Genesis 12:2). At every stage in these
verses the author is reiterating the point that God has a plan for His people that He is bringing to fruition
in His own way and His own time. Just as Abraham before had obeyed God in leaving his homeland for
Canaan, so too does Jacob obey God in leaving his homeland for Egypt. But verse four contains the
central message of this passage:
I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again. (Genesis 46:4)
God’s plan does not include abandoning the promise to Abraham of the land of Canaan for his
descendants. Instead, God will take Israel to Egypt for a time, after which He will restore them to the
Promised Land. God does not forget His promises nor does He forget His people.
The author then enumerates for us the family members who came to Egypt from Canaan. He
tells us that there was a total of seventy members of Jacob’s family, including Joseph’s sons born in
Egypt. This listing of the people is an important part of the author’s effort to tie together this “people”
with humanity in general. Just as in Genesis 10 the writer had given an enumeration of the generations
of humanity, so too does he here. The author is striving to show that through Jacob’s “seed” a new
humanity will arise. From every tribe and nation a new humanity, in the second Adam, will emerge (see
1 Corinthians 15:20-58).
The children of Israel were able to live unmolested in the land of Goshen primarily because they
were shepherds. The Egyptians hated shepherds and therefore left Jacob’s family alone. This fact not
only allowed the Israelites to maintain their purity but also allowed them to freely worship God.
Pharaoh’s giving charge of his own livestock over to Jacob’s family is a sign of God’s good favor on them,
just as we saw previously with Joseph (see chapters 39-40).