This part of the history of the twelve tribes of Israel is so interesting and teaches us much about the Lord choosing out a people for Himself.  Let’s look first at the sons of Jacob (name changed to Israel in Genesis 35:10).  We read in Genesis 35:22-26, “…Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: The sons of Leah; REUBEN, Jacob’s firstborn, and SIMEON, and LEVI, and JUDAH, and ISSACHAR, and ZEBULUN: The sons of Rachel; JOSEPH, and BENJAMIN: And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; DAN, and NAPHTALI: And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; GAD, and ASHER: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram.”  We see from this portion that Jacob had twelve sons by four different women.  Jacob also had one daughter, Dinah, from Leah. (Genesis 34:1). 

In Genesis 37, we read much about Joseph and his dealings with his brothers.  Jacob and his family were living in Canaan.  Joseph was highly favored by Jacob, and therefore, his brothers hated him. Jacob even had a ‘coat of many colors’ made for Joseph, which infuriated his brothers.  One day, while Joseph’s brothers were tending to sheep in Shechem, Jacob sent him to check on the other sons.  When his brothers spotted Joseph coming their way, they plotted to kill him and were going to say some animal had killed him.  Reuban, the oldest brother, convinced the rest not to kill Joseph.  He suggested they cast Joseph into a pit, but he intended on taking Joseph back to their father. 

The brothers grabbed Joseph, stripped the coat of many colors off him and cast him into a pit.  It was Judah who openly suggested they not kill Joseph but sell him to the Ishmeelites, which they did for the sum of twenty pieces of silver.  This act infuriated Reuban, but he helped hatch a plot to take Joseph’s coat, soak it in the blood of an animal, and tell Jacob that Joseph had been killed.  We then learn in verse 36, “And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.”

This rich history of Joseph eventually finds him in prison, and because of a dream he interpreted for Pharoah’s butler, he wound up climbing the ladder of success where he was eventually second in command to Pharoah as we read in Genesis 41:39-40, “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.”  Looking more into the history of Joseph, we learn a great famine came upon the land, but wise Joseph had stored many silos in preparation for this famine. (Verses 46-49).

I encourage you to read these chapters to see how the Lord used Joseph in his position of being great in Egypt to save his family from the terrible famine.  In a remarkable chain of events, we see that Joseph was able to rescue his family from this famine as we read in Genesis 45:10-11, “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: And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.”  Joseph’s entire family was brought to Goshen, which was in lower Egypt.  It was a fertile area suitable for agriculture and livestock. 

Exodus 1:1-4 tells us that all the brothers of Joseph, and their families came to live in Goshen.  In due time, Joseph died, and we read in verse 6, “And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.”  Verses 8-11 tell us of the sad fate of the Israelites in Egypt.  That says, “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.” (Exodus 1:8-11).  Exodus 12:40-41 tell us the Israelites dwelt in Egypt for 430 years.  The slavery of the Israelites in Egypt was prophesied in Genesis 15:13, “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.”  From all we have read, we see all the twelve tribes of Israel were in Egypt for 430 years, and lived as slaves for 400 of those years.

We can’t leave this narrative without showing how the Lord delivered His people through His servant, Moses.  We read in Exodus 3:7-8, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”  (CC)  (727.4)