Genesis 46 begins by talking about Jacob (Israel) going to Egypt. But the first stop he makes is in Beersheba. This is not the first time Beersheba is mentioned. Suppose you have been with me since we started studying Genesis last year. In that case, the name should be familiar to you, for it is found 11 times in the book of Genesis alone (Genesis 21:14, 22, 31-33; 22:19; 26:23, 33; 28:10; 46:1, 5). Beersheba is found 33 times in the Old Testament (but I will not list all 33 of those). Beersheba means "Well of the Oath" because that is where Abraham made a covenant with Abimelek and Phicol (Genesis 21:22-34). But this is also where God spoke to Isaac and reconfirmed the covenant he had made to Isaac's father Abraham (Genesis 26:23-24). Now God is reiterating that same covenant with Jacob (Israel) at Beersheba.
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| Beersheba excavations (Wikipedia) |
Something is interesting to note here that Bible skeptics sometimes use to get people to doubt the Bible's inerrancy. Genesis 46:26-27 NIV says all those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons' wives—numbered 66 persons. With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob's family, which went to Egypt, were 70 in all. So which is it? 66, 70, or another number? The answer is: It depends on how one counts the number. The 70 number is repeated in Exodus 1:5 and Deuteronomy 10:22. But then, in Acts 7:14, Stephen says Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, 75 in all. All of this may be enough to make the average reader go, "Huh?" The 70 didn't include Rachel because she had already died (Genesis 35:19). Only one of Jacob's daughters, Dinah (Genesis 46:15), and only one of his granddaughters, Serah (Genesis 46:17), were counted in the 70. Jacob's daughters-in-law were also not included in the count (Genesis 46:26). Remember that the original 66 number had only his direct descendants. So, where does Stephen get his extra nine? One possibility is my counting the living daughters-in-law of Jacob. The other option is through counting Joseph's grandchildren (1 Chronicles 7:14-21) as the Septuagint does, the Greek translation of the Old Testament from which Stephen was likely quoting. Regardless, there is no contradiction, just a different method of counting. It's kind of like how God called Isaac Jacob's only son (Genesis 22:2) even though Abraham had previously fathered Ishmael with Hagar (Genesis 16:1-16). Because Ishmael was not the son of God's promise but a product of Sarah's scheme that Abraham went along with, God refers to Isaac as Abraham's only son. But elsewhere, Ishmael is considered a son of Abraham (Genesis 17:18-26).
How emotional the meeting must have been between Jacob and Joseph (Genesis 46:28-30). Joseph begins weeping on Jacob's neck, and Jacob proclaims he is ready to die now that he has seen Joseph again. Typed words (or even verbalized words if my podcast would have worked) couldn't do this encounter justice that this father and son had waited about 22 years for.
The Israelites are given the best in the land of Egypt, as Goshen was suitable for both crops and livestock, and Jacob's family were shepherds (Genesis 46:31-47:6). It's also not lost on me that Jacob blesses Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7), who was probably the most powerful person in the world at that time. Yet here is this immigrant shepherd blessing Pharaoh. At this point in history, relations could not be better between Egypt's government and Jacob's family. Unfortunately, that would not last since the Egyptians eventually ended up enslaving the Egyptians.
This brings us to another surface-level counting discrepancy that some Bible skeptics claim to be a contradiction. Some passages give a 400-year timeline for the Exodus (e.g., Genesis 15:13; Acts 7:6), while others say 430 (e.g., Exodus 12:40-41; Galatians 3:16-17). God made the original covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-9. That was 430 years before the Israelite Exodus from Egypt and where the counting for 430 years begins. 10 years later, God told Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a land that is not theirs and would serve them. As a result, the Israelites would be afflicted for 400 years (Genesis 15:13; Acts 7:6). Isaac, God's promised son to Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 22:2), would not be born to them until Abraham was 100, Sarah was 90, and Isaac's half-brother Ishmael was 14 (Genesis 21:5). Isaac was 5 when he was weaned, and a great feast was held. But his half-brother Ishmael, who was 19, mocked and persecuted him (Genesis 21:8-10; Galatians 4:29). So the persecution of the Israelites began precisely 30 years after the promise and 400 years before the Exodus. That's where the 430 years come from. Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and Jacob met Pharaoh the same year when Joseph was 39 and Jacob was 130. This was 215 years after God's promise to Abraham and 215 years before the Israelite Exodus from Egypt (Genesis 45:4-6; 47:9). 215+215=430.
Meanwhile, amid all this fun math, the severe famine continues in Egypt and the surrounding nations. So Joseph collected all the money and brought it into Pharaoh's palace. After the money was gone and they ran out of food again, Joseph traded the Egyptians food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. After that year, when they had nothing else to give, they gave themselves and their land to Pharaoh for food. Thus, all the land and people belonged to the Egyptian government. So Joseph reduced all the Egyptians from one side of the country to the other to servitude. On top of everything the Egyptians had already given, including themselves, Joseph gave them seeds to plant because the famine was soon coming to an end. But he still required a 20% flat tax on all the new crops so that 1/5 would be given to Pharaoh. Despite all the Egyptians gave up, they were grateful. It was the dream interpretation God revealed to Joseph plus Joseph's plan to manage the crisis that saved all of their lives. So, they expressed their willingness to be Pharaoh's servants across the country (Genesis 47:13-26).
430 years from God's promise to Abraham to the Exodus (Answers in Genesis)
Meanwhile, the Israelites prospered and grew in number just as God promised. Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years before dying at age 147. Joseph was 56 at the time of his father's death. Jacob asked Joseph not to bury him in Egypt but to return him to the Promised Land, to which Joseph agreed (Genesis 47:28-31). Joseph would die 54 years after his father at age 110, 64 years before the birth of Moses.
God called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food. He sent a man before them—Joseph sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was put in irons till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom. Then Israel entered Egypt. Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful. He made them too numerous for their foes (Psalm 105:16-24).
Genesis 48-49 describes the rest of the significant events of Jacob's life. I won't get into those in this post, but for now, I want to go back to how Joseph treated the Egyptians. Do you think Joseph dealt fairly with the Egyptians? The Egyptians sold all their property, land, and themselves into servitude in exchange for the food stored during the seven abundant years that preceded the famine. Then they were taxed 20% of their new crops as the famine was ending. I think he was fair. They were asking a lot, and it came at a high cost. The philosophy was that there is no such thing as a free lunch even during the mother of all recessions. But I could see where some would see Joseph as being too harsh or expecting too much. God never chastises Joseph for this either directly or anywhere else in the Bible. What do you think?
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