1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible

Presents commentary in a tabular format for ease of reading.Click to learn more.





Genesis 46:1 And Israel taking his journey,* with all that he had, came to the well of the oath, and killing victims there to the God of his father Isaac,

Year of the World 2298, Year before Christ 1706. The well of the oath. Bersabee.
Genesis 46:2 He heard him, by a vision in the night, calling him, and saying to him: Jacob, Jacob. And he answered him: Lo, here I am.

Genesis 46:3 God said to him: I am the most mighty God of thy father; fear not, go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of thee there.

Fear not. He might be apprehensive, lest his children should be depraved, living among idolaters, or prefer Egypt before the promised land. He was also afraid to undertake this journey without consulting God. (Menochius)
Genesis 46:4 I will go down with thee thither, and will bring thee back again from thence: Joseph also shall put his hands upon thy eyes.

Thence; in thy posterity. Septuagint add at last, or after a long time. Jacob's bones were brought back and buried in Chanaan. (Calmet) --- Eyes, as he is the most dear to thee. Parents closed the eyes of their children in death. The Romans opened them again when the corpse was upon the funeral pile; thinking it a mark of disrespect for the eyes to be shut to heaven; "ut neque ab homine supremum eos spectari fas sit, et coelo non ostendi, nefas." (Pliny, 11:37.)
Genesis 46:5 And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath:* and his sons took him up, with their children and wives in the waggons, which Pharao had sent to carry the old man,

Acts 7:15.
Genesis 46:6 And all that he had in the land of Chanaan: and he came into Egypt with all his seed;*

Josue 24:5.[4.?]; Psalm 104:23.; Isaias 52:4.
Genesis 46:7 His sons, and grandsons, daughters, and all his offspring together.

Daughters. Dina, and grand-daughter Sara, (ver. 17,) and his sons' wives, etc. (Calmet) --- We may observe, that all here mentioned were not born at the time when Jacob went down into Egypt, but they were before he or Joseph died; that is, during the space of 17 or 71 years. See St. Augustine, q. 151, 173. (Menochius) --- The names of the Hebrew and Septuagint vary some little from the Vulgate, which may be attributed to the difference of pronunciation, or to the same person having many names. The number is also different in the Septuagint as the authors of that version have, perhaps, inserted some names taken from other parts of Scripture, to remove any apparent contradiction. The genealogies of Juda, Joseph, and Benjamin, are carried farther than the rest, as those families were of greater consequence.
Genesis 46:8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, that entered into Egypt, he and his children. *His first-born Ruben,

Exodus 1:2.; Exodus 6:14.; Numbers 26:5.; 1 Paralipomenon 5:1-3.
Genesis 46:9 The sons of Ruben: Henoch and Phallu, and Hesron and Charmi.

Hesron and Charmi, were probably born in Egypt, as Ruben had only two sons, Genesis 42:37. (Philo.)
Genesis 46:10 *The sons of Simeon: Jamuel and Jamin and Ahod, and Jachin and Sohar, and Saul, the son of a woman of Chanaan.

Exodus 6:15.; 1 Paralipomenon 4:24.
Jamuel. Numbers 26:12, he is called Namuel. --- Jachin is Jarid[Jarib?], 1 Paralipomenon 4:24. (Calmet)
Genesis 46:11 *The sons of Levi: Gerson and Caath, and Merari.

1 Paralipomenon 6:1.
Genesis 46:12 *The sons of Juda: Her and Onan, and Sela, and Phares and Zara. And Her and Onan died in the land of Chanaan. And sons were born to Phares: Hesron and Hamul.

1 Paralipomenon 2:3.; Paralipomenon 4:21.
Were born, afterwards. (Menochius)
Genesis 46:13 *The sons of Issachar: Thola and Phua, and Job and Semron.

1 Paralipomenon 7:1.
Genesis 46:14 The sons of Zabulon: Sared, and Elon, and Jahelel.

Genesis 46:15 These are the sons of Lia, whom she bore in Mesopotamia of Syria, with Dina, his daughter. All the souls of her sons and daughters, thirty-three.

Syria. This must be restrained to her seven children. --- Thirty-three, comprising Lia or Jacob; but without Her and Onan, who were dead. (Calmet)
Genesis 46:16 The sons of Gad: Sephion and Haggi, and Suni and Esebon, and Heri and Arodi, and Areli.

Genesis 46:17 *The sons of Aser: Jamne and Jesua, and Jessuri and Beria, and Sara their sister. The sons of Beria: Heber and Melchiel.

1 Paralipomenon 7:30.
Genesis 46:18 These are the sons of Zelpha, whom Laban gave to Lia, his daughter. And these she bore to Jacob, sixteen souls.

Genesis 46:19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin.

Genesis 46:20 *And sons were born to Joseph, in the land of Egypt, whom Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis, bore him: Manasses and Ephraim.

Genesis 41:50.
Ephraim. The Septuagint take in here the children of both, Numbers 26:29, 35.
Genesis 46:21 The sons of Benjamin: *Bela and Bechor, and Asbel and Gera, and Naaman and Echi, and Ross and Mophim, and Ophim and Ared.

1 Paralipomenon 7:6.; Paralipomenon 8:1.
Benjamin. Ten in number; though the Septuagint have only nine, and suppose that some of them were his grand-children. He was 33 (or 24, Menochius) years old. (Calmet) --- Grotius thinks three names have been made out of two; Echi, Ros, and Mophim, out of Ahiram and Supham, as we read, Numbers 26:38.
Genesis 46:22 These are the sons of Rachel, whom she bore to Jacob: all the souls, fourteen.

Genesis 46:23 The sons of Dan: Husim.

Sons. The Arabic has son. Husim is Suham, (Numbers 26:42,) by change and transposition of letters. (Kennicott)
Genesis 46:24 The sons of Nephthali: Jaziel and Guni, and Jeser and Sallem.

Genesis 46:25 These are the sons of Bala, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter: and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls, seven.

Genesis 46:26 All the souls that went with Jacob into Egypt, and that came out of his thigh, besides his sons' wives, sixty-six.

Sixty-six; not including Jacob, Joseph, and his two children, who make up 70, ver. 27. (Deuteronomy 10:22.) The Septuagint taking in Joseph's grand-children, read 75; in which they are followed by St. Stephen, Acts 7:14. See St. Jerome q. Heb. (Calmet) --- St. Augustine cannot account for these grand-children and great grand-children of Joseph being mentioned as coming with Jacob into Egypt, since some of them were not born during his life-time. He suspects some hidden mystery. (Worthington) See ver. 7. --- Some think St. Stephen excludes Jacob, Joseph, and his sons; and includes the 64 men, with 11 wives. (Du Hamel)
Genesis 46:27 And the sons of Joseph, that were born to him in the land of Egypt, two souls. *All the souls of the house of Jacob, that entered into Egypt, were seventy.

Deuteronomy 10:22.
Genesis 46:28 And he sent Juda before him to Joseph, to tell him; and that he should meet him in Gessen.

Genesis 46:29 And when he was come thither, Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet his father in the same place: and seeing him, he fell upon his neck, and embracing him, wept.

Genesis 46:30 And the father said to Joseph: Now shall I die with joy, because I have seen thy face, and leave thee alive.

Genesis 46:31 And Joseph said to his brethren, and to all his father's house: I will go up, and will tell Pharao, and will say to him: My brethren, and my father's house, that were in the land of Chanaan, are come to me:

Genesis 46:32 And the men are shepherds, and their occupation is to feed cattle; their flocks, and herds, and all they have, they have brought with them.

Genesis 46:33 And when he shall call you, and shall say: What is your occupation?

Genesis 46:34 You shall answer: We, thy servants, are shepherds, from our infancy until now, both we and our fathers. And this you shall say, that you may dwell in the land of Gessen, because the Egyptians have all shepherds in abomination.

Abomination. See Genesis 43:32. The source of this hatred against foreign shepherds, was probably because, about 100 years before Abraham, the shepherd-kings, Hycussos, had got possession of a great part of Egypt, and were at last expelled by the kings of Thebais. See Manetho ap. Eusebius, Praep. 10:13. Another reason why they hated foreigners was, because they slew and eat sheep, etc., which they themselves adored. The Egyptians kept sheep for this purpose, and for the benefits to be derived from their wool, etc., Genesis 47:17. (Calmet) --- Joseph took advantage of this disposition of the inhabitants, to keep his brethren at a distance from them, that they might not be perverted. He does not introduce them at court, that no jealousy might be excited. He shews that he is not ashamed of his extraction. (Menochius)