Genesis 47
47
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
1So Joseph #ch. 46:31 went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in #See ch. 45:10the land of Goshen.” 2And from among his brothers he took five men and #Acts 7:13presented them to Pharaoh. 3Pharaoh said to his brothers, #ch. 46:33 “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, #ch. 46:32, 34“Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4They said to Pharaoh, #ch. 15:13; Deut. 26:5 “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell #ch. 46:34in the land of Goshen.” 5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers #ch. 45:18 in the best of the land. #ver. 4 Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any #Ex. 18:21, 25able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, #ver. 10and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my #1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 39:12; 119:19, 54; Heb. 11:9, 13 sojourning are 130 years. #Job 14:1; [Ps. 39:4, 5; James 4:14] Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and #ch. 11:32; 25:7; 35:28they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their #1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 39:12; 119:19, 54; Heb. 11:9, 13 sojourning.” 10And Jacob #ver. 7blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11Then Joseph settled 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; 12:37; [ch. 45:10] Rameses, #ver. 6as Pharaoh had commanded. 12And Joseph #ch. 45:11; 50:21provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.
Joseph and the Famine
13Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14#ch. 41:56And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. #ver. 19Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? #[Neh. 5:2, 3]Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21As for the people, he made servants of them#47:21 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew he removed them to the cities from one end of Egypt to the other. 22#[Ezra 7:24]Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24And at the harvests you shall give a #ch. 41:34fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25And they said, “You have saved our lives; #See ch. 33:15may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; #ver. 22the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.
27Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, #See ch. 45:10 in the land of Goshen. #ch. 46:3And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. #[ver. 9]So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.
29And #Deut. 31:14; 1 Kgs. 2:1 when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now #See ch. 33:15 I have found favor in your sight, #ch. 24:2 put your hand under my thigh and #ch. 24:49 promise to deal kindly and truly with me. #[ch. 50:25]Do not bury me in Egypt, 30but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and #ch. 49:29; 50:5, 13bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” 31And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then #ch. 48:2; 1 Kgs. 1:47; [Heb. 11:21]Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.#47:31 Hebrew; Septuagint staff
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Genesis 47
47
Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob
1So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”#Gn 45:10; 46:28
2He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.#Ac 7:13 3And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our ancestors, are shepherds.”#Gn 46:32–34 4And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to stay in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants’ sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe.#Gn 15:13; Dt 26:5 So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”
5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, 6the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land.#Gn 45:10,18; 47:11 They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”#Ex 18:21,25; 1Kg 11:28; Pr 22:29
7Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”
9Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage#1Ch 29:15; Ps 39:12; 119:19,54; Heb 11:9,13 has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard,#Jb 14:1; Ps 39:4–5; Jms 4:14 and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.”#Gn 11:32; 25:7; 35:28 10So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from Pharaoh’s presence.
11Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses,#Gn 45:10; Ex 1:11; 12:37 as Pharaoh had commanded. 12And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents.#Gn 45:11; 50:21
The Land Becomes Pharaoh’s
13But there was no food in the entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine. 14Joseph collected all the silver to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were purchasing, and he brought the silver to Pharaoh’s palace.#Gn 41:56 15When the silver from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die here in front of you? The silver is gone!”
16But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the silver is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the silver is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19Why should we die here in front of you — both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh’s slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”
20In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21and Joseph made the people servants#47:21 Sam, LXX; MT reads and he moved the people to the cities from one end of Egypt to the other. 22The only land he did not acquire belonged to the priests, for they had an allowance from Pharaoh. They ate from their allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
23Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land. 24At harvest, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh,#Gn 41:34 and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”
25“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor with our lord and will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.
Israel Settles in Goshen
27Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property in it and became fruitful and very numerous.#Gn 17:6; 26:4; 35:11; Ex 1:7; Dt 26:5; Ac 7:17 28Now Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, and his life span was 147 years. 29When the time approached for him to die,#Dt 31:14; 1Kg 2:1 he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh#Gn 24:2 and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness.#Gn 24:49 Do not bury me in Egypt. 30When I rest with my ancestors, carry me away from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”#Gn 23:17–20; 25:9–10; 35:29; 49:29–32; 50:5,13; Ac 7:15–16
Joseph answered, “I will do what you have asked.”
31And Jacob said, “Swear to me.” So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed in thanks at the head of his bed.#47:31 Or Israel worshiped while leaning on the top of his staff#Gn 48:2; 1Kg 1:47; Heb 11:21
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