Genesis 46:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

NIV: The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

NASB: And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

CSB: Naphtali's sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

NLT: The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

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

NKJV: The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

Naphtali, the final remaining son of Jacob, is now included in the long list of all of Jacob's sons and grandsons at or around the time of the family settling in Egypt. Naphtali was born to Jacob by his servant-wife Bilhah (Genesis 30:8).

Naphtali's sons include Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. Jahzeel means "may God grant him a share or be gracious." Guni may be the same word for the bird modern English speakers would call a "partridge." Jezer may mean "God has created." Shillem may communicate the idea that God rewarded a mother with a child or replaced a lost child.

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.

Accessed 5/3/2024 11:40:03 AM