Genesis 47

1¶ Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh and said, My father and my brethren and their sheep and their cows and all that they have are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

2And of the least of his brethren he took five men and presented them unto Pharaoh.

3And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy slaves are pastors of sheep, both we and also our fathers.

4They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come, for thy slaves have no pasture for their sheep, for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan; now therefore, we pray thee, let thy slaves dwell in the land of Goshen.

5And Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee;

6the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest any men of valour among them, then make them rulers over my livestock.

7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from before Pharaoh.

11Thus Joseph placed his father and his brethren and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

12And Joseph nourished his father and his brethren, and all his father’s household with bread, according to their families.

13¶ And there was no bread in all the land, for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the food which they bought from him; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

15And when money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph and said, Give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence for the money fails?

16And Joseph said, Give your livestock, and I will give you for your livestock if the money has failed.

17And they brought their livestock unto Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses and for the sheep and for the bovine livestock and for the asses, and he fed them with bread for all their livestock that year.

18When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord how that the money is gone; my lord also has our herds of cattle; there is not nothing left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands.

19Why shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be slaves unto Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live, and not die, that the land not be desolate.

20Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for each one of the Egyptians sold his field because the famine prevailed over them; so the land became Pharaoh’s.

21And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.

22Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh and ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

23Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh; behold, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.

24And it shall come to pass in the increase that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and for food for your little ones.

25And they said, Thou hast saved our lives; let us find grace in the sight of my lord that we might be Pharaoh’s slaves.

26And Joseph made it a statute over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

27¶ Thus Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they had possessions therein and grew and multiplied exceedingly.

28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the whole age of Jacob was one hundred forty-seven years.

29And the time drew nigh that Israel must die; and he called his son Joseph and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh and deal with me in mercy and truth; do not bury me, I pray thee, in Egypt;

30but I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

31And he said, Swear unto me. And he swore unto him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.

Genesis 47

Jacob Settles in Goshen

1So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”

2And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

3“What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers.

“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”

4Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”

5Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, 6the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

7Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.

9“My travels #47:9 Hebrew sojourns; twice in this verse have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.

11So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.

The Famine Continues

13There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine. 14Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace. 15When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!”

16“Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

20So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21and Joseph reduced the people to servitude #47:21 SP, LXX, Vulgate; Hebrew removed the people to the cities from one end of Egypt to the other. 22However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land.

23Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land. 24At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.”

25“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

The Israelites Prosper in Goshen

27Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.

29When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.”

Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”

31“Swear to me,” Jacob said.

So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.#47:31 Hebrew; LXX Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff; see Hebrews 11:21.

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Genesis 47

Genesis 47