And he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to give notice before he came to Goshen. And they came into the land of Goshen.
Jacob's family is nearing Egypt. Before they arrive, he sends Judah ahead to Joseph, the son who now governs Egypt, to prepare the way into Goshen. Two questions follow: why this son, and why this corner of Egypt?
Sending word before you arrive is simple good manners. Older translations read the errand as giving notice of his coming rather than showing the way. One writer contrasts the dignity of Jacob's family with the polish of the great civilisations around them.
Civilisation was not what marked the fathers. It marked the line of Cain in the world before the flood, and Egypt, Assyria and Babylon after the flood, among others. But there is a dignity that goes with the fear of God, far better than any such worldly gloss, however pleasant it is to fallen nature. We see the same godly sense of what is fitting in Abraham and Isaac. We see it here in Jacob too, who sends Judah ahead to Joseph to give good notice of his own coming to Goshen.
Judah is not the eldest son. He is the one who had already put himself on the line for his brother Benjamin.
Judah makes no grand offer staking his own sons; his offer is far more modest, and at his own risk. "Send the boy with me… I will be a pledge of his safety." Jacob trusts him at once and lets Benjamin go. In doing so Jacob showed again his discernment of character. Judah nobly kept his pledge: he stood forward in Egypt and offered himself in place of Benjamin.
That trust was not a one-off. Judah's place among his brothers was changing, and it would shape Israel's future.
Though not the eldest son he began to take a chief place in the family. He persuaded his father to let Benjamin go into Egypt, and whenever appeals had to be made to Joseph, Judah made them. When Jacob blessed his sons, the predictions show that the royal line was centred in Judah.
The destination was not picked at random. One writer explains what made this corner of Egypt fit them.
Goshen was the outlying part of Egypt. There they could best keep to their old work, and were least exposed to the idolatry and moral corruption of that land.
Another writer looks at what came of it.
It is easy to see how this suited the purpose of God, which was to make a nation of them, free from any mixture of foreign blood. Though under Egyptian rule, there was to be a dividing line from the very start between them and the natives of Egypt. … Pharaoh was very kind. He welcomed them, gave them the best of the land in Goshen, and offered them important posts looking after his cattle. Remember that Egypt, along with the rest of the world, was in the middle of a great famine. Such favourable treatment was extraordinary, and can only be explained by the moving of God's hand behind the scenes.
The errand is aimed at a person: Judah is sent to Joseph. Goshen matters because Joseph is there.
To reach Joseph, Israel had to make the journey. He had to leave the scene of all his natural affections. And so with ourselves, if we are to reach Christ where He is, we must forget the things that are behind. So Israel comes into the new land — the land of Goshen.
One writer reads the scene as a picture of things to come — Joseph in power, and his family settled near him.
Joseph is now known as alive — Governor of the world — its source of blessing — and Jacob is brought to Him in this role of glory and power. Israel still has, however, his own portion and separate place in the world in Goshen, and in the best of it.
- Sent — Jacob does not arrive unannounced. Sending word ahead shows the same godly sense of what is fitting that marked Abraham and Isaac.
- Trusted — the errand goes to Judah. He had offered himself in Benjamin's place, and Jacob trusted him at once.
- Rising — Judah is not the eldest, yet he takes the chief place. The royal line runs through him.
- Placed — Goshen sits on the edge of Egypt. A dividing line from the start let a nation grow there, instead of dissolving into Egypt.
- Near — the whole journey aims at a person. To reach Joseph, Israel had to leave everything familiar behind.
Then Joseph yoked his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and he presented himself to him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
Joseph now rules Egypt, yet he gets his own chariot ready and drives out to meet his father. A chariot, a neck, and a long weeping: what does the scene tell us about Joseph, and what does it picture?
Joseph does not summon his father to the palace; he goes to Goshen himself. One writer weighs what those years in Egypt had, and had not, changed in him.
The affection was great on both sides. Worldly splendour had not weakened that love which bound father and son together in the promised land.
Joseph had every excuse to be hardened. One writer looks at what power, and the road he took to reach it, had done to him.
In verse 29 we again see Joseph in a very favourable light and as a man of a very tender heart. The splendour of his present position had not spoiled him. He had reached it through sorrow, which has a mellowing and softening effect upon those who go through it with God.
This weeping is not an isolated moment. It belongs to a pattern that starts only when Joseph holds power.
The skill and power of Joseph's hands had carried him to the top. In those hands lay the future of his brothers and of all Egypt. Then the tender compassion of his heart came out, and it showed itself in his tears. In Genesis 39 to 41 Joseph's hands are prominent. Genesis 42 to 50, Joseph's tears. These later chapters record Joseph weeping no less than eight times: Genesis 42:24; 43:30; 45:2, 14, 15; 46:29; 50:1, 17.
The years when tears would have made most sense are the silent ones.
It is remarkable that there is no mention of Joseph weeping in his earlier years. We could easily have understood weeping marking those days. Remember the seas of sorrow and affliction he passed through, which might well have wrung tears from his eyes. His hard-hearted brothers even had to confess, "we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen" (Genesis 42:21). They saw the distress of his soul, but as far as the record goes they never saw his tears.
The wording is worth pausing over. Joseph did not just arrive; he made himself known. One writer reads the journey as a picture of our own search for Christ.
To reach Joseph, Israel had to take his journey (Genesis 46:1). He had to leave the scene of all his natural affections. And so with ourselves, if we are to reach Christ where He is, we must forget the things that are behind. So Israel comes into the new land — the land of Goshen. There he meets his son Joseph, and Joseph "presented himself to him" (v. 29). If on the one hand Israel longs for the company of his son, Joseph on his side is delighted to present himself to Israel. Are we set on the company of Christ? We shall find that Christ is delighted to reveal Himself to us.
Goshen was no random meeting point. Joseph had chosen it before he ever spoke to Pharaoh about his family.
We may notice the faith and wisdom of Joseph, who had already sent the message about Goshen (Genesis 45:10) before he had said a word to Pharaoh. It was the outlying part of Egypt, where they could best keep their old occupation, and were least exposed to the idol worship and moral corruption of that land. So into Goshen they came.
Commentators read Joseph's story as a picture of Christ. Here the weight falls on a father learning at last what his son had become.
They are then brought — as a nation, in Jacob — into the best of the land near Joseph, but He reveals Himself to them one by one as His brothers. Now his father was to hear of his glory in Egypt. Messiah was indeed dear to Jacob, though he had not understood His glory far above and away from him.
- Sorrow softened him. Joseph reached the top through suffering. Suffering gone through with God left him tender, not hard.
- Glory released the tears. The record shows no tears in his years of affliction. All eight weepings fall in the chapters of his power, and this is one of them.
- Rank did not cool love. He harnessed his own chariot and drove out to his father. Egypt's splendour had not weakened the bond formed in the promised land.
- Longing answered. Israel travelled to find Joseph, and Joseph was just as glad to show himself — a picture of Christ revealing Himself to the heart that seeks Him.
- Goshen chosen. Joseph picked the meeting place in advance: the best of the land, on the edge of Egypt, where the family could live clear of its corruption.
And Israel said to Joseph, Now let me die, after I have seen thy face, since thou still livest.
For years Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead, and he spoke of death and dreaded the grave. Now he reaches Goshen, finds Joseph alive and exalted, and says he can die content. What changed?
The verse does not call him Jacob. It calls him Israel. One writer says why the Spirit of God marks this moment with that name:
Jacob had not yet reached the end of his journeys, and not the end of his sorrows either. Of all the fathers he had the most varied experience, as Isaac had the least. So he said later to Pharaoh: "Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life." Yet God's governing hand used this painful experience to bless his soul. The Spirit of God marks that here by the name "Israel" — a name not only given to him, but used of him in the story itself. We find it again years later, when he took another journey that mattered even more (Gen. 46:1, 30; Gen. 48:2).
Joseph now had power and splendour in Egypt. The meeting shows what it had not done to him:
Joseph for his part got his chariot ready and went there to meet Israel his father. When he came before him, he fell on his neck and wept there a good while. The affection was great on both sides. Worldly splendour had not weakened the love that bound father and son together in the promised land.
Jacob had talked about death for years, and the grave frightened him. Now he speaks of dying with no fear in the words. One writer explains the change and applies it to us:
This man had always been speaking of death and dreading the grave. Now he has no more fear of death, because Joseph is alive. As we see that Christ is risen, and as we gaze on His face and learn His love, our souls will be delivered from the fear of death.
Jacob is ready to step aside now that his son is alive and honoured. One writer makes that a lesson in giving Christ first place:
Israel's words to Joseph carry great significance. Israel may die, for Joseph lives! This is the same principle John the Baptist speaks of in John 3:30: "He must increase, but I must decrease." When the Lord Jesus has His place of supreme honour, the nation of Israel will be content to be brought to nothing. How good for us if we learn this lesson well, glad to see the flesh put in the place of death so that Christ may be exalted.
God gave Jacob proof before He gave him joy. One writer traces what that discipline was for:
The Lord always makes sure of His work. He stoops to our weakness and gives us evidence. So here: Jacob is first convinced by evidence that the mercy is real. Then, once he has Joseph back, his relief is complete. The cup is full! The heart was already broken and subdued. Now it is satisfied. It has received back what it lost, straight from God, and with greater honour and glory to Him. Discipline has done its work, and we find that fullness of joy is the great desire of God's heart for us.
One writer reads Jacob's history as the story of his nation in small. This moment previews something still ahead:
Jacob lost his son Joseph for a time, and did not see him again until Joseph was exalted in glory. In the same way, the Jews will not see their Messiah again until He appears in glory. Israel's joy when he saw Joseph (Gen. 46:30) leads our thoughts on to the godly remnant in Jerusalem, when the child Jesus was brought into the temple. Simeon put it like this: "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation." (Luke 2:29-30.)
- Seeing. The verse turns on one thing. Israel has seen the face of the son he thought was dead.
- Seeing removes fear. The man who had spent years dreading the grave stops dreading it, because the one he loves is alive.
- Seeing reorders self. Israel may die, for Joseph lives. When Christ has supreme honour, the flesh is content to be nothing.
- Seeing satisfies. The cup is full: discipline had done its work, and fullness of joy is what God was aiming at all along.
- Seeing is still coming. Jacob saw Joseph only when Joseph was exalted in glory. So Israel will see their Messiah when He appears in glory, as Simeon saw God's salvation.
And Joseph said to his brethren and to his father's house, I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, My brethren and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, are come to me;
Joseph's family has just arrived in Egypt, and Jacob's household cannot settle until Pharaoh hears who they are. Joseph steps in as their go-between, and he chooses every word with care.
Joseph does not send his brothers into the palace unprepared. He goes ahead of them, and then coaches them on what to say.
The splendour of his present position had not spoiled him. He had reached it through sorrow. Sorrow has a mellowing and softening effect on those who go through it with God. He also took it on himself to be their go-between with Pharaoh, and he taught them how to approach him. They were to emphasize that their occupation had been with sheep and cattle.
Joseph plans to call them "my brothers and my father's household." He will not soften that word, though the men he names kept sheep — a trade Egypt despised. Bellett looks from this scene to Christ and Israel.
They were only shepherds, it is true, and such people were detestable to the Egyptians. But Joseph "is not ashamed to call them brothers." They were strangers, living on charity. Yet the man of that day, the lord of Egypt, was — I say again — "not ashamed to call them brothers." He owns them in the presence of the king, of the palace, and of the nation. And the king proves to be of the same mind. That they were Joseph's brothers was enough for Pharaoh. This truly speaks to us. A day is at hand when all this will be made good in the great originals of Christ and Israel. He will return to them and say, "They are my people"; and they will say, "The LORD is my God."
Joseph's announcement is also shrewd. A short family notice will place them in one particular part of Egypt.
But we may also note the careful administrator in his words to his brothers... Two things made this advice acceptable to the king, and even to his people. Genesis 45 tells us that Pharaoh had already declared his wish to give them the good of the land of Egypt, so they might eat the fat of the land (vv. 18-20). And since "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians," no one would object in the least to Israel settling into this work on the land best suited to it. So Joseph could advise his brothers from the start. They would live where it was best for them, and least offensive to the Egyptians.
Goshen served several interests at once, and one of them reached beyond Egypt.
On every point of view Goshen was the land most appropriate for his father and his brothers. The land lay nearest for those staying in Egypt for a time. God had destined them to enter Canaan, the land He had promised long before, when their father had not even one son (Gen. 15). Again, it was near Joseph, and near the king too. Further, the people of the land visited it least of all. To them herdsmen, shepherds and the like were detestable, as Joseph let them know. Even apart from this, we were already told of their general objection to eating bread with foreigners (43:32). Such was the severity of caste among the Egyptians.
Commentators differ on the cause of this loathing. Kelly points to the severity of caste in Egypt. Others trace it to an earlier foreign dynasty:
Joseph instructed his brothers to tell Pharaoh that they were shepherds. They asked permission to live in Goshen, for every shepherd was detestable to the Egyptians. People suppose this began when some 'shepherd-kings' seized authority over Egypt.
The trade Egypt despised pictures work God still asks of His people.
There is a spiritual lesson in this also. God expects His own people to have hearts as shepherds, to care for the needs of souls. The world (Egypt) not only ignores such shepherd care, but resents others who engage in it. In fact, too often even believers do not value the pastoral care and concern that a godly person tries to show them. For this reason we sadly neglect to engage in true shepherd work.
- Announced. Joseph goes up to Pharaoh first. He speaks for his family, and he tells them how to answer the king.
- Owned. He names them as his brothers before the throne, the palace and the nation. Their despised work changes nothing, and the king agrees.
- Placed. Naming their trade secures Goshen: the land best for them, and least offensive to Egypt.
- Positioned. Goshen lay nearest Canaan, nearest Joseph, furthest from Egyptian eyes. Near the promise, near the ruler, apart from the world.
- Applied. The trade Egypt loathed pictures the work God gives His people: caring for souls. The world resents it, and believers too often undervalue it.
and the men are shepherds, for they have been occupied with cattle; and they have brought their sheep, and their cattle, and all that they have.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And it shall come to pass that when Pharaoh shall call you and say, What is your occupation?
Joseph is coaching his brothers before they meet the most powerful man on earth. Pharaoh's question sounds like small talk. The answer would settle where Israel lived, how separate they stayed, and how long they lasted as a family.
Joseph does not leave the interview to chance. He gives them both the question and the answer to use.
Two things made this advice acceptable to the king, and even his people. Genesis 45 records that Pharaoh had already declared his wish to give them the good of the land of Egypt, so that they might eat the fat of the land. And "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." So no one would object in the least to Israel taking up this work on the land best suited to it — land that also lay farthest from Egyptian eyes, out of their daily sight.
The coaching has one aim: Goshen. Several things made that district the right fit for Jacob's family.
Goshen lay nearest for people who were only staying in Egypt. God had destined them to enter Canaan, the land He promised long before, when their father had not even one son. It was also near Joseph, and near the king. The people of the land visited it least of all, because herdsmen, shepherds and the like were an abomination to them, as Joseph let them know... They stated their occupation plainly, as it had come down from their fathers. The king not only agreed that Goshen was the most fitting place for them to live; he gave them a hearty welcome.
The family's trade was no handicap to hide. It was the hedge that kept a great civilisation from swallowing a small clan.
The Lord, without doubt, directed this move to Egypt. It kept the family from scattering, and from mixing with strangers, during the important period that had now come. That was the period when the family was to grow into a nation. In Canaan neither of these unwanted results could have been avoided. In Egypt neither could happen. Goshen gave ample room for their growing numbers, and the Egyptians' dislike of shepherds stopped intermarriage from tying the two peoples together.
Scripture never explains why Egypt loathed shepherds. William Kelly goes as far as history allows, and no further.
It appears — and we must not say more when we go outside Scripture — that an invasion of Shepherd Kings from Syria broke the usual line of native rulers for more than two centuries, and that Joseph's sudden rise came under the last of these foreign rulers. If so, that largely explains the readiness to give a shepherd people a district as valuable as Goshen, close to the royal residence on one side and the border of Palestine on the other... The contempt for a shepherd lay in the eye of the native Egyptian. It was not in those who favoured Joseph and his brothers. It was in the native rulers who came back to power soon afterwards. They did not know Joseph, and they went on to persecute the chosen people. We leave this working of providence where it stands. God is above circumstances, though His wisdom is often shown in His use of them on behalf of His plans.
Joseph had to name in court a family whose trade Egypt despised. He did it without embarrassment.
They were only shepherds, it is true, and such people were an abomination to the Egyptians. But Joseph "is not ashamed to call them brothers." He owns them in the presence of the king, of the palace, and of the nation. And the king proves to be of the same mind... A day is coming when all this will be made good in the great originals, Christ and Israel. He will return to them and say, "They are My people," and they will say, "The Lord is my God."
The trade Egypt despised carries a lesson for believers. And it is not only the world that undervalues shepherd care.
God expects His own people to have hearts like shepherds, caring for the needs of souls. The world (Egypt) not only ignores such shepherd care, but resents those who engage in it. In fact, too often even believers do not appreciate the pastoral care and concern that a godly person seeks to show them. For this reason we sadly neglect to take up true shepherd work.
- Question — Joseph knew what Pharaoh would ask and drilled his family in the answer.
- Answer — They named their trade plainly, as it came down from their fathers, and the king welcomed them.
- Place — Goshen was near Joseph, near the king, and out of the daily sight of Egyptians who despised herdsmen.
- Protection — Egypt's contempt for shepherds fenced Israel in. It held them together and kept intermarriage out.
- Purpose — God stands above circumstances and uses them. The trade the world looked down on was the trade He used to build a nation.
then ye shall say, Thy servants are men that have been occupied with cattle from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers; in order that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.
Joseph tells his family what to say when Pharaoh asks about their work. His reason is blunt: Egypt loathed shepherds. Three things meet here — an honest answer, a claim on one patch of land, and a national dislike that God uses for His own purpose.
Joseph does not hide his family's trade. The plain answer is what secures the land he already has in mind for them.
Two things made this advice acceptable to the king, and even his people. Genesis 45 records that Pharaoh had already declared his wish to give them the good of the land of Egypt, so that they might eat the fat of the land (verses 18-20). And since "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians," no one would object at all to Israel settling into this work on the land best suited to it. That land also lay farthest away, so the Egyptians would not have them in sight day by day. So from the start Joseph could advise his brothers to live where it was best for them, and least offensive to the Egyptians.
Joseph had picked the place long before he spoke to Pharaoh, and the choice guarded more than their livelihood.
We may notice the faith and wisdom of Joseph, who had already in Genesis 45:10 sent the message about Goshen, before he had said a word to Pharaoh. It was the outlying part of Egypt, where they could best keep their old occupation, and were least exposed to the idolatrous and moral corruptions of that land.
The Bible calls every shepherd an abomination to the Egyptians — something they found detestable. It never says why. One suggested cause points back to foreign shepherd rulers who once seized power in Egypt.
A person's wealth in the East often consisted of flocks, so the shepherd held an important and honourable position. David was a keeper of sheep. Joseph instructed his brothers to tell Pharaoh that they were shepherds. They asked permission to live in Goshen, for every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians. People think this came from some "shepherd-kings" who had seized power over Egypt.
So why did this Pharaoh welcome them?
Since "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians," we might have been surprised at this. But, as we remarked before, at this period the ruling powers in Egypt were not true Egyptians. They were a foreign race, closely connected with the nomadic and shepherd people to which Jacob and his sons belonged. It is quite likely that the Pharaoh of those days looked on it as a stroke of good business to receive Jacob and his descendants.
What looks like an insult worked as a wall. Egypt's contempt kept the family from dissolving into the people around them.
This move to Egypt was, without doubt, directed by the Lord. It guarded the family from being scattered and from mixing with strangers. The important period had now arrived when God appointed them to grow into a nation. In Canaan both of these bad results would have been unavoidable. In Egypt neither could happen. Goshen gave ample room for their growing numbers, and the dislike the Egyptians had for shepherds (46:34) kept them from intermarrying.
Joseph's relatives carry a trade Egypt despises. He brings them before the king anyway.
They were shepherds, it is true, keepers of cattle from their youth, people held in abomination in the land of Egypt. But what of that? "He is not ashamed to call them brothers." He owns them in front of the king. And the king himself is of one mind with Joseph toward them; he owns them too, and honours them.
The trade Egypt could not stomach still pictures what God asks of His people.
God expects His own people to have hearts as shepherds, to care for the needs of souls. The world (Egypt) not only ignores such shepherd care, but resents others who engage in it. In fact, too often even believers do not appreciate the pastoral care and concern that a godly person seeks to show them.
The same rejection met Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd.
Our Shepherd is the "Good Shepherd," He who has given His life for the sheep. That hostility marked those who heard these words from His blessed lips (John 10). It still marks this present world. Man, as such, has no appreciation of the worth of Christ the Good Shepherd (compare Genesis 46:34).
- Confess. Joseph tells his family to name their trade honestly before the king rather than disguise it.
- Placed. That honest answer wins them Goshen. It lay on the edge of Egypt, where they could keep their old life, far from its idolatry.
- Despised. Every shepherd was detestable to Egypt. The loathing is traced to earlier foreign shepherd rulers — yet this Pharaoh came from that same stock, and he welcomed them.
- Protected. The contempt worked as a hedge. It kept the family from intermarrying and scattering while God made them a nation.
- Owned. Joseph is not ashamed to present despised shepherds as his own before the king. The shepherd care the world still resents is the very heart Christ showed as the Good Shepherd.