Strangely, when Yosef relays the message that his brothers are to tell Yaakov when they return home, Yosef makes sure that Yaakov is told ‘you will settle in the land of Goshen’ (45:10).
Why did Yaakov have to know this? The Tur and the Ramban both point out that Yaakov would only agree to come down to Egypt if he (and his family) did not live in the government city; the home of the Egyptian rulers.
This could be for one of two reasons (or both). Firstly, Yaakov did not want his sons, grandsons, etc. to be around the materialistic, self-centred ruling class Egyptians be influenced by them.
Alternatively, Yaakov did not want his children to be involved with the running of Egypt – he wanted to make sure that his children focussed on learning Torah and spiritual growth instead.
