Genesis 46: 28-33: “And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.”
After Jacob down to Egypt he had to complete all the formalities before he could settle down to enjoy his last days with Joseph. Even though Joseph was the senior executive man in the government of Egypt it was still essential that he see Pharaoh and so that every courtesy was complete. Joseph, however, went to see his father rather than expecting hid father to come and meet him. Jacob was in Goshen, which was the area to the east of the Nile delta. They had just come down from Canaan and were waiting at the entrance to Egypt. He told his father that they had to see Pharaoh and what to tell him. History reminds us that a group of people called the Hsykos had come from the Canaan area and invaded Egypt prior to this. These people were known to have been shepherds as well so they didn’t like shepherds in Egypt. Joseph wanted Jacob to tell Pharaoh this so that Pharaoh would offer them open land to keep their sheep and cattle rather that putting them in a more densely settled area where they would not be able to keep all their stock. It is interesting to note that they still had their stock after all their time in slavery because they were able to take them away from Egypt when they finally fled that country (compare Ex 3: 18, “And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God”, for example.)
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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