Design By Humans

Genesis 46. Jisrael, You'll all be saying it.

Genesis 46.

1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

 Israel again? I thought we'd reverted to Jacob. Either way, he's journeyed to Beersheba, where Abraham discarded a son and Isaac spoke to God. Is Israel expecting an audience with God?

2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

 Well if he was he was right, or sort of, is "visions of the night" just a euphemism for "dreams". Did Israel walk all the way to Beersheba, expecting to speak with God because he heard stories from Isaac that he had done the same only to have his expectation met in a dream? If you've been thinking about something all day, you're pretty much guaranteed to dream about it. Ah well, let's see what God has to say for himself.

3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

 First God has to clarify which God he is. Wait a minute! With the addition of the Egypt bit, this is exactly the same message he gave to Isaac while he was at Beersheba, again finding the need to explain that he is the 'God of his father', specifically identifying himself as one of many potential gods that could be speaking.

4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

 Israel is going to have a travelling companion. I'm guessing that God isn't omnipresent yet then? Israel and Isaac before him had to go specifically to Beersheba to talk to him and apparently in order to have a presence in Egypt, God is going to have to go with Israel. Will he no longer be present at Beersheba? And what's with the eye thing?

5 And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

 ...

6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:

 ...

7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

 Right, so a whole lot of people then. By my calculations the journey will have been almost a month.

8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.

 Great, more generations. Will we have ages that we can extrapolate dates from?

9 And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.

 No! No ages, oh well. Perhaps we should count how many people embark upon this epic journey.

 Reuben plus children equals five. Note this is five males, it specifically said above that wives and daughters were on this jaunt but none are named

10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.

 Adding Simeon plus his children equals twelve. It does mention a Canaanitish woman here but I think I have to resign myself to counting only males. Counting women and girls would be pure conjecture at this point and it has become pretty clear that this book doesn't place any value on either.

11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

 The comparatively unproductive Levi adds three sons and himself bringing us to sixteen.

12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

 Judah and his offspring then. Well, Er and Onan died back in Genesis 38 so they're not coming. There's Shelah, Pharez and Zerar and Pharez's boys which brings us to twenty-two.

13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.

 twenty-seven.

14 And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.

 thirty-one.

15 These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.

 Oh, so the author has counted them for me. OK, So with Dinah that's thirty-two which leaves us one short and I've counted them over and over. Who are we missing?

 OK let's sort this out.

 Reuben 1
   Hanoch 2
   Phallu 3
   Hezron 4
   Carmi 5

 Simeon 6
   Jemuel 7
   Jamin 8
   Ohad 9
   Jachin 10
   Zohar 11
   Shaul 12

 Levi 13
   Gershon 14
   Kohath 15
   Merari 16

 Judah 17
   Shelah 18
   Pharez 19
     Hezron 20
Hamul 21
   Zerah 22

 Issachar 23
   Tola 24
   Phuvah 25
   Job 26
   Shimron 27

 Zebulun 28
   Sered 29
   Elon 30
   Jahleel 31

 Dinah 32

 No. Definitely one missing. Oh well, let's move on and I'll stick with my count rather than rely on the author.


16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.

 Forty.

17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.

 Forty-eight.

18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

 I concur. That is sixteen more people.

19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.

 OK, so Joseph is already there so we can't count him. Benjamin makes forty-nine and Jacob/Israel makes fifty people that the author thought worth a mention.

20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.

 We're going a bit off-narrative now, this started as list of people who Israel brought with him but I think we're just counting up his descendants now. 

21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.

 Wait! Benjamin has sons!? this is very clumsily put together but no one can deny that Benjamin's sons get to come on the trip so let's keep counting.

 We've already counted Benjamin so adding ten sons equals sixty.

22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.

 Agreed, but some of them aren't on this trip.

23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim.

 Sixty-two.

24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.

 Sixty-seven.

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.

 No argument here.

26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

 I make it Sixty-seven, so without Jacob/Israel that is indeed threescore and six. Given that we are in agreement now, where or who was that extra person back in verse fifteen?

27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

 Agreed, Including Joseph and his children, we have seventy people.

28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

 Having gotten almost all the way to the part fo Egypt in which Joseph lives 'Jisrael' (It's just easier this way) and his sixty-six family members stop in Goshen. Jisrael instructs Judah to go and get Joseph.

29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

 Joseph arrives in Goshen and an emotional reunion occurs.

30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

 I suppose that's the usual dramatic response, I'm so happy that I could die. Is this the first recorded instance of that sentiment?

31 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;

 Having reunited with his family, Joseph is going to report back to Pharaoh with the happy news.

32 And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

 He's going to tell Pharaoh that his family are shepherds.

33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?

 ...

34 That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

 He instructs his family that when asked they are to tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds. The apparent reason being that they want to stay and live in Goshen and not move further into Egypt and that Pharaoh will grant this because, and I'm not sure how this is possible, all shepherds are an abomination unto the Egyptians. An abomination? Now I know the Ancient Egyptians ate goat, lamb and mutton but how did they come by it if shepherd are an abomination. I could understand if they were swineherds.

What have we learned from Genesis 46?


  •  We've learned the size of Jisrael's family - excluding any wives or potential granddaughters.. or servants, handmaidens or dare I say slaves? basically we have no idea how big the tribe that moved from Canaan to Egypt was.
  •  We've learned that the narrator cannot decide between Jacob or Israel and I've learned that Jisrael is a handy shorthand.
  •  I think we can say that we've learned that God lived in Beersheba but has moved with his friend Jisrael to Egypt.
  •  We've learned that while enjoying goat, lamb and mutton, the Egyptians consider shepherds an abomination.
  •  Let us also not forget that we've learned that the author cannot count.


 Right, The tribe of Jisrael have made it to Egypt, can we move on now? Let's find out in Genesis 47.

Genesis 45. Go get your father (Endorsed by Pharaoh).

Genesis 45.

1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

 Finally, the charade is over. Let's move on.

2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

 He wept loudly then, I'm not sure if it is significant that the Egyptians heard him or just that he was loud. I'm guessing it shouldn't matter that the Egyptians hear his cries as they already know who he is, it is only his brothers who he has hidden his true identity from.

3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

 "doth my father yet live?" Judah just told you in the last chapter that he does, just four verses ago. Pay attention Joseph.

4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

 This should prove to be a difficult reunion. Sure, they sold him into slavery but he just spent what I calculate to be about the last two years being properly unpleasant to them and imprisoning some of them. I don't think either party has the moral high ground in this situation.

5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

 If what Joseph says is true and God is responsible for them selling him into slavery then why has he been messing with them (messing with might be a bit of an understatement.)? Also, I think that Joseph is suggesting that the whole slavery, false accusation and imprisonment scenario was engineered by God to place him in charge of Egypt so that he could make sure that the Egyptians weathered the famine. It doesn't seem consistent with the character of God that we have come to know, to be so considerate of the plight of the Egyptians. If this is indeed what God has done, why then, if God is the all powerful creator of the earth and all things on it that we read a mere forty five chapters back, could he not have simply made Joseph Pharaoh? He the opportunity thirty three chapters back to make the whole line of Abraham the royal house of Egypt, surely that would have saved on some suffering? This God character seems to be lacking in long-term thinking skills.

6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

 I had almost forgotten that Joseph had the power of prophecy and knew exactly how long the famine was going to last.

7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

 Right. So that's what all the lies and trickery were about. 

8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

 So is this a new Pharaoh? It very much came across that the chap/god/king he interpreted dreams for was an adult. If he was not however perhaps this explains his credulity.

9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

 Joseph tells the brothers to go fetch their father. So there is to be at least one more trip to Canaan and back. What has just occurred to me is, if they did not recognise their brother when they first met, why do they now believe this Egyptian who has been so unpleasant to them all this time when he says that he is their missing brother? Sure, you could say "well how would he know about Joseph being sold into slavery if he were not Joseph?" but you'd be forgetting that the Egyptian before them is a vizier or renown, what could he not know?

10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

 Joseph isn't asking them to bring Israel for a visit but rather to ask the entire family, which, assuming that each of the brothers has a wife and at least one child, is over thirty people, their effects and their animals. This is no small thing that he asks.

11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

 He is offering food though. I think I'd take that offer even if it did involve dragging all those people from Canaan.

12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

 Taken literally these words are odd, as such, I am assuming that what he is saying is that by the actions of his generosity the brothers can see that he truly is Joseph.

13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

 "Tell him it's nice here. Now go and get him."

14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

 Here comes the emotional part of the reunion.

15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

 The emotional part continues.

16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

 Do we really care what Pharaoh thinks at this point? Joseph is pretty much in control here isn't he? I suppose it is useful to know that Joseph hasn't made an enemy of the Pharaoh by inviting his family to stay?

17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

 ...

18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

 ...

19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

 ...

20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

 Pharaoh echoes although with greater verbosity what Joseph has offered. I suppose, as Pharaoh, you pretty much have to out-pomp your high vizier and make decrees look as though they were your idea all along.

21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

 Great.

22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

 Why is he favouring Benjamin? Perhaps there is some suggestion that Benjamin was not involved in his enslavement, but even if that were true, Joseph previously said that it was God that caused the whole thing. He should have no reason to favour one of his brothers over the others.

23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

 I understand sending ten she asses with food for the journey but couldn't the ten asses laden with good thing have waited until he arrived in Egypt. It seems like an awful waste of ass power to carry the good things of Egypt to Canaan only to carry them all back to Egypt again.

24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

 So off they go, those Brothers Israel, back to Canaan... Again.

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

 Oh, we're back to calling him Jacob.

26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.

 I think I'd find it hard to believe as well. Clearly Jacob is not as credulous as his boys.

27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

 There's nothing quite like ten asses laden with good things to revive a man's spirit...

28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

 ...and apparently, to make him believe pretty much anything he's told.


I don't think we've learned anything of note in this chapter, we all knew where the story was headed and we all knew that that the sons if Israel/Jacob are collectively lacking in intellect.

Let's just move on to Genesis 46.

Genesis 44. The Idiot Sons of Israel.

Genesis 44

1 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.

 OK. So either Joseph is allowing them to take their money back or he is trying to to pull the exact same trick as last time they left. Surely he can't expect them not to check their sacks this time... Surely.

2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

 Right, maybe he is giving them the money back, but what fresh trickery is this? Is he going to attempt the same trick as before but this time with a silver cup? I say again, surely he can't expect them not to check their sacks this time... Surely?

3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.

 The brothers are up and out of there, notably, with their asses. I dare say it would be a long journey without them. It almost seems superfluous to mention their transport but then again, do we not have a phrase that ends in "...and the horse you rode in on" as though it were not a given that anyone who enters a town riding a beast would leave on the very same? Either way, there is no mention of whether the brothers checked their sacks before setting off.

4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?

...

5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

 It is evident now that they did not check their sacks. Who wrote this? Either this is the fiction of an incredibly naïve author or these brothers are so stupid that they'd have difficulty finding their own mouths to put food in. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I actually can not believe that a group of grown men would fall for this trick twice.

6 And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.

 To which I hope they said "look Mate, you really have to be having a laugh. This again?".

7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:

 ...

8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?

 ...

9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.

 Oh come on lads! Really? Someone rides up to you and accuses you of the very same crime that you were accused of before and you don't find it suspicious? At the very least you could have checked the sacks before offering up the life of the apparently guilty party and condemning the rest of you to servitude. You have to know this is a trick right?

10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.

 Luckily for these unparalleled dim-wits, Joseph seems to have plans for Benjamin, with whom the cup was planted, and so the steward doesn't take them up on their insane offer.

11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.

 Here it comes.

12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

...

13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.

 I still don't know how they didn't see this coming, I might be crediting them with too much to expect that they've realised their error and that they rent their clothes in shame for their idiocy.

14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

 My head is in my hands, why the willingness to accept guilt? I simply cannot buy this characterization.

15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

 OK. Let's continue anyway. Joseph begins his questioning.

16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.

 Judah again offers all of the brothers into slavery. Why Judah? It is clear that Joseph is only interested in Benjamin, The steward already rejected your offer.

17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.

 See! Now Joseph has turned you down in person. He only wants Benjamin, you and the rest of your brothers can piss off home to your father.

18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.

 Oh! Wait what's this? Does Judah know he's been conned?

19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?

 Go on...

20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.

 Go on...

21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

 Yes, yes. Pray continue...

22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.

 All right, we all know this but go on. Hopefully you're about to redeem yourself by revealing that you know that you've been duped.

23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

 Right...

24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

 Get on with it...

25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

 Please...

26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.

 Bored now...

27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:

 ...

28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:

 Hmm, this may be the first time that any of the brothers have revealed to this Egyptian that they somehow don't recognise as their brother, that they have a missing younger brother. Never mind though, it looks as though Judah is just going to try to play on Joseph's sympathies. My hope that he might somehow redeem himself by demonstrating that he understands something of his situation was entirely unfounded. Oh well.

29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

 Yes. It seems that is all he is doing.

30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;

 Is he actually saying that it is a certainty that if Benjamin does not return, Israel will die?

31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

 Yes. He is actually saying that. I hope that he's being somewhat dramatic, Israel only said that he'd be bereaved if Benjamin didn't come back, not that he'd die.

32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.

 Oh. That's what it's all about, Judah is not afraid that his father will die but rather he has remembered that he offered to take the blame. 

33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.

 So he is offering himself in Benjamin's place.

34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

 I guess we won't see how Joseph responds until the next chapter.

What has Genesis 44 told us?


  •  It has confirmed that with the exception of perhaps Joseph, Israel's sons are all idiots.
  •  It has also added to the evidence that like the other righteous men of this book, Joseph is a more than slightly talented con-artist.


Genesis only has fifty chapters, let us hope that the rest of them aren't taken up by further trips between Canaan and Egypt. Let's be honest, how many times can this trick work? I hope we don't find out in Genesis 45.

Book Index

GENESIS

| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|
|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|
|21|22|23|24|25|26|27|28|29|30|
|31|32|33|34|35|36|37|38|39|40|
|41|42|43|44|45|46|47|

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