Genesis 47
47
1Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.” # Ge 45:10; 46:31 2He took five men from among his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. # Ac 7:13
3Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” # Ge 46:33–34 4They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, # Ge 15:13 for your servants have no pasture for their flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please allow your servants to dwell in the land of Goshen.” # Ge 46:34
5Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. # Ge 47:11 Have them dwell in the land of Goshen, and if you know any capable men among them, # Ex 18:21 then put them in charge over my livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years. My days of the years of my life have been few and evil, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the lives of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” # Ge 35:28; 1Ch 29:15 10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
11So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, # Ex 1:11; 12:37 as Pharaoh had commanded. 12Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and his father’s entire household, according to the number of their children. # Ge 45:11
Joseph and the Famine
13There was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. # Ac 7:11 14Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain that they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. # Ge 41:56 15When 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, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone.”
16Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17They brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock for that year.
18When that year was ended, they came to him the second year and said to him, “We will not hide it from our lord, that our money is all spent. Our 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 food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. Also give us seed, so that we may live and not die, so that the land will not be desolate.” # Ne 5:2–3
20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian man sold his field because the famine was severe on them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21As for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22Only the land of the priests did he not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. # Ezr 7:24 Therefore they did not sell their lands.
23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh; here is seed for you so you may sow the land. 24At the harvest, you must give one-fifth to Pharaoh and four parts will be your own, # Ge 41:34 as seed for the field and for your food and for those of your households and for food for your little ones.”
25They said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find grace in the sight of my lord, # Ge 33:15 and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26So Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except from the land of the priests, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
Jacob’s Request of Joseph
27Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they had possessions there and grew and became very numerous. # Ge 46:3; Ex 1:7
28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the years of Jacob’s life were one hundred and forty-seven years. 29When the time drew near when Israel would die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found grace in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh # Ge 24:2 and deal kindly and truly with me. # Ge 24:49 Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” # Ge 23:19; 49:29–32
And he said, “I will do as you have said.”
31And he said, “Swear to me,” and he swore to him. # Ge 24:3 Then Israel bowed himself at the head of his bed. # 1Ki 1:47
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Genesis 47: MEV
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version
Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.
Genesis 47
47
1-2Joseph took five of his brothers to the king and told him, “My father and my brothers have come from Canaan. They have brought their sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else they own to the region of Goshen.”
Then he introduced his brothers to the king, 3who asked them, “What do you do for a living?”
“Sir, we are shepherds,” was their answer. “Our families have always raised sheep. 4But in our country all the pastures are dried up, and our sheep have no grass to eat. So we, your servants, have come here. Please let us live in the region of Goshen.”
5The king said to Joseph, “It's good that your father and brothers have arrived. 6I will let them live anywhere they choose in the land of Egypt, but I suggest that they settle in Goshen, the best part of our land. I would also like your finest shepherds to look after my own sheep and goats.”
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and introduced him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing, 8and the king asked him, “How old are you?”
9Jacob answered, “I have lived only a hundred and thirty years, and I have had to move from place to place. My parents and my grandparents also had to move from place to place. But they lived much longer, and their life was not as hard as mine.” 10Then Jacob gave the king his blessing once again and left. 11Joseph obeyed the king's orders and gave his father and brothers some of the best land in Egypt near the city of Rameses. 12Joseph also provided food for their families.
A famine in Egypt
13The famine was bad everywhere in Egypt and Canaan, and the people were suffering terribly. 14So Joseph sold them the grain that had been stored up, and he put the money#47.14 money: See the note at 42.25. in the king's treasury. 15But when everyone had run out of money, the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us more grain! If you don't, we'll soon be dead, because our money's all gone.”
16“If you don't have any money,” Joseph answered, “give me your animals, and I'll let you have some grain.” 17From then on, they brought him their horses and donkeys and their sheep and goats in exchange for grain.
Within a year Joseph had collected every animal in Egypt. 18Then the people came to him and said:
Sir, there's no way we can hide the truth from you. We are broke, and we don't have any more animals. We have nothing left except ourselves and our land. 19Don't let us starve and our land be ruined. If you'll give us grain to eat and seed to plant, we'll sell ourselves and our land to the king.#47.19 the king: See the note at 12.15. We'll become his slaves.
20The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king 21and made everyone the king's slaves,#47.21 made…slaves: One ancient translation and the Samaritan Hebrew Text; the Standard Hebrew Text “made everyone move to the cities”. 22except the priests. The king gave the priests a regular food allowance, so they did not have to sell their land. 23Then Joseph said to the people, “You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant, 24but one-fifth of your crops must go to the king. You can keep the rest as seed or as food for your families.”
25“Sir, you have saved our lives!” they answered. “We are glad to be slaves of the king.” 26Then Joseph made a law that one-fifth of the harvest would always belong to the king. Only the priests did not lose their land.
Jacob becomes an old man
27The people of Israel made their home in the land of Goshen, where they became prosperous and had large families. 28Jacob himself lived there for seventeen years, before dying at the age of one hundred and forty-seven. 29When Jacob knew he did not have long to live, he called in Joseph and said, “If you really love me, you must make a solemn promise not to bury me in Egypt.#Gn 49.29-32; 50.6. 30Instead, bury me in the place where my ancestors are buried.”
“I will do what you have asked,” Joseph answered.
31“Will you give me your word?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, I will,” Joseph promised. After this, Jacob bowed down and prayed at the head of his bed.
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