As the family of Israel prepares to leave for Egypt, there is an intentional stop in Beersheba where sacrifices are made to God. This is no particular surprise, Beersheba has been a place of covenants, confirmations that God is with Abraham and sons and their sons. What follows is a two-way conversation between Jacob and God where God assures Jacob that he should not fear going to Egypt. Not only does God promise to be with as he goes, but also that he will return from Egypt to Canaan a great nation. (A promise partially fulfilled in his body making its way back to Canaan but ultimately fulfilled through the return of the Israelites as a group into Canaan after the years of bondage in Egypt that are to come. The promise that Joseph will be with him when he dies is a touching and personal one, and obviously follows closely next to Jacob’s expressed desire to see Joseph again above anything else.
The description of Jacob’s family and the list of sons and their offspring that follows is interesting in a number of ways. First, it’s not exclusive to the folks that are going to Goshen, as Judah’s sons Er and Onan are already dead and Joseph is in the list (as are his sons) and they never lived in Canaan. The counts are also iffy (note especially the count of 33 in v.15 attached to Leah, which has to deal with a daughter, Judah’s dead sons, and an Ohad in v.10 that doesn’t show up in other similar lists). Generally, the 33 shouldn’t be considered a complete list.
The problem is compounded with the resulting sum in v.26. The total persons listed under each wife of Jacob comes to 70. The count in v.26 of everyone, minus the wives of the sons of Jacob, is given as 66. Combined, these difficulties are not easily resolved. My best guess is that 70, the total of the numbers given for each wife of Jacob, is likely symbolic, indicating a “complete” move from Canaan to Egypt (meaning they all went). As for the 66, even that varies among various manuscript evidence. It has no impact on the story, really, so I’m keen to just let it lie. One of the points of these numbers, at all, will be the relatively small group that enters Goshen compared to the size of the group upon their release from Egyptian bondage. The Lord will keep the promise he makes to Jacob at Beersheba to make this travelling caravan a great nation indeed.
Judah is sent ahead to figure out from Joseph how to get to Goshen. This is intentional, Judah continues to take the role as the lead man in charge. The meeting between Joseph and his father is emotional, as expected. The same description of “…fell on his neck and wept…” was used to describe Joseph’s embrace of his brother Benjamin when all identities were revealed. Jacob is content to die at this point, although he holds on for another 17 years (likely from a rigorous exercise routine and a glass of lemon water each morning. For lack of both, I’m hesitant our collective Bible study group members will make it another 17 years.)
Joseph gets them all set up and dispenses no particular instructions on how to get settled in the land, just to make sure that, if Pharaoh asks, to tell him that they are shepherds. Obviously, there’s something with Egyptians and shepherds, they don’t dig on them. I tend to read it as an intentional move to ensure separation between the Israelites and the Egyptian culture (it’s also true, of course), but it could be their bigoted anti-shepherd ways that Joseph’s protecting them from. Either way, they better get it right, because shepherds are an abomination.