GOD ASSURES JACOB AT BEERSHEBA

GENESIS 46

Jacob’s long-lost son Joseph, whom he presumed dead, was alive, and only a few days travel stood between this moment of discovery and their reunion. Even more astounding was the news that Joseph had become a high-ranking official in the Egyptian government, responsible for the distribution of food that his family so desperately needed (Gen. 42:1–2). How could there be a question of what to do? Jacob and his family quickly accepted Joseph’s invitation and migrated to Egypt. But while the trip to Egypt started quickly, it came to a pause at Beersheba (Gen. 46:1–7)—a pause that happened there for a reason.

God had not authorized Abraham or his descendants to leave the Promised Land for Egypt, even in the face of famine. The Lord had assured Abraham that his family would grow to become a great nation in Canaan. No doubt Jacob recalled what his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac had told him about their own experiences with Egypt. Abraham had left Canaan for Egypt under circumstances similar to those now facing Jacob (Gen. 12:10–19). That unauthorized trip had nearly cost Abram his wife. Later, Isaac also elected to leave the Promised Land for Egypt under the duress of a famine. But before he had gotten to the Egyptian border, the Lord blocked his path and told him to return to the land in which his family was supposed to live (Gen. 26:1–3). Now with famine in Canaan and his desire to see Joseph, Jacob was drawn toward Egypt. Perhaps previous commands of the Lord and the experiences of his father and grandfather caused Jacob to question the wisdom of travel to Egypt.

Tomb paintings of Semitic traders entering Egypt are reminders of Jacob’s journey into Egypt.

Tell Sheva (ancient Beersheba).

Beersheba marked the place for Jacob to answer this question as no other place could. For those living in the Negev like Jacob’s family, Beersheba represented the natural starting point for a trip to Egypt. Perhaps, like his grandfather Abraham, Jacob had positioned himself at the start of a roadway to Egypt called the Way to Shur (Gen. 20:1). What is more, Beersheba represented the southern boundary of Canaan.19 A step southward from Beersheba was a step out of and away from the Promised Land. And if that were not enough to give Jacob pause, Beersheba also was the site of a memorial altar built by Isaac. The Lord had appeared to Isaac at Beersheba recalling the promises made to Abraham and affirming Isaac’s decision to remain in the Promised Land (Gen. 26:23–25). Isaac then built a memorial altar there—somewhere near the road that led to Egypt on the border of Canaan—that would challenge any member of his family thinking about a trip to Egypt to think again.

When Jacob considered a journey to Egypt, the Lord assured him at Beersheba for a reason. If he was going to make a decision about leaving the Promised Land with Egypt as his destination, that decision had to be made at Beersheba. So Jacob stopped and “offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac” (Gen. 46:1). In contrast to the trips to Egypt initiated by Abram and Isaac, this one had divine approval. The Lord appeared to Jacob at Beersheba, assuring him that his departure from the Promised Land was sanctioned and promising that his family would return (Gen. 46:3–4). With these promises firmly established, a confirmed Jacob was ready to leave Beersheba to escape the famine and reunite with his son Joseph. Beersheba, formerly a stepping-stone of fear and doubt when Abram and Isaac sought security in Egypt, became a stepping-stone of faith as Jacob trusted and obeyed the Lord.

Jacob delays at Beersheba

The region of Beersheba toward the Way to Shur (view looking southwest).