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Verses 25-28. - And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he (literally, and that he; an emphatic assurance which Keil, following Ewald, renders by" yea," and Kalisch by "indeed") is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's (literally, his, i.e. Jacob's) heart fainted (literally, A few chill, the primary idea of the root being that of rigidity through coldness; cf. πηγνύω, to be rigid, and pigeo, rigeo, frigeo, to be chill. The sense is that Jacob s heart seemed to stop with amazement at the tidings which his sons brought), for he believed them not. This was scarcely a case of believing not for joy (Bush), but rather of incredulity arising from suspicion, both of the messengers and their message, which was only removed by further explanation, and in particular by the sight of Joseph's splendid presents and commodious carriages. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: - i.e. about Joseph's invitation and promise (vers. 9-11) - and when he saw the wagons - probably royal vehicles (Wordsworth) - which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived (literally, lived; it having been previously numb and cold, as if dead): and Israel said, - the change of name here is significant. The sublime theocratic designation, which had dropped into obscurity during the period of the old man's sorrow for his lost son, revives with the resuscitation of his dead hope (cf. Genesis 43:6) - It is enough (one word, as if expressing his complacent satisfaction); Joseph my son is yet alive (this is the one thought that fills his aged heart): I will go down - "The old man is young again in spirit; he is for going immediately; he could leap; yes, fly" (Lange) - and see him (a sight of Joseph would be ample compensation for all the years of sorrow he had passed through) before I die. He would then be ready to be gathered to his fathers.

Verse 1. - And Israel (as the head of the theocratic family) took his journey - literally, broke up, sc. his encampment (cf. Genesis 12:9) - with all that he had, and came - from Hebron (Genesis 37:14) - to Beersheba, - where Abraham (Genesis 21:33) and Isaac (Genesis 26:25) had both sojourned for considerable periods, and erected altars to Jehovah - and offered sacrifices unto the God (the Elohim) of his father Isaac. Probably giving thanks to God for the tidings concerning Joseph (Ainsworth); consulting God' about his journey to Egypt (Rosenmüller); it may be, pouring out before God his fear as well as gratitude and joy, more especially if he thought about the stern prophecy (Genesis 15:13) which had been given to Abraham (Kalisch); perhaps commending himself and family to the care of his covenant God (Keil), and certainly praying that God would confirm to him and his the covenant which had been made with his fathers (Calvin).

Verse 2. - And God (Elohim) spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob - the name Jacob being employed probably to remind Jacob of what he had been (Lawson, Bush, Wordsworth), and repeated ut magis attentus reddatur (Calvin). And he said, Here am I - literally, behold me (cf. Genesis 22:1),

Verse 3. - And he said, I am God, the God of thy father - literally, I am the El (the Mighty One), the Elohim of thy father. Though in consequence of this phrase the section (vers. 1-7), indeed the entire chapter, is usually assigned to the Elohist (Tuch, Bleek, Vaihinger), yet the contents of this theophany are felt to be so substantially Jehovistic in their import (Hengstenberg), that certain critics have been constrained to give verses 1-5 to the Jehovist (Colenso), or, omitting the last clause of ver. 5, to the redactor (Davidson). In Genesis 28:13 the designation used is "I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father." As on that former occasion when setting out for Padanaram, so now, when departing for Egypt, he receives a comforting assurance. Fear not to go down into Egypt. Them was reason for Jacob's apprehensions, since Abraham had been in peril in the land of the Pharaohs (Genesis 12:14-20), Isaac had been forbidden to go thither (Genesis 26:2), and Egypt had been foreshadowed as a place of servitude for his descendants (Genesis 15:13). מֵרְדָה is an irregular infinitive רֵדָה for רֶדֶת (cf. דֵּעַה for דַּעַת, Exodus 2:4), with מִן. prefixed after a verb of fearing (vide Ewald's 'Hebrews Synt.,' § 336). For I will there make of thee a great nation - literally, for to a great nation will I put thee there (cf. Genesis 21:13). Jacob had previously received the injunction, accompanied by the Divine benediction, to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 28:3). Twice over had it previously been predicted that he should develop into a multitudinous people (Genesis 28:14; Genesis 35:11). The present promise was an indication that the fulfillment of the prophecy was at band.

Verse 4. - I will go down with thee into Egypt; - not a proof that the Hebrews believed in a local deity following them when they changed their abodes, and confined to the district in which they happened for tire time being to reside (Tuch, Bohlen), but simply a metaphorical expression for the efficiency and completeness of the Divine protection (Kalisch) - and I will also surely bring thee up again (literally, and I will bring thee up also, bringing thee up; a double emphasis lying in the use of the infinitive absolute, with גַּם preceding, as in Genesis 31:15, meaning that God would assuredly recover his body for interment in Canaan should he die in Egypt, and his descendants for settlement in the land of their inheritance): and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes - i.e. will perform for thee the last offices of affection by closing thine eyes in death, a service upon which the human heart in all ages and countries has set the highest value (vide Homer, ' I1 .' 11. 453; 'Odys.,' 24:294; Virg., 'AEn.,' 9:487; Ovid, ' Epist.,' 1:162). "A father at the point of death is always very desirous that his wife, children, and grandchildren should be with him. Should there be one at a distance, he will be immediately sent for, and until he arrive the father will mourn and complain, 'My son, will you not come? I cannot die without you.' When he arrives, he will take the hands of his son, and kiss them, and place them on his eyes, his face, and mouth, and say, ' Now I die.'" (Roberts' 'Oriental Illustrations,' p. 52).

Verses 5-7. - And Jacob rose up - having received new vigor from the vision (Calvin) - from Beersheba (it is not probable that his stay there was of more than a day or two's, perhaps only a night's, duration): and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, - "Unlike the heathen tribes around them, and Oriental nations generally, the family of Jacob gave honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel" (Lawson) - in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him (vide Genesis 45:19, 21). And they took their cattle, and their goods (including probably their servants), which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, - Pharaoh had desired Jacob not to regard his stuff, because the good of all the land of Egypt was before him; but he wished not to take advantage of Pharaoh's goodness, or to owe greater obligations to him than he found necessary" (Lawson) - and came into Egypt, - a scene depicted on the tomb of Chumhotep, the near relative and successor of Osirtasen I., at Benihassan, represents a company of immigrants, apparently Shemitic in their origin, entering Egypt with their goods, as well as women and children, borne upon asses. Without affirming that this was the Egyptian version of the descent of Israel into Egypt, it may serve as a striking illustration of that event (vide. Wilkinson, 'Ancient Egyptians,' vol. 1. p. 480, ed. 1878; Brugsch, 'Histoire d'Egypte,' p. 63; Hengstenberg's 'Egypt and the Books of Moses,' p. 37) - Jacob, and all his seed (i.e. his descendants) with him: his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters (this need not imply that Jacob had more daughters than Dinah, but may include his sons wives, who are not otherwise mentioned in this enumeration), and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. The date of this event was in the 130th year of Jacob's life (Genesis 47:9), and 215 years after the call of Abraham (Genesis 12:4), i.e. B.C. 1728 (Usher), 1885 (Hales); or A.M. 2276 (Usher), 3526 (Hales).

Verse 8. - And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt. The phrase "which came into Egypt" must obviously be construed with some considerable latitude, since in the appended list of seventy persons, "souls of the house of Jacob which came into Egypt," are reckoned Joseph, who undoubtedly came into Egypt, but not with Jacob, Hezron and Hamul, the sons of Pharos, as well as the descendants of Benjamin, who probably, and Ephraim and Manasseh, the children of Joseph, who certainly, were born in Egypt. Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.

Verse 9. - And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, - "Initiated or Dedicated;" the name also of Cain's firstborn (Genesis 4:17), and of the son of Jared (Genesis 5:19) - and Phallu, - "Distingushed" (Gesenius) - and Hezron, - "Enclosed" (Gesenius), "Of the Court or Village" (Murphy), "Blooming One" (Furst) - and Carmi, - "Vine-dresser" (Gesenius, Murphy), "Noble One" (Furst).