And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
Parallel translations
- WEB These are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
- BSB Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
- NKJV Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn.
- NASB Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
- NLT These are the names of the descendants of Israel—the sons of Jacob—who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The narrative begins listing the names of Israel's children who came to Egypt, starting with Reuben the firstborn. The record preserves the founding family of the nation.
Overview
Scripture records the names of those who entered Egypt, beginning with Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. Such genealogies anchor Israel's identity and trace God's faithfulness through real people and families. This roster marks the seed from which the twelve tribes of Israel will grow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Chr 2:1–55These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,
- Exod 1:1–5Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
- Deut 33:6Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.
- Num 1:5And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.
- Exod 6:14–18These be the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.
- 1 Chr 8:1–40Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third,
- Gen 49:1–33And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
- Gen 29:32And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
- Gen 35:22–23And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
- Num 1:20–21And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
- Gen 29:1–30Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
- Num 26:4–11Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt.
- Num 2:10–13On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 46:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.