The Meaning of Genesis 46:28 Explained

Genesis 46:28

KJV: And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face 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.

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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Genesis 46:28 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 46:28-34 - Pharaoh Welcome's Joseph's Relatives
What a meeting between father and son! If the old man were sitting in the corner of the lumbering wagon, weary with the long journey, how he must have started up when they said, "Joseph is coming!" What pathos there is in the expression, "wept a good while," as though the long-pent-up streams took a long time to exhaust themselves. Had Joseph been less noble he might have shrunk from introducing his lowly relatives to the mighty Pharaoh! But such thoughts were submerged in the great love which claimed that withered, aged, halting man as his father. Let us never be ashamed of our Savior, who has done more for us than even Jacob for his sons. This confession that the days of his pilgrimage had been few and evil is set to a sad minor chord; and to the superficial gaze Esau had enjoyed a much more prosperous career; but when Jacob stood before Pharaoh the mighty monarch recognized his moral supremacy, and bent beneath his benediction. Surely the less is blessed of the greater. Here was the harvest of his tears! [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 46

1  Jacob is comforted by God at Beersheba
5  Thence he with his company goes into Egypt
8  The number of his family that went into Egypt
28  Joseph meets Jacob
31  He instructs his brothers how to answer Pharaoh

What do the individual words in Genesis 46:28 mean?

And Judah he sent before him to Joseph to point out before him to Goshen and they came to the land of Goshen
וְאֶת־ יְהוּדָ֞ה שָׁלַ֤ח לְפָנָיו֙ אֶל־ יוֹסֵ֔ף לְהוֹרֹ֥ת לְפָנָ֖יו גֹּ֑שְׁנָה וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ אַ֥רְצָה גֹּֽשֶׁן

יְהוּדָ֞ה  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
שָׁלַ֤ח  he  sent 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
לְפָנָיו֙  before  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
יוֹסֵ֔ף  Joseph 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄוסֵף  
Sense: the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel.
לְהוֹרֹ֥ת  to  point  out 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: יׄורֶה 
Sense: to throw, shoot, cast, pour.
לְפָנָ֖יו  before  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
גֹּ֑שְׁנָה  to  Goshen 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: גֹּשֶׁן  
Sense: a region in northern Egypt, east of the lower Nile, where the children of Israel lived from the time of Joseph to the time of Moses.
וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ  and  they  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אַ֥רְצָה  to  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
גֹּֽשֶׁן  of  Goshen 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גֹּשֶׁן  
Sense: a region in northern Egypt, east of the lower Nile, where the children of Israel lived from the time of Joseph to the time of Moses.