Genesis 47

Jacob [Israel] Meets Pharaoh

1Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks, herds, and everything they have. Now they are in Goshen.” 2Since he had taken five of his brothers with him, he presented them to Pharaoh.

3Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What kind of work do you do?”

They answered Pharaoh, “We are shepherds, as were our ancestors. 4We have come to live in this land for a while. The famine is so severe in Canaan that there’s no pasture for our flocks. So please let us live in Goshen.”

5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6All of Egypt is available to you. Have your father and your brothers live in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. If they are qualified, put them in charge of my livestock.”

7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and had him stand in front of Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

9Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.” 10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.

11As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph had his father and his brothers live in the best part of Egypt, the region of Rameses. He gave them property there. 12Joseph also provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food based on the number of children they had.

Joseph Acquires All the Land in Egypt for Pharaoh

13The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. Neither Egypt nor Canaan were producing crops because of the famine. 14Joseph collected all the money that could be found in Egypt and in Canaan as payment for the grain people bought. Then he took it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15When the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Give us food,” they said. “Do you want us to die right in front of you? We don’t have any more money!”

16Joseph replied, “If you don’t have any more money, give me your livestock, and I’ll give you food #47:16 Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek, Targum; Masoretic Text “I’ll give to you.” in exchange.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. During that year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18When that year was over, they came to him the next year. “Sir,” they said to him, “you know that our money is gone, and you have all our livestock. There’s nothing left to bring you except our bodies and our land. 19Do you want us to die right in front of you? Do you want the land to be ruined? Take us and our land in exchange for food. Then we will be Pharaoh’s slaves and our land will be his property. But give us seed so that we won’t starve to death and the ground won’t become a desert.”

20Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his fields because the famine was so severe. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21All over Egypt Joseph moved the people to the cities. 22But he didn’t buy the priests’ land because the priests received an income from Pharaoh, and they lived on that income. That’s why they didn’t sell their land.

23Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Plant crops in the land. 24Every time you harvest, give one-fifth of the produce to Pharaoh. Four-fifths will be yours to use as seed for your fields and as food for your households.”

25“You have saved our lives,” they said. “Please, sir, we are willing to be Pharaoh’s slaves.”

26Joseph made a law concerning the land in Egypt which is still in force today: One-fifth ⌞of the produce⌟ belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests didn’t belong to Pharaoh.

Jacob’s [Israel’s] Last Days in Egypt

27So the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and had many children.

28Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, so he lived a total of 147 years. 29Israel was about to die. He called for his son Joseph and said to him, “I want you to swear that you love me and are faithful to me. Please don’t bury me here. 30I want to rest with my ancestors. Take me out of Egypt, and bury me in their tomb.”

“I will do as you say,” Joseph answered.

31“Swear to me,” he said. So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down in prayer with his face at the head of his bed.

Genesis 47

Jacob Settles in Goshen

1So Joseph went and reported to Pharaoh. And he said, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds, and all that they have, have come from the land of Canaan. Now they are here in the land of Goshen.” 2And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh. 3And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are keepers of sheep, both we and also our ancestors.”#Or “fathers” 4And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants dwell in 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 in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen, and if you know there is among them men of ability, then appoint them overseers of my own livestock.” 7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”#Literally “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty years. Few and hard have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my ancestors#Or “fathers” in the days of their sojourning.” 10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and he went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11And Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them property in the land of Egypt in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed. 12And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all the household of his father with food, according to the number of their children.

The Famine in Egypt Continues

13Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. And the land of Egypt languished, with the land of Canaan, on account of the famine. 14And Joseph collected all the money found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain that they were buying. And Joseph brought the money into the house of Pharaoh. 15And when the money was spent in the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan, all of Egypt came to Joseph, saying, “Give us food! Why should we die before you? For the money is used up.” 16And Joseph said, “Give your livestock and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock if your money is used up.” 17So they brought their herds to Joseph, and Joseph gave food to them in exchange for horses, their flocks, and their cattle and donkeys. And he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18When that year ended, they came to him in the following year and said to him, “We cannot hide from my lord that our money and livestock belong to my lord. Nothing remains before my lord except our bodies and our land. 19Why should we die in front of you, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, then we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Then give us seed and we shall live and not die, and the land will not become desolate.” 20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for each Egyptian sold his field, for the famine was severe upon them. And the land became Pharaoh’s. 21As for the people, he transferred them to the cities, from one end of the territory of Egypt to the other. 22Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for there was an allotment for the priests from Pharaoh, and they lived on#Literally “ate” the allotment that Pharaoh gave to them. Therefore they did not sell their land. 23And Joseph said to the people, “Look, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you so you can sow the land. 24And it shall happen that at the harvest, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and four-fifths shall be yours, as seed for the field and for your food and for those who are in your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25And they said, “You have saved our lives. If we have found favor in the eyes of my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26So Joseph made it a statute unto this day concerning the land of Egypt: one fifth to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests alone did not belong to Pharaoh. 27So Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they acquired possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. And the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven years. 29When the time of Israel’s death drew near,#Literally “the days of Israel drew near to die” he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might vow to deal kindly#Or “loyal love” and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30but let me lie with my ancestors.#Or “fathers” Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial site.” And he said, “I will do according to your word.” 31Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

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Genesis 47

Genesis 47