NOTES for Gen 46:1-34

Today's passage tells of the migration of Jacob and all his fellow tribesmen to Egypt. Of course, such a migration became possible above all thanks to Joseph, but it should be kept in mind that in those days Egypt was flooded with Semitic tribes that came 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 BC, and Jacob's migration with his fellow tribesmen to Egypt was part of this process. In addition, at this time Egypt was ruled by a dynasty Semitic in origin, which made possible both Joseph's rapid career and the migration of his relatives into the country. The Semitic tribes settled mainly in the Nile Delta, where conditions were almost ideal for the cattle breeding in which they traditionally engaged ("the land of Goshen," v. 34).

It should be noted that the Egyptians always looked on cattle breeders 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 by no means popular in Egyptian society: they were tolerated as an unavoidable evil, but nothing more; 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 the Semitic environment enjoyed special success at court during this time. It is no surprise that Joseph's request to settle his fellow tribesmen 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 not let them die of hunger; He says directly to Jacob that the migration to Egypt is part of His plan (vv. 1-4). Of course, this by no means means that Jacob's descendants will remain there forever: the day will come when Egypt will have to be left. But at that moment there was no better place for God's people. This is how God acts in history, using historical processes to carry out His plans for His people.

The Joseph story has essentially ended: the brothers are together again. Only the concluding chapters remain, revealing a few additional meanings. Today, then, the focus of our attention is again the story of the father of the twelve brothers, Jacob. Joseph has already revealed to his brothers that their adventures were only the fulfillment of God's plan to preserve them during the famine, but now this plan is being woven into Jacob's life, turning from the "private" Sacred History of his family into a link in the events that serve to fulfill the promise given to his ancestor Abraham. The most important thing in Jacob's life, his God, will be with him in a foreign land. His children will be with him too, the thread of hope connecting the present with the future Promise. If at the beginning of Joseph's story we saw how his relationship with God grows against the background of the "great" History of Israel, now another mystery stands before us: "great" history is made up of the small lives of people, even people as legendary as Jacob, with their own longings and hope.

Why did Jacob go to Egypt? One answer would be: hunger drove him there. Another would be: his son invited him, and given the position he held in Egypt, it would have been foolish not to use the opportunities opening before him. In those days many people were drawn to Egypt with its standard of living, and here, one might say, good fortune was coming right into his hands. Many of us, in a similar situation, would not have doubted for a second that this was the will of God: we are inclined to see God's hand in every success and the devil's intrigues in every failure; such are the peculiarities of a religious perception of the world.

But Jacob, with a long spiritual path and rich experience, both spiritual and practical, behind him, does not rush to conclusions. He goes to Beersheba, to one of the altars that had appeared back in Abraham's time, in order to ask God there what he should do next. In the possibility of resettlement he sees not only rescue from famine or the chance to settle in a rich and prosperous country, but also, and perhaps first of all, the need to leave the land that God had promised to his fathers. And Jacob, it seemed, had come close to becoming master of this land promised by God: he had returned to Samaria, from which Abraham had been forced to leave under pressure from his neighbors, and he had restored there the altars of his ancestors. So had it all been in vain? Jacob could not fail to understand that if he left those places now, returning would be far from easy: vacated lands in those regions never stayed empty for long.

But God says to him, "Go." This appears to be the last serious spiritual lesson in Jacob's life: leave everything that has been conquered and acquired. For it was not you who conquered it, but God; and you are leaving what was conquered and acquired not to the neighbors, but to God. He will handle the task. And in His own time He will return His people to the land He promised Abraham.