Section 97 of 10446:28–47:12Genesis

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King James VersionGenesis 46:28–47:12

And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;

And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?

That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:

The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Genesis 46:28–47:12

Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen

Reunion, honest work, and a place to live

Judah goes ahead. Joseph meets Israel, and they weep. Joseph prepares the brothers to say truthfully that they are livestock keepers so Pharaoh will grant Goshen. Pharaoh does so and even invites capable men to oversee royal cattle.

Jacob blesses Pharaoh, calls his years a hard sojourn, and is settled in the best of the land with food according to the household. Refuge is real. Egypt is not the final promised home. The exact Egyptian reason shepherds were an abomination remains unknown.

How this should shape us

Make room for honest reunion without requiring one expression of love. Seek refuge with truthful, consistent communication, and when you hold authority, use land and food to protect people without demanding that they erase their identity.

Teach it back

Explain why Genesis 46:28–47:12 follows the household register. Include Judah going ahead, Jacob and Joseph's reunion, Joseph's truthful settlement strategy, the uncertain shepherd-abomination cause, the brothers' request, Pharaoh's grant and cattle offer, Jacob's two blessings and life review, the land of Rameses question, Joseph's provision, and what the passage does not permit readers to claim about Egypt, political favor, dates, or permanent homeland.

Explain the section in your own words

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Best judgment:

How certain? uncertain

Best judgment:

How certain? probable

Best judgment:

How certain? uncertain

Best judgment:

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Displayed text, Judah and reunion context, patriarchal blessing and lifespan comparisons, settlement, famine provision, burial, multiplication, and later oppression.

Genesis 46:28–47:12 with 12:1–3; 15:13–16; 25:7; 35:28; 46:1–27; 47:13–31; 49:28–50:14; and Exodus 1:1–14 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Supports: Exact Hebrew direction, occupation, aversion, sojourning, competence, blessing, lifespan, holding, toponym, and dependent language.

WLC Genesis 46:28–47:12, especially lehorot in 46:28; shepherd and abomination wording in 46:32–34; lagur and anshei-hayil in 47:4–6; vayevarekh and megurai in 47:7–10; ahuzzah, Ra'meses, and lefi hattaf in 47:11–12

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Supports: Translation and idiom cross-checks with visible uncertainty.

NET Genesis 46:28–47:12 translator notes, especially direction to Goshen, long weeping, shepherd occupation, sojourning, capable men, blessing/greeting, few and hard years, Rameses/Goshen, and provision according to dependents

Genesis

Supports: Final-form movement from genealogy through reunion, Pharaoh audiences, settlement, and provision.

Genesis commentary, Genesis 46:28–47:12 discussion

Genesis 37–50: Joseph — Study Guide

Supports: Modern literary-critical counterpoint for family preservation, Egyptian settlement, and the transition to national history.

Genesis 37–50 Joseph study guide, especially the settlement transition and the Joseph story's bridge to Exodus

‘Abomination to Egyptians’ in Genesis 43:32, 46:34, and Exodus 8:22

Supports: Historical-explanation range and the need to keep the exact cause of Egyptian shepherd aversion uncertain.

Old Testament Essays 22.1, pages 151–174, especially the Genesis 46:34 survey and the article's explicitly speculative conclusion

Interpreting B-R-KH in Genesis 47

Supports: The greeting, farewell, and real-blessing interpretations of Jacob's repeated action toward Pharaoh.

Jewish Bible Quarterly 37.3, pages 175–180, especially the translation survey, Genesis-wide b-r-kh study, and conclusion

‘Few and Evil’: Jacob's Commentary on His Life in Genesis 47:7–10

Supports: Recent scholarly recognition of Genesis 47:7–10 as a structured life-review unit with lifespan and wisdom-language links; no unseen page-level claim is used.

The Scrolls of the Torah, chapter metadata and official abstract for pages 271–289

Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11): Historical, Archaeological, and Linguistic Issues (Part I)

Supports: One major archaeological-historical view and the disputed nature of using Rameses for dating.

Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 33, pages 1–19, especially pages 1–3 on the Rameses occurrences, historical debate, Pi-Ramesses, and the authors' Ramesside-realia argument

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Displayed text, Judah and reunion context, patriarchal blessing and lifespan comparisons, settlement, famine provision, burial, multiplication, and later oppression.

Exact location: Genesis 46:28–47:12 with 12:1–3; 15:13–16; 25:7; 35:28; 46:1–27; 47:13–31; 49:28–50:14; and Exodus 1:1–14 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV

Open source ↗

hebrew text morphology and lemma data

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project

Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026

Supports: Exact Hebrew direction, occupation, aversion, sojourning, competence, blessing, lifespan, holding, toponym, and dependent language.

Exact location: WLC Genesis 46:28–47:12, especially lehorot in 46:28; shepherd and abomination wording in 46:32–34; lagur and anshei-hayil in 47:4–6; vayevarekh and megurai in 47:7–10; ahuzzah, Ra'meses, and lefi hattaf in 47:11–12

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026

Supports: Translation and idiom cross-checks with visible uncertainty.

Exact location: NET Genesis 46:28–47:12 translator notes, especially direction to Goshen, long weeping, shepherd occupation, sojourning, capable men, blessing/greeting, few and hard years, Rameses/Goshen, and provision according to dependents

Open NET Genesis 46 ↗

modern open whole book commentary

Genesis

T. Desmond Alexander

The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023

Supports: Final-form movement from genealogy through reunion, Pharaoh audiences, settlement, and provision.

Exact location: Genesis commentary, Genesis 46:28–47:12 discussion

Open source ↗

modern critical open study guide

Genesis 37–50: Joseph — Study Guide

Joel S. Baden and Yale Bible Study

Yale Divinity School, 2021 course; page inspected 2026

Supports: Modern literary-critical counterpoint for family preservation, Egyptian settlement, and the transition to national history.

Exact location: Genesis 37–50 Joseph study guide, especially the settlement transition and the Joseph story's bridge to Exodus

Open source ↗

peer reviewed open historical and interpretive study

‘Abomination to Egyptians’ in Genesis 43:32, 46:34, and Exodus 8:22

Aron Pinker

Old Testament Essays 22.1, pages 151–174, 2009

Supports: Historical-explanation range and the need to keep the exact cause of Egyptian shepherd aversion uncertain.

Exact location: Old Testament Essays 22.1, pages 151–174, especially the Genesis 46:34 survey and the article's explicitly speculative conclusion

Open source ↗

open literary and lexical interpretive study

Interpreting B-R-KH in Genesis 47

Michael Alan Stein

Jewish Bible Quarterly 37.3, pages 175–180, 2009

Supports: The greeting, farewell, and real-blessing interpretations of Jacob's repeated action toward Pharaoh.

Exact location: Jewish Bible Quarterly 37.3, pages 175–180, especially the translation survey, Genesis-wide b-r-kh study, and conclusion

Open source ↗

peer reviewed book chapter with official preview and conference abstract

‘Few and Evil’: Jacob's Commentary on His Life in Genesis 47:7–10

Mark S. Smith

The Scrolls of the Torah: Material, Compositional and Interpretive Perspectives, Forschungen zum Alten Testament 196, Mohr Siebeck, pages 271–289, 2026

Supports: Recent scholarly recognition of Genesis 47:7–10 as a structured life-review unit with lifespan and wisdom-language links; no unseen page-level claim is used.

Exact location: The Scrolls of the Torah, chapter metadata and official abstract for pages 271–289

Open source ↗

peer reviewed open Egyptological and archaeological study

Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11): Historical, Archaeological, and Linguistic Issues (Part I)

James K. Hoffmeier and Gary A. Rendsburg

Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 33, pages 1–19, 2022

Supports: One major archaeological-historical view and the disputed nature of using Rameses for dating.

Exact location: Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 33, pages 1–19, especially pages 1–3 on the Rameses occurrences, historical debate, Pi-Ramesses, and the authors' Ramesside-realia argument

Open source ↗

Genesis 46:28–47:12, King James Version

Reunion, honest work, and a place to live

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Genesis

Genesis 37–50: Joseph — Study Guide

‘Abomination to Egyptians’ in Genesis 43:32, 46:34, and Exodus 8:22

Interpreting B-R-KH in Genesis 47

‘Few and Evil’: Jacob's Commentary on His Life in Genesis 47:7–10

Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11): Historical, Archaeological, and Linguistic Issues (Part I)