Jacob's Family Moves to Egypt
1798 BC
📂 BIBLICAL
📖 About This Event
The famine that Joseph had predicted through his interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams became so severe that Jacob's family in Canaan ran out of food. Sending his sons to Egypt to buy grain, Jacob did not send Benjamin, the youngest son of Rachel, fearing harm might come to him. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and invited their entire family to come to Egypt, God reassured Jacob in a vision: 'Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make there of you a great nation. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will also bring you up again' (Genesis 46:3-4).
Jacob's family—comprising 70 persons in all (Genesis 46:27)—descended into Egypt, fulfilling the prophecy God had given Abraham in Genesis 15:13. Joseph welcomed his father with a dramatic and emotional reunion, providing wagons from Pharaoh to transport the family to Goshen, the finest land of Egypt. Jacob blessed Pharaoh and settled his sons and their households in the land of Goshen, where they would multiply and become a great nation.
The descent into Egypt marks a turning point in salvation history. The family that had wandered through Canaan would now be established in Egypt, where over the course of centuries they would become a nation. The promise made to Abraham—that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars—was being fulfilled. Key Scripture: Genesis 46; Genesis 15:13; Exodus 1:5-7; Acts 7:9-12
📜 Key Facts
Date
1798 BC
Category
Biblical
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