Genesis 47
47
1#Ge 46:31; 45:10Then 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.” 2#Ac 7:13He took five men from among his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
3#Ge 46:33–34Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” 4#Ge 15:13; 46:34They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, 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.”
5Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6#Ge 47:11; Ex 18:21The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Have them dwell in the land of Goshen, and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge over my livestock.”
7#Ge 47:10Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
9#Ge 35:28; 1Ch 29:15And 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.” 10#Ge 47:7And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
11#Ex 1:11; 12:37So 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, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12#Ge 45:11Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and his father’s entire household, according to the number of their children.
Joseph and the Famine
13#Ac 7:11There 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. 14#Ge 41:56Joseph 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. 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. 19#Ne 5:2–3Why 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.”
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. 22#Ezr 7:24Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their lands.
23Then Joseph said to the people, “I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh; here is seed for you so you may sow the land. 24#Ge 41:34At the harvest, you must give a fifth part to Pharaoh and four parts will be your own, as seed for the field and for your food and for those of your households and for food for your little ones.”
25#Ge 33:15They said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26#Ge 47:22So Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except from the land of the priests, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
Jacob’s Request of Joseph
27#Ge 46:3; Ex 1:7Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they had possessions there and grew and became very numerous.
28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the years of Jacob’s life were one hundred and forty-seven years. 29#Ge 24:2; 24:49When 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 and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30#Ge 49:29–32; 23:19but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”
And he said, “I will do as you have said.”
31#1Ki 1:47; Ge 24:3And he said, “Swear to me,” and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself at the head of his bed.
Military Bible Association
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.
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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.