Jacob hears Joseph is alive and the spirit revives in him. He loads everything — his sons, their wives, livestock, goods earned in Canaan — onto the wagons Pharaoh sent. Before crossing into Egypt, he stops at Beersheba, the southernmost edge of the promised land, and offers sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. That night God speaks in a vision: I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to go down to Egypt — I will make you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you, and I will surely bring you back up. Joseph will close your eyes.
This stop at Beersheba is not incidental. It is the last time the patriarchal line touches the land promised to Abraham before 400 years of exile. The altar at Beersheba is the last altar built on Canaan's soil in the patriarchal period. Jacob's fear was real — he was 130 years old, crossing into a foreign country with his entire family. God's answer is the answer of the entire Torah: I will go down with you.
The text records 70 souls descending with Jacob into Egypt. In Hebrew thought 70 represents the full complement of nations (Genesis 10), the 70 elders at Sinai (Exodus 24:9), the 70 years of Babylonian exile. The family entering Egypt as 70 souls is a signal: a complete nation-seed has entered the place of formation.
