Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 46

Israel ... came to Beer-sheba. — Though Jacob, in the first tumult of his joy, had determined to hasten to Egypt, yet many second thoughts must have made him hesitate. He would call to mind the boding prophecy in Genesis 15:13, that the descendants of Abraham were to be reduced to slavery, and suffer affliction in a foreign land for four hundred years. It might even be a sin, involving the loss of the Abrahamic covenant, to quit the land of Canaan, which Abraham had expressly forbidden Isaac to abandon (Genesis 24:8).

Isaac, too, when going into Egypt, had been commanded to remain in Palestine (Genesis 26:2). Jacob therefore determines solemnly to consult God before finally taking so important a step, and no place could be more suitable than Beersheba, as both Abraham and Isaac had built altars there for Jehovah’s worship (Genesis 21:33; Genesis 26:25), and, moreover, it lay upon the route from Hebron to Egypt.

I am God, the God of thy father. —Heb., I am the El, the Elohim of thy father. This is the last revelation given to Jacob, nor is any other supernatural event recorded until the vision of the burning bush (Exodus 3:4). It is brief, clear, and decisive, and every clause is weighty. Jacob is to migrate into Egypt, his race is to grow there into a nation, so that the stay there would be long; God’s presence and blessing will accompany and remain with them, and finally will bring them back to the promised land. For himself, too, there is the promise that Joseph will tend his sick bed and be with him at his death.

Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. —Both among the Jews and Greeks it was the duty of those nearest in blood to close the eyes of a deceased relative. The promise conveyed the assurance that Jacob would die peacefully, surrounded by his friends. For the fulfillment see Genesis 1:1.

Their goods. —These are not the vessels spoken of contemptuously by Pharaoh (Genesis 45:20), but their personal property, of which they would naturally have much that they would not be willing to leave behind. Abraham had brought large wealth with him from Haran (Genesis 12:5), some of which may have even come from Ur-Chasdim, and much had been gathered since. The patriarchs would leave their household goods behind, but all valuables, and the records of their house, and their tôldôth, they would carefully carry with them.

They ... came into Egypt. —For a full account of the scene depicted on the tomb of Khnum-hotep at Beni-hassan, which at one time was identified with the arrival of the sons of Jacob, see Tomkins, Times of Abraham, 110-114.

His daughters. —See Note on Genesis 37:35.