This is part of a segment detailing all Jacob's sons and grandsons living at the moment the family entered Egypt (Genesis 45:9–1; 46:1–4). Previous verses listed Jacob's descendants by his wife Leah and servant-wife Zilpah. Now the two sons of Jacob's beloved wife Rachel are listed, Joseph and Benjamin.

After many years of barrenness, Joseph was finally born to Rachel outside of the land of Canaan (Genesis 30:24). His name is literally a prayer for another son. That son Benjamin was finally born as Rachel died in the land of Canaan (Genesis 35:18). From that time on, Joseph and Benjamin became Jacob's favorite sons, leading to much resentment from the sons borne by his other wives.

Genesis 46:8–27 pauses the story of Jacob's migration to Egypt to count his direct offspring around this time. The final tally of all Israelites, not counting the wives of the sons and grandsons, is 70. The text then resumes explaining Jacob's reunion with his son, Joseph.

Genesis 46 includes three basic sections. First, Jacob and his large family begin their journey with all their possessions towards their new home in Egypt. Jacob stops in Beersheba and offers sacrifices to God. God responds by assuring Jacob He will continue to be with him and multiply his people. The narrative pauses to count the current descendants of Jacob, then resumes with Jacob's arrival in the Goshen region of Egypt. Joseph meets him there for an emotional reunion. Then Joseph prepares the family to meet Pharaoh.

Joseph has just been dramatically reunited with his estranged brothers (Genesis 45). Following Joseph's revelation of his identity Genesis 46 describes the large family's move out of Canaan. Jacob stops in Beersheba to offer sacrifices to God and receive renewed promises from Him. Then the story pauses to provide a count of Joseph's descendants by each of his four wives. Jacob is reunited with Joseph, who prepares his family to meet with Pharaoh. Chapter 47 describes Jacob's meeting with Pharaoh and the family's settlement in Goshen.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

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