Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Genesis, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God, Humanity, and Creation
Mistrust, Disobedience, and Death
Covenants and Faith in God’s Promises
The Role of Women
Summary
Analysis
On the way to Egypt, Jacob stops at Beer-sheba and offers sacrifices. In a vision, God speaks to Jacob and tells him not to be afraid of life in Egypt; he will make a great nation of him. Moreover, he will be with Jacob and make sure that when he dies, Joseph’s hand will close his eyes. So the house of Jacob—70 people in total—journey to Egypt.
Jacob’s relocation to Egypt is marked by remembrance of God’s goodness to him. God reiterates his promises to Jacob, including the intimate promise that Jacob will not die alone or alienated from his people. This suggests that the people of Israel as a whole will not be left helpless in a foreign land.
Themes
Joseph meets his family’s caravan in Goshen, and he weeps on Jacob’s neck for a long time. Jacob says that he can now die, having seen for himself that Joseph is still alive. Joseph tells his family that because they are shepherds, they can dwell in Goshen in peace—Egyptians do not associate with shepherds.
After many years and with great emotion, Joseph and Jacob are finally reunited. Now that Joseph has been restored to life after being thought dead, Jacob feels free to die. The reason behind the Egyptian distaste for shepherds is unclear, but the Israelites are kept at some distance from the Egyptians, perhaps for a mix of cultural and political reasons.
Themes
