Genesis 46 · Verse 28

Genesis 46:28

And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

Genesis 46:28, King James Version

Genesis 46:28 in other translations

BSB	Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen,
WEB	Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.
ASV	And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to show the way before him unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
YLT	And Judah he hath sent before him unto Joseph, to direct before him to Goshen, and they come into the land of Goshen;
DARBY	And he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to give notice before he came to Goshen. And they came into the land of Goshen.
BBE	Now he had sent Judah before him to Goshen, to get word from Joseph; and so they came to the land of Goshen.
Webster	And he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to direct his face to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

What does Genesis 46:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Ge 46:28-34. Arrival in Egypt.

28. he sent Judah before him unto Joseph--This precautionary measure was obviously proper for apprising the king of the entrance of so large a company within his territories; moreover, it was necessary in order to receive instruction from Joseph as to the locale of their future settlement.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 28 He sent Judah before him unto Joseph - Judah was certainly a man of sense, and also an eloquent man; and of him Joseph must have had a very favorable opinion from the speech he delivered before him, Gen 44:18, etc.; he was therefore chosen as the most proper person to go before and announce Jacob's arrival to his son Joseph. To direct his face unto Goshen - The land of Goshen is the same, according to the Septuagint, as the land of Rameses, and Goshen itself the same as Heroopolis, 'Ἡρωων πολις Heroonpolis, the city of heroes, a name by which it went in the days of the Septuagint, and which it still retained in the time of Josephus, for he makes use of the same term in speaking of this place. See Clarke on Gen 46:34 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 46:28-34

It was justice to Pharaoh to let him know that such a family was come to settle in his dominions. If others put confidence in us, we must not be so base as to abuse it by imposing upon them. But how shall Joseph dispose of his brethren? Time was, when they were contriving to be rid of him; now he is contriving to settle them to their advantage; this is rendering good for evil. He would have them live by themselves, in the land of Goshen, which lay nearest to Canaan. Shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians. Yet Joseph would have them not ashamed to own this as their occupation before Pharaoh. He might have procured places for them at court or in the army. But such preferments would have exposed them to the envy of the Egyptians, and might have tempted them to forget Canaan and the promise made unto their fathers. An honest calling is no disgrace, nor ought we to account it so, but rather reckon it a shame to be idle, or to have nothing to do. It is generally best for people to abide in the callings they have been bred to and used to. Whatever employment and condition God in his providence has allotted for us, let us suit ourselves to it, satisfy ourselves with it, and not mind high things. It is better to be the credit of a mean post, than the shame of a high one. If we wish to destroy our souls, or the souls of our children, then let us seek for ourselves, and for them, great things; but if not, it becomes us, having food and raiment, therewith to be content.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 46:28 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853

יְהוּדָ֞הye.hu.DahJudahH3063

שָׁלַ֤חsha.Lachhe sentH7971

לְפָנָיו֙le.fa.Nav<to> before himH6440

אֶל\־'el-toH413

יוֹסֵ֔ףyo.SefJosephH3130

לְהוֹרֹ֥תle.ho.Rotto showH3384

לְפָנָ֖יוle.fa.Nav<to> before himH6440

גֹּ֑שְׁנָהGo.she.nahGoshen towardsH1657

וַיָּבֹ֖אוּvai.ya.Vo.'uand they wentH935

אַ֥רְצָה'Ar.tzah[the] land of towardsH776

גֹּֽשֶׁן\׃Go.shenGoshenH1657

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 46:28

Genesis 45:10
And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
Genesis 31:21
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
Genesis 44:16-34
And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? …
Genesis 49:8
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Genesis 46:34-47:1
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. Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
Genesis 43:8
And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Judah.
43:8; 44:16-34; 49:8
to direct.
31:21
Goshen.Goshen seems to have been a city, after which the land of Goshen was called. The LXX. render it by [Heroonpolis,] Heroonpolis, "city of Heroon;" which by some writers is simply called Heroum, and is by the ancient geographers placed in the eastern part of Egypt, not far from the Arabian Gulf.
34; 45:10; 47:1

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Genesis 46:27
And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
Genesis 46:28
And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
Genesis 46:29
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.

Read all of Genesis 46

Genesis 46:28 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y envió á Judá delante de sí á José, para que le viniese á ver á Gosén; y llegaron á la tierra de Gosén.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et Jacob envoya Juda devant lui vers Joseph, pour qu’il prépare le chemin devant lui en Goshen. Et ils vinrent dans le pays de Goshen.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er sandte Juda vor sich hin zu Joseph, um vor ihm her zu weisen nach Gosen; und sie kamen in das Land Gosen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Misit autem Judam ante se ad Joseph, ut nuntiaret ei, et occurreret in Gessen.