So, remember, Joseph's brothers had gone back to get their father, Jacob, also named Israel, and bring him back to see Joseph again.
Israel hears God speak to him in a dream, telling his that he should not fear going to Egypt, because God will make a great nation out of him (the nation of Israel, for those of you who haven't caught that yet).
So Israel and all of his family take a trip.
And when I say all his family, I mean EVERYONE, except Joseph, his wife, and his two sons.
And Israel has a big family.
There is Reuben and his sons, Hanoch, Phallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
There's Simeon and his sons, Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul.
Then there's Levi and his sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
There's Judah and his sons, Shelah, Pharez, and Zerah. He had two other sons, but they died while still in Canaan.
There's Issachar and his sons, Tola, Phuvah, Job, and Shimron.
There's Zebulun, and his sons, Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
And those are just the kids and grandkids from Leah. Don't forget, Israel was also married to Rachel, who had Joseph, who now has two kids, and Benjamin, who now has ten kids.
And then there is also the kids from Zilpah, Leah's maid, and Bilhah, Rachel's maid.
So when I say that Israel has a big family, I mean a HUGE family.
So anyway, this big family is headed for Goshen.
Israel sends Judah ahead of them to get directions to Goshen from Joseph, who then meets his family up there.
When Joseph sees his father, there is, of course, a good deal of crying. Israel is satisfied, knowing that his favorite son is a man of power, alive, well taken care of. He tells his family that he can now die in peace.
Joseph tells his family to make sure that they mention to the Pharaoh that they are shepherds, so that they can tend to the sheep in Goshen.
The Egyptians hate being shepherds and consider it beneath them, an abomination.
That's it for the chapter today. Yeah, I know, kinda short. But most of it was just a family tree, who's kid was who's, stuff like that.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment