Genesis 46:1-4

"And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And God 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: 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."

"And came to Beersheba ..." In a sense, this outpost, was somewhat a "point of no return" on the way to Egypt, lying at the southern extremity of the land of Canaan, being also the place where Isaac, the father of Jacob, had lived, and had erected an altar unto God, possibly the same altar upon which Jacob offered the sacrifices mentioned here. As for the reasons why Jacob should have paused here to offer sacrifices, there are many. He might have remembered the occasion when Abraham went into Egypt fleeing from famine, and the difficulties and disastrous consequences that came as a result. Jacob's father, Isaac, never dared to go into Egypt. Thus, Jacob might have paused for prayers and sacrifices before doing so. At any rate, God appeared to him in a vision, thus removing all doubt.

"And God spake unto him ..." As far as the record goes, this was the last appearance of God to Jacob, there being eight appearances in all: (1) Genesis 28:13; (2) Genesis 31:3; (3) Genesis 31:11; (4) Genesis 32:1; (5) Genesis 32:30; (6) Genesis 35:1; (7) Genesis 35:9; (8) Genesis 46:2. It is of interest that the appearance of God to Jacob came not for the personal benefit of the patriarch but upon occasions pertinent to the welfare of the covenant nation. God did not appear to Jacob and comfort him with regard to the fact that Joseph was indeed alive during those years when Jacob thought he was dead.

"And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night and said, Jacob ..." Note that the terms "Israel" and "Jacob" are here used interchangeably. "In the rest of the Book of Genesis, these names are used indiscriminately and interchangeably."[4] As we have repeatedly noticed, there is also good reason to believe that in many instances such names as the Fear of Isaac, [~'Elohiym], Jehovah, etc., are used exactly like people use synonyms today.

But let it be particularly noticed what God said to Jacob: He told him not to be afraid, but to go on down into Egypt. He promised to be with Jacob and his posterity in Egypt. He promised to bring them up again out of Egypt. He foretold the death of Jacob in Egypt. Now the unqualified miracle here is the unequivocal truth of what God promised. Such a revelation is totally beyond the power of natural man. God indeed was the source of this promise. How strange it is that the critics have not one word to say about this! Was this glorious revelation actually conveyed to Jacob? Absolutely, YES. Long afterward, when Joseph himself came to die, he spoke of it, and how God would take up the people out of Egypt and deliver them into the land of Canaan, requesting that the children of Israel would carry along his bones when the promise was fulfilled! Oh yes, this is the Word of God!

"And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes ..." This is an idiomatic expression which Yates declared has the following meaning. "It is a prophecy that the illustrious son (Joseph) shall perform the last rites at his father's death."[5] The closing of the eyes in death was a rite anciently performed by the hands of a loved one. In colonial America, after loving hands had closed the eyes, coins (usually nickels) were placed upon the eyes until rigor mortis ensued. From this came the proverb for a petty thief: "He would steal a nickel off a dead man's eyes!"