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Genesis 46:34

in Genesis 46

you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

that ye shall say, Thy servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

KJV

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.

This verse in Genesis 46

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Thy servants trade hath been about cattle - “The land of Goshen, called also the land of Rameses, lay east of the Nile, by which it was never overflowed, and was bounded by the mountains of the Thebaid on the south, by the Nile and Mediterranean on the west and north, and by the Red Sea and desert of Arabia on the east. It was the Heliopolitan nome or district, and its capital was called On.

This site's exposition

What is your occupation

on Genesis 46:33-34

Joseph coaches them to answer with the plain fact, that they have raised livestock since their youth. Abraham and Isaac had each stood before a foreign king and shaded the truth about a wife, and each time the king rebuked him. Here the truth is told and the land is granted. Shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians, and that is what keeps the household on ground of its own.

This site's exposition

all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians

Detestable translates toevah, the word used at 43:32 for Egyptians eating with Hebrews. The same scorn kept Joseph's table apart from his brothers' table. Exodus 8:26 uses it again, when Moses says Israel's sacrifices would be detestable to the Egyptians.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

John Chrysostom

HOMILIES ON GENESIS 65.9 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

Note the shrewdness with which Joseph advises them, not idly or to no purpose making these suggestions but anxious to put them in a more secure position and at the same time to ensure their assimilation among the Egyptians. You see, since they loathed and despised those who tended flocks for having no time for Egyptian wisdom, consequently he counsels them to make a pretense of their occupation so that he may plausibly apportion them the most attractive land and cause them to live in considerable prosperity.

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 40:6 · Written before 373.

proposed

Joseph went out to meet his father with chariots and with many people. [Joseph] got down [from his horse] and bowed down to his father, and they wept on each other's neck.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. The divine precept is, In all thy ways acknowledge God; and the promise annexed to it is, He shall direct thy paths.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:54w-of-76

That ye shall say, thy servants' trade hath been about cattle,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

I will go up, and show Pharaoh--It was a tribute of respect due to the king to inform him of their arrival. And the instructions which he gave them were worthy of his character alike as an affectionate brother and a religious man.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֗םand you will say

    vaamartemH5595305 times

  • אַנְשֵׁ֨יmen of

    ʾansheiH582566 times

  • מִקְנֶ֜הlivestock

    miknehH473576 times

  • הָי֤וּthey have been

    hayuH19613559 times

  • עֲבָדֶ֙יךָ֙servants your

    ʾavadeikhaH5650799 times

  • מִנְּעוּרֵ֣ינוּsince youth<s> our

    mineureinuH5271

  • וְעַד־and until

    vead-H57041261 times

  • עַ֔תָּהnow

    ʾatahH6258433 times

  • גַּם־both

    gam-H1571769 times

  • אֲנַ֖חְנוּwe

    ʾanachnuH587120 times

  • גַּם־as well as

    gam-H1571769 times

  • אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּfathers our

    ʾavoteinuH11212 times

  • בַּעֲב֗וּרinorder that

    baavurH566849 times

  • תֵּשְׁבוּ֙you may dwell

    teshevuH34271079 times

  • בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of

    beeretzH7762504 times

  • גֹּ֔שֶׁןGoshen

    goshenH165715 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H35884482 times

  • תוֹעֲבַ֥ת[is] [the] abomination of

    toavatH8441

  • מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt

    mitzrayimH471370 times

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H36055413 times

  • רֹ֥עֵהshepherd of

    roehH7462177 times

  • צֹֽאן׃sheep

    tzonH6629274 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Genesis 43:32

    They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 8:26

      But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable…

  • Through

    Exodus 8:26

    But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable…

    it leads to

    • Genesis 43:32

      They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.

  • Through

    Genesis 45:10

    You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 9:26

      The only place where it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

    • Exodus 8:22

      But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I,…

    • Genesis 46:28–29

      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,

    • John 17:24

      Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

  • Through

    Genesis 46:32

    The men are shepherds; they raise livestock, and they have brought their flocks and herds and all that they own.’

    it leads to

    • Genesis 47:3

      “What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”

  • Through

    Genesis 37:12

    Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 37:1

      Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.

About Genesis

Jacob Goes to Egypt — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Jacob Goes to Egypt — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 40:6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 65.9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.