Berĕshith (Genesis) 47
47
1Then Yosĕph went and spoke to Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Kena‛an. And see, they are in the land of Goshen.”
2And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
3And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”
4And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the scarcity of food is severe in the land of Kena‛an. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
5And Pharaoh spoke to Yosĕph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.
6The land of Mitsrayim is before you. Settle your father and brothers in the best of the land, let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of capable men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.
7And Yosĕph brought in his father Ya‛aqoḇ and set him before Pharaoh. And Ya‛aqoḇ blessed Pharaoh.
8And Pharaoh said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “How old are you?”
9And Ya‛aqoḇ said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”
10And Ya‛aqoḇ blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11So Yosĕph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Mitsrayim, in the best of the land, in the land of Ra‛meses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12And Yosĕph provided his father, and his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread for the mouth of the little ones.
13Now there was no bread in all the land, because the scarcity of food was very severe, and the land of Mitsrayim and all the land of Kena‛an became exhausted from the scarcity of food.
14And Yosĕph gathered up all the silver that was found in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kena‛an, for the grain which they bought. And Yosĕph brought the silver into Pharaoh’s house.
15And when the silver was all spent in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kena‛an, all the Mitsrites came to Yosĕph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the silver is gone!”
16And Yosĕph said, “Give your livestock, and I give you bread for your livestock, if the silver is gone.”
17So they brought their livestock to Yosĕph, and Yosĕph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks they owned, and for the herds they owned, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.
18And when that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We do not hide from my master that our silver is all spent, and my master also has the livestock we owned. There has not been left any before my master 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 let us and our land be servants of Pharaoh. And give us seed, and let us live and not die, and let the land not lie waste.
20And Yosĕph bought the entire land of Mitsrayim for Pharaoh, because every man of the Mitsrites sold his field, because the scarcity of food was severe upon them. And the land came to be Pharaoh’s.
21And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Mitsrayim to the other end.
22Only the ground of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had from what Pharaoh gave them by law, and they ate that which Pharaoh gave them by law. Therefore they did not sell their ground.
23And Yosĕph said to the people, “Look, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
24And it shall be that in the harvest you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. And four-fifths is your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.
25And they said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find favour in the eyes of my master, and we shall become Pharaoh’s servants.”
26And Yosĕph made it a law over the land of Mitsrayim to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the ground of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
27And Yisra’ĕl dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim, in the land of Goshen. And they had possessions there and were fruirful and increased exceedingly.
28And Ya‛aqoḇ lived in the land of Mitsrayim seventeen years. So the length of Ya‛aqoḇ’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
29And the time for Yisra’ĕl to die drew near, and he called his son Yosĕph and said to him, “Now if I have found favour in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, and show loving-commitment and truth to me. Please do not bury me in Mitsrayim,
30but I shall lie with my fathers, and you shall take me up out of Mitsrayim and bury me in their burial-place.” And he said, “I do as you have said.”
31And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him, and Yisra’ĕl bowed himself on the head of the bed.
Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
Genesis 47
47
Jacob Settles in Goshen
1So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”
2And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
3“What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers.
“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”
4Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”
5Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, 6the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
9“My travels #47:9 Hebrew sojourns; twice in this verse have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.
11So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.
The Famine Continues
13There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine. 14Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace. 15When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!”
16“Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
20So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21and Joseph reduced the people to servitude #47:21 SP, LXX, Vulgate; Hebrew removed the people to the cities from one end of Egypt to the other. 22However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land.
23Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land. 24At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.”
25“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.
The Israelites Prosper in Goshen
27Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.
29When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.”
Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”
31“Swear to me,” Jacob said.
So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.#47:31 Hebrew; LXX Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff; see Hebrews 11:21.
The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.