Genesis 47
47
1Then Joseph #Gen. 46:31went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in #Gen. 45:10; 46:28; 50:8the land of Goshen.” 2And he took five men from among his brothers and #Acts 7:13presented them to Pharaoh. 3Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, #Gen. 46:33; Jon. 1:8“What is your occupation?”
And they said to Pharaoh, #Gen. 46:32, 34; Ex. 2:17, 19“Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” 4And they said to Pharaoh, #Gen. 15:13; Deut. 26:5; Ps. 105:23“We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, #Gen. 43:1; Acts 7:11for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants #Gen. 46:34dwell in the land of Goshen.”
5Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6#Gen. 20:15; 45:10, 18; 47:11The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell #Gen. 47:4in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob #Gen. 47:10; 48:15, 20; 2 Sam. 14:22; 1 Kin. 8:66; Heb. 7:7blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, #Ps. 39:12; (Heb. 11:9, 13)“The days of the years of my pilgrimage are #Gen. 47:28one hundred and thirty years; #(Job 14:1)few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and #Gen. 5:5; 11:10, 11; 25:7, 8; 35:28they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10So Jacob #Gen. 47:7blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of #Ex. 1:11; 12:37Rameses, #Gen. 47:6, 27as Pharaoh had commanded. 12Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all #Gen. 45:11; 50:21his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.
Joseph Deals with the Famine
13Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, #Gen. 41:30; Acts 7:11so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14#Gen. 41:56; 42:6And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.
15So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for #Gen. 47:19why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”
16Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.
18When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may #Gen. 43:8live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”
20Then Joseph #Jer. 32:43bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22#Lev. 25:34; Ezra 7:24Only the land of the #Gen. 41:45priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.
23Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”
25So they said, “You have saved #Gen. 33:15our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, #Gen. 47:22except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
Joseph’s Vow to Jacob
27So Israel #Gen. 47:11dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and #Gen. 17:6; 26:4; 35:11; 46:3; Ex. 1:7; Deut. 26:5; Acts 7:17grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29When the time #Deut. 31:14; 1 Kin. 2:1drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please #Gen. 24:2–4put your hand under my thigh, and #Gen. 24:49; Josh. 2:14deal kindly and truly with me. #Gen. 50:25Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30but #2 Sam. 19:37let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and #Gen. 49:29; 50:5–13; Heb. 11:21bury me in their burial place.”
And he said, “I will do as you have said.”
31Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So #Gen. 48:2; 1 Kin. 1:47; Heb. 11:21Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.
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Genesis 47: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 47
47
Jacob Blesses Pharaoh
1Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen.”
2Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh. 3And Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
They replied, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. 4We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. So please, we request permission to live in the region of Goshen.”
5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, 6choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too.”
7Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8“How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.
9Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.” 10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.
11So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded. 12And Joseph provided food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.
Joseph’s Leadership in the Famine
13Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. 14By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money in Pharaoh’s treasury. 15When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Our money is gone!” they cried. “But please give us food, or we will die before your very eyes!”
16Joseph replied, “Since your money is gone, bring me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Joseph provided them with food for another year.
18But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We cannot hide the truth from you, my lord. Our money is gone, and all our livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land. 19Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we offer our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty and desolate.”
20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. 21As for the people, he made them all slaves,#47:21 As in Greek version and Samaritan Pentateuch; Hebrew reads he moved them all into the towns. from one end of Egypt to the other. 22The only land he did not buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received an allotment of food directly from Pharaoh, so they didn’t need to sell their land.
23Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. 24Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your little ones.”
25“You have saved our lives!” they exclaimed. “May it please you, my lord, to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh.
27Meanwhile, the people of Israel settled in the region of Goshen in Egypt. There they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their population grew rapidly. 28Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all.
29As the time of his death drew near, Jacob#47:29 Hebrew Israel; also in 47:31b. See note on 35:21. called for his son Joseph and said to him, “Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request: Do not bury me in Egypt. 30When I die, please take my body out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors.”
So Joseph promised, “I will do as you ask.”
31“Swear that you will do it,” Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed humbly at the head of his bed.#47:31 Greek version reads and Israel bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff. Compare Heb 11:21.
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