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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Genesis 46

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham.

Old Testament

Genesis 46

1Israel traveled with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.

2God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.”

3He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation.

4I will go down with you into Egypt. I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”

5Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

6They took their livestock, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt—Jacob, and all his offspring with him,

7his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and he brought all his offspring with him into Egypt.

8These are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

9The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

10The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

11The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

13The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.

14The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

15These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three.

16The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

17The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.

19The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin.

20To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.

21The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

22These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.

23The son of Dan: Hushim.

24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were seven.

26All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct offspring, in addition to Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were sixty-six.

27The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy.

28Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.

29Joseph prepared his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

30Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”

31Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father’s house, “I will go up, and speak with Pharaoh, and will tell him, ‘My brothers, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

32These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.’

33It will happen, when Pharaoh summons you, and will say, ‘What is your occupation?’

34that you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham. Read Genesis 46 within the complete Genesis overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Genesis 46

Genesis 46 contains 34 verses and about 689 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Israel traveled with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 34 closes: “that you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include sons, jacob, egypt, will, souls, joseph. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Genesis 46

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Genesis 46:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer