Genesis 47

1Then Yosef came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Kena’an; and, behold, they [are] in the land of Goshen [Drawing Near].

2And he took some of his brethren, [even] five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

3And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What [is] youri occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh (Great House), youri servants [are] shepherds, both we, [and] also our fathers.

4They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for youri servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine [is] sore in the land of Kena’an (merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues): now therefore, we pray youi, let youri servants dwell in the land of Goshen [Drawing Near] (approaching; drawing near).

5And Pharaoh spoke unto Yosef, saying, youri father and youri brethren are come unto youi:

6The land of Mitzrayim [Egypt] (Double Distress or Double Stronghold, Black Land) is before youi; in the best of the land make youri father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen [Drawing Near] (approaching; drawing near) let them dwell: and if youi know [any] men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

7And Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) brought in Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) his father, and set him before Pharaoh (Great House): and Ya’akov Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) Pharaoh.

8And Pharaoh said unto Ya’akov, How old [are] youi?

9And Ya’akov said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage [are] an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

10And Ya’akov Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

11And Yosef placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt] in the best of the land, in the land of Ra’amses [child or born of the sun god Ra], as Pharaoh (Great House) had commanded.

12And Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to [their] families.

13And [there was] no bread in all the land; for the famine [was] very sore, so that the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt] [all] the land of Kena’an (merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues) fainted by reason of the famine.

14And Yosef gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt], and in the land of Kena’an (merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues), for the corn which they bought: and Yosef brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

15And when money failed in the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt], and in the land of Kena’an all the Mitzrayimot [Egyptians] (People of the Black Land) came unto Yosef, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in youri presence? for the money fails.

16And Yosef said, Give youri cattle; and I will give youi for youri cattle, if money fail.

17And they brought their cattle unto Yosef: and Yosef gave them bread [in exchange] for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

18When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide [it] from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:

19For what reason shall we die before youri eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give [us] seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

20And Yosef bought all the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt] for Pharaoh; for the Mitzrayimot [Egyptians] sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.

21And as for the people, he removed them to cities from [one] end of the borders of Mitzrayim [Egypt] even to the [other] end thereof.

22Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion [assigned them] of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: For what reason they sold not their lands.

23Then Yosef said unto the people, Behold, I have bought youi this day and youri land for Pharaoh: lo, [here is] seed for you, and youf shall sow the land.

24And it shall come to pass in the increase, that youf shall give the fifth [part] unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be youri own, for seed of the field, and for youri food, and for them of your households, and for food for youri little ones.

25And they said, Youi have saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

26And Yosef made it a law over the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt] unto this day, [that] Pharaoh should have the fifth [part]; except the land of the priests only, [which] became not Pharaoh’s.

27And Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator) dwelt in the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt] (Double Distress or Double Stronghold, Black Land), in the country of Goshen [Drawing Near] (approaching; drawing near); and they had possessions in it, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

28And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) lived in the land of Mitzrayim [Egypt] seventeen years: so the whole age of Ya’akov was an hundred forty and seven years.

29And the time drew near that Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator) must die: and he called his son Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]), and said unto him, If now I have found grace in youri sight, put, I pray youi, youri hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray youi, in Mitzrayim [Egypt] (Double Distress or Double Stronghold, Black Land):

30But I will lie with my fathers, and youi shall carry me out of Mitzrayim [Egypt], and bury me in their burying place. And he said, I will do as youi have said.

31And he said, Swear unto me. And he swore unto him. And Isra’el bowed himself upon the bed’s head.

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Genesis 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 for your finest shepherds to watch 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 130 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 17 years, before dying at the age of 147. 29#Gn 49.29-32; 50.6. When 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. 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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