NOTES for Gen 46:1-34
Today's passage tells of the migration of Jacob and all his kinsmen to Egypt. Of course, such a migration became possible above all because of Joseph, but it should be kept in mind that in those days Egypt was flooded by Semitic tribes who had come partly from the deserts of Sinai and partly from the Syrian steppes. Historians call these Semitic tribes the Hyksos; their invasion of Egypt began at the turn of the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries B.C., and Jacob's migration with his kinsmen to Egypt was part of this process. In addition, Egypt at that time was ruled by a dynasty of Semitic origin, which made possible both Joseph's rapid career and the settlement of his relatives in the country. The Semitic tribes settled mainly in the Nile Delta, where conditions were almost ideal for the cattle raising that they traditionally practiced ("the land of Goshen," v. 34). It should be noted that the Egyptians always looked on cattle herders as people of a lower sort, especially Semites, whom they, like all nomads in general, considered barbarians unworthy of attention. It is no surprise that the pharaohs of the Semitic dynasty were not at all popular in Egyptian society; they were tolerated as a necessary evil, but no more than that. They could rely neither on the old Egyptian aristocracy, nor on the local bureaucracy, nor on the priesthood. Their only reliable support was the Semitic tribes living in the country, and therefore people from a Semitic background enjoyed special success at court at that time. It is no surprise that Joseph's request to resettle his kinsmen in the country met with a sympathetic response from Pharaoh (v. 31; Gen. 47:5-6). And God uses this opportunity to preserve the life of His people and keep them from dying of hunger. He tells Jacob directly that the move to Egypt is part of His plan (vv. 1-4). Of course, this does not mean that Jacob's descendants will remain there forever. The day will come when Egypt will have to be left behind, but at that moment there was no better place for the people of God. This is how God acts in history, using historical processes to carry out His plans for His people.