וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רַ֛ב עוֹד־יוֹסֵ֥ף בְּנִ֖י חָ֑י אֵֽלְכָ֥ה וְאֶרְאֶ֖נּוּ בְּטֶ֥רֶם אָמֽוּת׃

Israel said: It is enough that Joseph my son is still alive; I need no more than this. I will go and see him before I die. Jacob’s transformation is expressed in the change of his name back to Israel, the name given to him by God (35:10).

וַיִּסַּ֤ע יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ וַיָּבֹ֖א בְּאֵ֣רָה שָּׁ֑בַע וַיִּזְבַּ֣ח זְבָחִ֔ים לֵאלֹהֵ֖י אָבִ֥יו יִצְחָֽק׃

Israel and everything that he had traveled. He likely departed from Hebron, where he lived, and he came to Beersheba, which was located in the south, on the road to Egypt. Apparently, he specifically chose to pass this important landmark, where both Abraham and Isaac had constructed altars, just as he had on his initial journey to Haran (28:10). And there he slaughtered offerings to the God of his father Isaac.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּמַרְאֹ֣ת הַלַּ֔יְלָה וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֣ב ׀ יַעֲקֹ֑ב וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃

God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, either a dream or a vision similar to a dream, and said: Jacob, Jacob; and he said: Here I am.

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֥י הָאֵ֖ל אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ מֵרְדָ֣ה מִצְרַ֔יְמָה כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל אֲשִֽׂימְךָ֥ שָֽׁם׃

Since Jacob did not see an image but merely heard a voice, God explicitly states that He is the one speaking. He said: I am the God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, as I will make you a great nation there. This promise, that the family of Jacob would be transformed into a nation in Egypt, addressed the concern that they might assimilate into the society of this foreign land.

אָנֹכִ֗י אֵרֵ֤ד עִמְּךָ֙ מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וְאָנֹכִ֖י אַֽעַלְךָ֣ גַם־עָלֹ֑ה וְיוֹסֵ֕ף יָשִׁ֥ית יָד֖וֹ עַל־עֵינֶֽיךָ׃

I will go down with you to Egypt and help you there; and I will also take you up again from Egypt, though not necessarily in your lifetime. You will merit seeing your beloved son, and furthermore, Joseph shall place his hand over your eyes, as he will care for you when you die. It is likely that the act of a son placing his hand over his father’s eyes was part of the preparation ceremony for burial. This final contact of son and father was an expression of closeness and honor. To this day there is a custom among some communities to perform this action upon the death of a father, based on this verse.

וַיָּ֥קָם יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִבְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיִּשְׂא֨וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־יַעֲקֹ֣ב אֲבִיהֶ֗ם וְאֶת־טַפָּם֙ וְאֶת־נְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם בָּעֲגָל֕וֹת אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח פַּרְעֹ֖ה לָשֵׂ֥את אֹתֽוֹ׃

Jacob arose from Beersheba. It was easier for him to leave the land of Canaan with God’s approval and His promise to accompany him to a foreign land. And the sons of Israel conveyed Jacob their father, and their children, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to convey him. The sons rode on the animals, while the elderly and frail Jacob sat in the wagons together with the wives and children.

וַיִּקְח֣וּ אֶת־מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם וְאֶת־רְכוּשָׁם֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר רָֽכְשׁוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ מִצְרָ֑יְמָה יַעֲקֹ֖ב וְכָל־זַרְע֥וֹ אִתּֽוֹ׃

They took their livestock, which as shepherds was their primary possession, and their movable property that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came to Egypt: Jacob, and all his descendants with him.

בָּנָ֞יו וּבְנֵ֤י בָנָיו֙ אִתּ֔וֹ בְּנֹתָ֛יו וּבְנ֥וֹת בָּנָ֖יו וְכָל־זַרְע֑וֹ הֵבִ֥יא אִתּ֖וֹ מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃ (ס)

His sons and his sons’ sons came with him, his daughters, his daughter and daughters-in-law, as the Torah mentions only one daughter born to Jacob: Dina, and his sons’ daughters, his granddaughter and the wives of his grandsons, as in the following verses only one granddaughter is mentioned: Serah (see 46:17). And all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.