Genesis 46
23 Feb 2026 - Theology
Jacob Comes to Egypt
Genesis 46:2-4 - “And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.”
Why does God still refer to Israel by the name Jacob?
Genesis 32:28 (wrestling with the Lord) - “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Rabbi Nachmanides (1194-1270) says that God called him Jacob (not Israel), because the children of Israel would suffere as slaves until they finally became a nation. While struggling like a wrestler, Jacob was called by his old name, but later the freed nation would surely be Israel (see the Book of Exodus).
This dream of Jacob’s reminds us of the stairway dream, when the Lord God promised to go with Jacob to Haran.
Genesis 28:15 (stairway dream) - “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”
In this stairway dream was a reiteration of the promise made to Abaraham and Isaac, “that all nations will be blessed because of your seed” (28:14). We can see the continuation of this promise in the life of Jacob through Joseph his son.
All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt - his children and grandchildren, not counting his daughters-in-law - number 66 persons. And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt were two in number. Thus, the total of Jacob’s household (counting Jacob and Joseph) who came to Egypt was 70 persons.
Genesis 46:28 - “And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.”
It is interesting to note that Jacob sent his son Judah ahead to guide him. Perhaps he recognizes that his son is the one mainly responsible for the reconciliation of his family.
Genesis 46:29 - “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.”
This is the fifth time we see Joseph weep in this story. In this case, he weeps for “a good while” when he finally reunites with his father Jacob.
Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28
The Rabbis connect the story of Joseph being reunited with his brothers with a passage in Ezekiel 37, a prophecy mentioning Joseph. The Lord told Ezekiel to take two sticks. On one stick he was to write, “For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions,” and on the other he was to write, “For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions.”
The Lord told Ezekiel to bring the two sticks together - the one for the southern kingdom of Israel (Judah), and the one for the northern kingdom (Ephraim). When people ask, “What does this mean?” Ezekiel should say, “The Lord God is making two sticks into one.”
Ezekiel 37:21-22 - “And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.”
God will grant the nation of Israel an everlasting covenant of peace. He will be their God, and they shall be His people.
Ezekiel 37:26-28 - “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”
Thus Ezekiel used the sticks to act out the hopes of the people that a time would come when the twelve tribes would be reunited again.
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)
- Genesis 46 - Chabad.org