וירד מצרימה אנוס עפ"י הדיבור
We see at the end of the Parsha VeYechi that upon being told that Yosef was alive in Egypt, Yaacov wished to see him Yaacov. However, he was very concerned about going down to Egypt and having to be buried there. In the end, he only went to Egypt at the request of Hashem.
However, how does one explain that the decree spoken to Avrohom (that his seed would be in exile for 400 years) was fulfilled by the children of Yaacov and not by the children of Avrohom or Yitzchak?
We need to understand that the purpose of the Egyptian exile was for the subsequent Redemption and journey to Har Sinai to receive the Torah by the Jewish people. If Avrohom had been sent to exile then Yishmael’s children would also have been included in the Redemption. The same reason applies to Yitzchak (that the Redemption would have also included Eisav and his children). Thus, the decree was only fulfilled by the children of Yaacov, whom were entirely holy.
