What Does Genesis 46:28 Mean?

He sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. Jacob sends Judah ahead: the same Judah who pledged himself for Benjamin, who gave the speech that broke Joseph's composure, who has emerged as the brothers' effective leader throughout Genesis 42 to 44. Judah is sent to Joseph to "show the way" to Goshen: to coordinate the logistics of the family's settlement in the region Joseph has prepared for them.

The choice of Judah as the advance messenger is narratively significant. Joseph's brothers have served various roles throughout Genesis 42 to 44: Reuben as eldest and failed protector, Simeon as hostage, Benjamin as test focal point: but Judah has been the decisive agent: the one who proposed the sale, the one who failed Tamar, the one who pledged for Benjamin, the one who made the climactic speech. Now Judah is sent ahead by Jacob as the family's representative and coordinator. The man who proposed Joseph's sale is sent ahead to arrange Joseph's welcome of the family. The reversal is quiet but complete.

"To show the way before him in Goshen": Goshen is the pre-arranged location; Judah's task is to make contact with Joseph and ensure the family arrives at the right place. The coordination between Judah-as-advance-party and Joseph-as-host is the practical management of a large family migration into a foreign country. The family of seventy, with livestock and goods, needed someone to go ahead and coordinate; Jacob chose Judah. In Judah's ahead-going, the brother who once said "let us sell him" now goes ahead to arrange the welcome of the man they sold.