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.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 47
47
1Joseph went to Pharaoh and told him, “My father and brothers with their flocks and herds and everything they own have come from Canaan. Right now they are in Goshen.”
2-3a He had taken five of his brothers with him and introduced them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked them, “What kind of work do you do?”
3b-4 “Your servants are shepherds, the same as our fathers were. We have come to this country to find a new place to live. There is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine has been very bad there. Please, would you let your servants settle in the region of Goshen?”
5-6Pharaoh looked at Joseph. “So, your father and brothers have arrived—a reunion! Egypt welcomes them. Settle your father and brothers on the choicest land—yes, give them Goshen. And if you know any among them that are especially good at their work, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
7-8Next Joseph brought his father Jacob in and introduced him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How old are you?”
9-10Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are 130—a short and hard life and not nearly as long as my ancestors were given.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.
11-12Joseph settled his father and brothers in Egypt, made them proud owners of choice land—it was the region of Rameses (that is, Goshen)—just as Pharaoh had ordered. Joseph took good care of them—his father and brothers and all his father’s family, right down to the smallest baby. He made sure they had plenty of everything.
* * *
13-15The time eventually came when there was no food anywhere. The famine was very bad. Egypt and Canaan alike were devastated by the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan to pay for the distribution of food. He banked the money in Pharaoh’s palace. When the money from Egypt and Canaan had run out, the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Food! Give us food! Are you going to watch us die right in front of you? The money is all gone.”
16-17Joseph said, “Bring your livestock. I’ll trade you food for livestock since your money’s run out.” So they brought Joseph their livestock. He traded them food for their horses, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. He got them through that year in exchange for all their livestock.
18-19When that year was over, the next year rolled around and they were back, saying, “Master, it’s no secret to you that we’re broke: our money’s gone and we’ve traded you all our livestock. We’ve nothing left to barter with but our bodies and our farms. What use are our bodies and our land if we stand here and starve to death right in front of you? Trade us food for our bodies and our land. We’ll be slaves to Pharaoh and give up our land—all we ask is seed for survival, just enough to live on and keep the farms alive.”
20-21So Joseph bought up all the farms in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his land—the famine was that bad. That’s how Pharaoh ended up owning all the land and the people ended up slaves; Joseph reduced the people to slavery from one end of Egypt to the other.
22Joseph made an exception for the priests. He didn’t buy their land because they received a fixed salary from Pharaoh and were able to live off of that salary. So they didn’t need to sell their land.
23-24Joseph then announced to the people: “Here’s how things stand: I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh. In exchange I’m giving you seed so you can plant the ground. When the crops are harvested, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and keep four-fifths for yourselves, for seed for yourselves and your families—you’re going to be able to feed your children!”
25They said, “You’ve saved our lives! Master, we’re grateful and glad to be slaves to Pharaoh.”
26Joseph decreed a land law in Egypt that is still in effect, A Fifth Goes to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ lands were not owned by Pharaoh.
* * *
27-28And so Israel settled down in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property and flourished. They became a large company of people. Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years. In all, he lived 147 years.
29-30When the time came for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said, “Do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh, a sign that you’re loyal and true to me to the end. Don’t bury me in Egypt. When I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me alongside them.”
“I will,” he said. “I’ll do what you’ve asked.”
31Israel said, “Promise me.” Joseph promised.
Israel bowed his head in submission and gratitude from his bed.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.