Genesis 47
47
1So Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king. He said, “My father and my brothers have come from Canaan with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own. They are now in the region of Goshen.” 2He then presented his brothers to the king. 3The king asked them, “What is your occupation?”
“We are shepherds, sir, just as our ancestors were,” they answered. 4“We have come to live in this country, because in the land of Canaan the famine is so severe that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen.” 5The king said to Joseph, “Now that your father and your brothers have arrived, 6the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. And if there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing, 8and the king asked him, “How old are you?”
9Jacob answered, “My life of wandering has lasted 130 years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings.” 10Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left. 11Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt, giving them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses, as the king had commanded. 12Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all the rest of his father's family, including the very youngest.
The Famine
13The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere, and the people of Egypt and Canaan became weak with hunger. 14As they bought corn, Joseph collected all the money and took it to the palace. 15When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Don't let us die. Do something! Our money is all gone.”
16Joseph answered, “Bring your livestock; I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18The following year they came to him and said, “We will not hide the fact from you, sir, that our money is all gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left to give you except our bodies and our lands. 19Don't let us die. Do something! Don't let our fields be deserted. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We will be the king's slaves, and he will own our land. Give us corn to keep us alive and seed to sow in our fields.”
20Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe; and all the land became the king's property. 21Joseph made slaves of the people from one end of Egypt to the other. 22The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. They did not have to sell their lands, because the king gave them an allowance to live on. 23Joseph said to the people, “You see, I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields. 24At the time of harvest you must give a fifth to the king. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families.”
25They answered, “You have saved our lives; you have been good to us, sir, and we will be the king's slaves.” 26So Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that a fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the king's property.
Jacob's Last Request
27The Israelites lived in Egypt in the region of Goshen, where they became rich and had many children. 28Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years, until he was 147 years old. 29#Gen 49.29–32; 50.6When the time drew near for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “Place your hand between my thighs#47.29 Place… thighs: See 24.2. and make a solemn vow that you will not bury me in Egypt. 30I want to be buried where my fathers are; carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”
Joseph answered, “I will do as you say.”
31Jacob said, “Make a vow that you will.” Joseph made the vow, and Jacob gave thanks there on his bed.
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Genesis 47
47
1Joseph went to report to Pharaoh and told him, “My father and brothers, along with their flocks and herds and all their possessions, have arrived from the land of Canaan and now they're here in Goshen.” 2Joseph took five of his brothers to go with him and introduced them to Pharaoh.
3Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What work do you do?”
“Your servants are shepherds, just like our fathers before us,” they replied.
4“We have come to live in Egypt because there's no grass left in Canaan for our flocks to eat,” they explained. “The famine is really bad in Canaan. So we would like to please ask permission to live in Goshen.”
5Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have arrived to join you, 6you can choose wherever you like in Egypt, the best place, for them to live. Let them live in Goshen. If you know any of them who are good at what they do, put them in charge of my livestock as well.”
7Then Joseph went with his father Jacob and introduced him to Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, 8Pharaoh asked him, “So how long have you lived?”
9“I have been wandering for 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My life has been short and difficult—I have not lived as long as my forefathers who also wandered from place to place.” 10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving him.
11So Joseph arranged for his father and brothers to live in Egypt and gave them land in the best part near Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 12He also provided food for all of them—his father, his brothers, and his father's whole household—depending on family size.
13No food was left in the whole country because the famine had become so bad. Throughout Egypt and Canaan people were starving. 14By selling grain Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and placed it in Pharaoh's treasury. 15Once the money from Egypt and Canaan had run out, the Egyptians all came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us food! Do you want us to die right in front of you? All our money is gone!”
16“Bring me your livestock,” Joseph told them. “I'll give you grain in exchange for your livestock if you've run out of money.”
17So they brought Joseph their livestock, and he provided them with grain in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. He gave them grain in return for their livestock during that year.
18But when that year was over, they came to him the next year and said, “My lord, we can't hide from you the fact that our money is gone and that you now own our livestock. All we have left to give you are our bodies and our land. 19Do you want us to die right in front of you? So buy us and our land in return for food. Then our land will belong to Pharaoh, and we'll be his slaves. Just give us grain so we can live and won't die, and so the land won't be abandoned.”
20So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Each and every Egyptian sold their fields, because the famine was hurting them so badly. The land ended up being owned by Pharaoh, 21and all the people became his slaves,#47:21. “The people became his slaves”: Septuagint and other ancient translations. The Hebrew has “he moved them to the cities.” from one end of Egypt to the other. 22The only land he didn't buy belonged to the priests because they had a food allowance provided to them by Pharaoh, so they didn't have to sell their land.
23Then Joseph told the people, “Listen to me! Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, I'm giving you some seed for you to sow the fields. 24However, when it's harvested, you have to give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you can keep as seed for the fields and as food for you, your households, and your children.”
25“You've saved our lives,” they declared. “May you continue to treat us well, my lord, and we'll be Pharaoh's slaves.”
26So Joseph made it a law for Egypt which is still is in effect today that one-fifth of all produce from the land belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests' land was exempt since it did not belong to Pharaoh.
27The Israelites settled in Goshen in Egypt where they became prosperous landowners and rapidly increased in number. 28Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years, so he lived in total 147 years.
29When the time came for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If you think well of me, place your hand under my thigh and promise to treat me with trustworthy love and faithfulness. Don't bury me here in Egypt. 30When I die, bury me with my forefathers. You must take my body from Egypt to the family tomb and bury me with them.”
“I will do as you say,” Joseph promised.
31“Swear to me that you will,” he said. Joseph swore that he would. Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com