1 And Israel journeyeth, and all that he hath, and cometh in to Beer-Sheba, and sacrificeth sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac ;
2 and God speaketh to Israel in visions of the night, and saith, 'Jacob, Jacob ;' and he saith, 'Here [am] I.'
3 And He saith, 'I [am] God, God of thy father, be not afraid of going down to Egypt, for for a great nation I set thee there ;
4 I — I go down with thee to Egypt, and I — I also certainly bring thee up, and Joseph doth put his hand on thine eyes.'
5 And Jacob riseth from Beer-Sheba, and the sons of Israel bear away Jacob their father, And their infants, and their wives, in the waggons which Pharaoh hath sent to bear him,
6 and they take their cattle, and their goods which they have acquired in the land of Canaan, and come into Egypt — Jacob, and all his seed with him,
7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, yea, all his seed he brought with him into Egypt.
Note · Genèse 46.1–7
Une présence pour le voyage et au-delà
Jacob s’arrête à Beer-Schéba et reçoit une parole de consolation. L’annonce du retour ne doit pas nécessairement être réduite à son seul retour personnel vivant : la fin du livre racontera sa sépulture en Canaan et l’Exode développera la sortie de sa descendance.
8 And these [are] the names of the sons of Israel who are coming into Egypt : Jacob and his sons, Jacob's first-born, Reuben.
9 And sons of Reuben : Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10 And sons of Simeon : Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul son of the Canaanitess.
11 And sons of Levi : Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 And sons of Judah : Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah, (and Er and Onan die in the land of Canaan.) And sons of Pharez are Hezron and Hamul.
13 And sons of Issachar : Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
14 And sons of Zebulun : Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These [are] sons of Leah whom she bare to Jacob in Padan-Aram, and Dinah his daughter ; all the persons of his sons and his daughters [are] thirty and three.
16 And sons of Gad : Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17 And sons of Asher : Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And sons of Beriah : Heber and Malchiel.
18 These [are] sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she beareth these to Jacob — sixteen persons.
19 Sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife : Joseph and Benjamin.
20 And born to Joseph in the land of Egypt (whom Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, hath borne to him) [are] Manasseh and Ephraim.
21 And sons of Benjamin : Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
22 These [are] sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob ; all the persons [are] fourteen.
23 And sons of Dan : Hushim.
24 And sons of Naphtali : Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These [are] sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter ; and she beareth these to Jacob — all the persons [are] seven.
26 All the persons who are coming to Jacob to Egypt, coming out of his thigh, apart from the wives of Jacob's sons, all the persons [are] sixty and six.
27 And the sons of Joseph who have been born to him in Egypt [are] two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who are coming into Egypt [are] seventy.
Note · Genèse 46.8–27
Compter des personnes, transmettre une mémoire
Les listes donnent une place aux branches de la maison et distinguent les membres déjà en Égypte. Les nombres dépendent de la manière de compter et des traditions textuelles. Ils ne doivent pas être forcés en un calcul unique sans examiner qui est inclus dans chaque total.
28 And Judah he hath sent before him unto Joseph, to direct before him to Goshen, and they come into the land of Goshen ;
29 and Joseph harnesseth his chariot, and goeth up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and appeareth unto him, and falleth on his neck, and weepeth on his neck again ;
30 and Israel saith unto Joseph, 'Let me die this time, after my seeing thy face, for thou [art] yet alive.'
Note · Genèse 46.28–30
Les retrouvailles ne se réduisent pas à une information
Juda est envoyé en avant et Joseph vient à la rencontre de son père. Les larmes prolongées donnent à la reconnaissance une durée. La survie annoncée devient présence retrouvée ; le lecteur mesure ainsi ce que la vente de Joseph avait retiré à la relation entre le père et le fils.
31 And Joseph saith unto his brethren, and unto the house of his father, 'I go up, and declare to Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and the house of my father who [are] in the land of Canaan have come in unto me ;
32 and the men [are] feeders of a flock, for they have been men of cattle ; and their flock, and their herd, and all that they have, they have brought.'
33 'And it hath come to pass when Pharaoh calleth for you, and hath said, What [are] your works ?
34 that ye have said, Thy servants have been men of cattle from our youth, even until now, both we and our fathers, — in order that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen, for the abomination of the Egyptians is every one feeding a flock.'
Note · Genèse 46.31–34
Préparer une place dans une société différente
Joseph organise la présentation de la famille selon son activité de bergers. Le récit décrit des distinctions propres au cadre égyptien qu’il met en scène. Il n’érige pas la séparation des groupes en idéal universel, mais montre les conditions concrètes d’une installation en terre étrangère.