The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 553

Ill, THE TRUE FAITH 1B THAT WRICH GRATEFULLY ACCEPTS THE UIYITATION OJ' DIVINE GRACE, AOTINO UPON IT, DOTH BY THE DECISION OF THE WILL AND BY THE DEVO- TION ou THE LIFE. "It ia enough, I will go." IV. THE REWARD WHICH 18 PREPARED FOR THE TRUE OBEDIENCE IS MUCH GREATER THAN WE CAN ANTICIPATE. To see Joseph was the patriarch's anticipation. The pur- pose of God was much larger for him. Joseph and Jacob met in the abundance of Egypt. The earthly pilgrimage leads to the true Goshen. "It is enough." We follow the voice of our God. It hath not entered into oaf heut to conceive what is before us.-R. EXPOSITION. into Egypt. There was reason for Jacob's CHAPTER XLVI. apprehensions, since Abraham had been in Ver. 1.-And Israel (as the head of the peril in the land of the Pharaohs (eh. xii. theocratic family) took his jonmey-liter- 14-20), Isaac had been forbidden to go e.Ily, broke up, sc. his encampment (cf. eh. thither (eh. xxvi. 2), nnd Egypt had been xii. 9)-with all that he had, and came- foreshadowed as a place of sen;tude for his from Hebron (eh. xxxvii. 14)-to lleersheba, descendants (eh. xv. 13). 11J7l;;l is an irre- -where Abraham (eh. xxi. 33) and Isaac gular infinitive MjJ for n:!'J (er.' Mll"! for i1lt:! (eh. xxvL 25) had both sojourned for con- Exod. ii. 4), with 17.? rrefued after a 'l"erb of siderable periods, and erected altars to J eho- fearing (vide Ewald's • Heb. Synt. ,' § 336). vah-llnd offered sacrifices unto the God For I will there make of thee e. gree.t nation (the Elohim) of his father Isaac. Probably -literally, for to a great natio;i will I put ~iving thanks to God for the tidings concern- thee there(cf. eh. xxi. 13). Jacob had previ- ing Joseph (Ainsworth) ; consulting God ously received the injunction, nccompanicd about his joumey to Egypt (Rosenmiiller) ; by the Divine benediction, to be fmitful and it me.y be, pouring out before God his fear e.s multiply (eh. xxvili. 3). Twice over had it well as gratitude and joy, more especially if previously been predicted that he should he thought about the stem prophecy (eh. develop into e. multitudinous people (eh. xv. 13) which had been given to Abraham xxviiL 14 ; nxv. 11). The present promise (Kalisch) ; perhaps commending himself and was an indication that the fulfilment of the family to the care of his covenant God (Keil), prophecy was at hand. e.nd certainly praying that God would con- Ver. 4.-1 will go down with thee into firm to him and his the covenant which had Egypt ;-not a proof that the Hebrews be- been made with his fathers (Calvin). lieved in a local deity following them when Ver. 2.-And God (Elohim) spe.ke unto they changed their abodes, and confined to Israel in the visions of the night, e.nd so.id, the district in which they happened for the J'e.ccb, J'e.oob-the name Jacob being em-' time being to reside (Tuch, Bohlen), but ployed probably to remind Jacob of what he simJ:.>lY a metaphorical expression for the had been (Lawson, Bush, Wordsworth), and ellic1ency e.nd completeness of the Di vine repeated ut '11U1{7is attentus reddatur (Calvin). protection (Kalisch)-and I will also surely And he so.id, Here am 1-liternlly, behold bring thee up llga.in (literally, and I will me (cf, eh. xxii. 1). bring thee up also, bringing thee ~tp; o. Ver. 3.-And he said, I am God, the God double emphasis lying in the use of the in· of thy fe.ther-literally, I am the El (the finitive absolute, with CJ preceding, as in Mighty One), the Elohim of thy father. eh. xxxi. 15, meaning thu.t Goel would Though in consequence of this phrase the assuredly recover his body for interment in section (vers. 1-7), indeed the entire chap- Co.no.an should he die in Egypt, and his ter, is usually assigned to the Elohist (Tuch, descendants for settlement in the lnnd of Bleek, Vaihinger), yet tho contents of this their inheritance) : and Joseph shall put his theophe.ny e.re felt to be so substnntially hand upon thine eyes-i. e. will perform Jehovistic in their import (Hengstenberg), for thee the last offices of affection by closing that certain critics have been constrained to thine eyes in dee.th, a service upon which tho give verses 1-6 to the Jehovist (Colenso), human bee.rt in e.11 ages and countries bas or, omitting the lnst clause of ver. 5, to th0 set the highest value (vide Homer, • 11.,' xi. redactor (Davidson). In eh. xxviii. 13 the 453; • Odys.,' xxiv. 294 ; Virg., 'JEn. ,• ix. designation used is " I am Jehovah, tho God 487; Ovid, 'Epist. ,' i. 162). "A father nt the of A bro.ham thy father." As on that former point of death is always very desirous that o~casion when setting out for Pe.dan-aram, his wife, chiklren, nn<l grnn<lchilJren should EO now, when departing for Egypt, he receives be with him. Should there be one at 11. dL,- " comforting e.ssurnnce. Fear not to go down tance, ho will bo immediatl'ly sout for, and  502 THE BOOK OF GENESIS. [en. XLVI. 1--34. until ha nnil-e the father will mourn and Benjamin, who probably, and Ephraim mul complain, ' My son, will you not come 1 I l\fanasseh, the children of Joseph, who cer- cannot <lie wit.hont yon.' "Then he arrives tainly, were born in Egypt. Ja.cob and hie he will take the hands of his son, and kis; sons: Reuben, Jacob's ftrstborn. ' them, nnd pin.cc them on his eyes, his face, Ver. 9.-And the sons of Reuben i. Ha.- and month, and say, 'Now I die."' (Ro- noch,-" Initiated or Dedicated;" the name berts' 'Oriental Illustrations,' p. 52). also of Cain's firstborn (eh. iv. 17), and of Y~rs. 5-7.-:-And Jacob rose up-having th~, so_u _of J~red f,ch. v. _19)-and Phalln, rece1nd new v1gom- from the vision (Calvin) - D1stmgmshed (Geseums)-and Hezron, -from :Beersheba (it is not probable that his -"Enclosed" (Geseuius), "Of the Court sbty there ,ms of more than n day or two's, or Village" (lllurphy), "Blooming One" perhaps only a night's, duration): and the (Fiirst)-and Carmi, - "Vine-dresser" (Ge- sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, senius, Murphy), "Noble One" (Fiirst). and their little ones, and their wives,- Ver. 10.-And the sons of Simeon; Je- " Unlike the heathen tribes around them, and muel,-" Day of El" (Gesenius, Murphy) ; Orient.al nations genernlly, the family of in 1 Citron. iv. 24, Nemuel-and Jamin,- Jacob gave honour to the wife as to the " Right Hand" (Gesenius, Murphy)-and weaker vessel" (Lawson)-in the wagons Ohad,-"Joined together" (Gesenius, Mur- which Pharaoh had sent to carry him (vide phy)-and Jachin,-" Whom God strength- eh. xlv. 19, 21). And they took their cattle, ens" (Gesenius), " He shall establish" and their goods (including probably their (Murphy), or Jarib (1 Chron. iv. 2,1)-and servants), which they had gotten in the land Zoha.r,-" Whitenes&" '.Gesenius, Murphy); of Canaan,-" Pharaoh had desired Jacob named Zerah (I Chron. iv. 24)-a.nd Shaul,- not to regard his stuff, because the good of " Asked for" (Gesenius)-the son of a Ca- all the land of Egypt was before him ; but naanitish woman. The wives of the other he wished not to take advantage of Pharaoh's sons, except Judah, were probably from goodness, or to owe greater obligations to Mesopotamia. . him than he found necessary" (Lawson)- Ver. 11.-And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Blld came into Egypt,-a scene depicted on -or Gershom,-" Expulsion" (Gesenius),- the tomb of Chnumhotep, the near relative Koha.th, or Kehath,-" Assembly" (Gese- and successor of Osirtasen I., at Beni-hassan, nius)-and l'rlera.ri,-" Bitter,'' "Unhappy" represents a company of immigrants, appar- (Gesenius), "Flowing" (Murphy), "Harsh ently Shemitic in their origin, entering One" (Lange). Egypt with their goods, as well as women Ver. 12.-And the sons of Judah; Er, and •md children, borne upon asses. Without Onan, and Shelah (vide eh. xxxviii. 3), and affirming that this was the Egyptian ver- Pharez, and Zarah (eh. xxxviii. 29; l sion of the descent of Israel into Egypt, it Chron. ii. 4): but Er and Onan died in the may serve as a striking illustration of that land of Canaan (eh. xxxviii. 7, 10). And event (vide Wilkinson, • Ancient Egyptians,' the sons of Pharez were Hezron (vide on vol. i p. 480, ed. 1878 ; Brugsch, 'Histoire ver. 9) and Hamul, - " One who has ex- d'Egypte,' p. 63; Hengstenberg's 'Egypt and pe1ienced mercy" (Gesenius). the Books of l\loses,' p. 37)-Jacob, and all Ver. 13.-And the sons of Issachar; Tola, his seed (i. e. his descendants) with him: - "Worm," "Scarlet" (G~senius) -and his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his Phuvah,-" Mouth" 1 (Gesenrns)-end Job, danghters (this need not imply that Jacob -perhaps an incon-ect reading for Jashub had more daughters than Drnah, but may ("Turning Oneself"), as in Numb. xxvi. 24; include his sons' wives, who are not other- l Chron. vii. 1 (Geseuius), which the LXX. wise mentioned in this enumeration), and his adopts-andShi.mron,-'' Watch'' (Gesenius). sons' danghters, and all his seed brought he Ver. 14. - And the sons of Zebnlun; with him into Egypt. The date of this event Bared, - "Fear" (Gesenius)-and Elon, - was in the 130thyearof Jacob'slife (eh. xlvii. "Oak" - and J'ahleel,-'' Whom God has 9), and 215 years after the call of Abraham made sick" (Gesenius). (eh. xii. 4), i. e. B. c. 1728 (Usher), 1885 Ver. 15.-These be tha sons of Leah, (Hales); or A. M. 2276 (Usher), 3526 (Hales). which she bare unto Jacob in Pa.dan-ara.m Ver. 8.-And these are the names of the (i. e. the clesccndants of Lcah's sons which children of Israel, which ea.me into Egypt. were born in Padan-aram), with his da.ugh- The phrase "which came into Egypt" must ter Dina.h (who probably had continuetl obviously be construed with some consider- unmarried after her misfortune in Shechem, able latitude, since in the appended list of and is here mentioned as an indepenclent seventy persons, "souls of the house of member of Jacob's family): all the souls of Jacob which came into Egypt," are reckoned his sons and his daughters (reckoning him- Jo~eph, who undoubtedly came into Egypt, self, and excluding Er and Onan) woro thirty but not with Jacob, Hezron and Jfamul, the and three. aons of Ph..1.rcz, as well as the desccn,l:mts of Ver. 16.--AndthesonsofGad; Ziphion,- OB, XLVI. 1-34.) THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 508