Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: God speaks to Israel in Beersheba and tells him not to be afraid and that He will be with him and multiply him, the household of Israel is allowed to dwell in Goshen and prospers, and before Israel dies, he makes Joseph swear to bury him in the land of his fathers.
So Israel journeys with all he has to Beersheba and sacrifices to God. And God speaks to him in visions of the night. He calls him by name (actually He calls him "Jacob," as it seems Jacob and Israel are sometimes used interchangeably), and Jacob says, "Here I am." God says, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to go down to Egypt. For I will make of you a great nation there. I. will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely bring you up again, and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes." Then, they leave Beersheba and go down to Egypt.
We are given an account of all the children of Israel and their descendants, with a reminder that Judah's two sons died. All of Jacob's sons that came from his body totaled 66.
They arrive in Goshen, and Joseph makes his chariot ready to go meet his father. He presents himself and falls Jacob's neck and "[weeps] on his neck a good while." Jacob says he can die in peace because he has seen Joseph's face. Joseph says to his brothers and their household that he will tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds and that when he asks of them their occupation, to tell him. That way, they may dwell in Goshen, since "shepherds are an abomination to the Egyptians."
Joseph tells Pharaoh of his family's arrival in Goshen and presents five of his brothers to him. When Pharaoh asks what their occupation is, they answer they are shepherds and have no pasture back in Canaan because of the famine. They ask to dwell in Goshen. Pharaoh tells Joseph that his family may dwell in the best of the land, in Goshen. and also to make the most competent ones chief herdsmen over his livestock. Joseph also presents his father before Pharaoh and Jacob blesses him. When Pharaoh asks his age, he answers that he is 130. "Few and evil have been the days of my life," he says, and also, he says he has not lived up to days his fathers. (So we are told that Jacob had a hard life.) Joseph situates his family in Goshen and gives them the best of the land.
Now there is no bread in all the land, and Canaan and Egypt are languishing because of it. Joseph gathers all the money from Canaan and Egypt and brings them to Pharaoh's house, so when the money fails, all the Egyptians come to Joseph asking for bread. Joseph says he will give them bread in exchange for livestock that year. The next year, they tell him the money and livestock are all gone, and that they have nothing to offer but their bodies and lands. They ask to be sold, they and their land, for bread. Joseph buys all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, and every man of the Egyptians sells his field because the famine was so severe. So the land becomes Pharaoh's, and Joseph moves all the people into the cities. Only the land of the priests is not bought because they were given rations from Pharaoh. Joseph gives them bread and tells them to give 1/5 back of the harvest to Pharaoh, and they are thankful. So Joseph makes it a law that Pharaoh should always be given 1/5 of all the harvest except for the land of the priests.
So Israel dwells in Goshen and grows and "[multiplies] exceedingly." He lives there 17 years and so lives to be 147 years. When he is dying, he calls Joseph, and asks him to "put his hand under his thigh" as an oath not to bury him in Egypt but to carry him out of Egypt to be buried with his fathers. Joseph swears, so Israel "[bows] himself on the head of the bed." This is later mentioned in Hebrews as an act of faith, since he was looking ahead to the things that are not seen.
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
It is important to know our history. We do not know if Abraham told his son Jacob how God told him their descendants would be slaves in Egypt for 400 years and the be delivered, but it is very likely, as God appears to Jacob here and tells him not to fear, that He will be with him in Egypt and "bring him up again." We don't know who we are or where we are going without knowing our history. The Bible tells us that, and we need to study it and remember, especially those of us who are not Jewish and have been "grafted in" to the faith. How do you feel toward history?
How do you think that knowing history- the history of humanity in the Bible, your personal history, and the history of your country- will help you to prosper?