What Does Genesis 46:32 Mean?

"And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have." Joseph's preparation of his family for the audience with Pharaoh includes a specific item of information: the family are shepherds with livestock. This is not an accidental detail. Joseph is preparing the brothers for the question about their occupation that Pharaoh will ask (verse 33). The shepherding information sets up the Goshen recommendation: shepherds belong in Goshen, the land suitable for their occupation, rather than in the Egyptian heartland where their profession would be culturally problematic.

The shepherds' occupation is a cultural complication in Egyptian society. Genesis 46:34 will explain that "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." Joseph knows this cultural reality; he is preparing the family's presentation in a way that will lead naturally to the Goshen settlement as the culturally appropriate and physically suitable arrangement for shepherd-farmers in Egypt. The family's occupation is disclosed honestly: Joseph will not misrepresent them to Pharaoh: but the disclosure is framed to support the specific outcome Joseph needs: Goshen as the settlement location.

"They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have": the livestock came with the family. Despite Pharaoh's "have no concern for your goods" in Genesis 45:20, the family brought everything. The presence of the livestock in the migration is practically important: shepherd families whose livelihood and wealth is their animals cannot simply leave the animals behind. The fact that they brought all their livestock to Egypt is the practical evidence of the completeness of the migration: they are not planning to go back.