6 And Jacob and his sons came to Joseph in Egypt, and when word of it came to the ears of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, he said to Joseph, Your father and brothers have come to you; all the land of Egypt is before you; let your father and your brothers have the best of the land for their resting-place.
But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens;
And Joseph made a place for his father and his brothers, and gave them a heritage in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had given orders.
And he made selection of able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens.
And they said to Pharaoh, We have come to make a living in this land, because we have no grass for our flocks in the land of Canaan; so now let your servants make a place for themselves in the land of Goshen.
And Shitrai the Sharonite was responsible for the herds in the grass-lands of Sharon, and Shaphat, the son of Adlai, for those in the valleys; Obil the Ishmaelite had control of the camels and Jehdeiah the Meronothite of the she-asses; The flocks were in the care of Jaziz the Hagarite. All these were the controllers of King David's property.
Even as you gave him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all those whom you have given to him.
The king's heart in the hands of the Lord is like the water streams, and by him it is turned in any direction at his pleasure.
Is not all the land before you? then let us go our separate ways: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; or if you take the right, I will go to the left.
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, kept back before the Lord; his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the strongest of Saul's runners.
So they took some dust from the fire, and placing themselves before Pharaoh, Moses sent it out in a shower up to heaven; and it became a skin-disease bursting out on man and on beast.
Then the hand of the Lord will put on your cattle in the field, on the horses and the asses and the camels, on the herds and the flocks, a very evil disease. And the Lord will make a division between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; there will be no loss of any of the cattle of Israel. And the time was fixed by the Lord, and he said, Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land. And on the day after, the Lord did as he had said, causing the death of all the cattle of Egypt, but there was no loss of any of the cattle of Israel.
And get your father and your families and come back to me: and I will give you all the good things of Egypt, and the fat of the land will be your food. And say to them, This you are to do: take carts from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and get your father and come back. And take no thought for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.
Go on living with us, and the country will be open to you; do trade and get property there.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 47
Commentary on Genesis 47 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 47
In this chapter we have instances,
Gen 47:1-12
Here is,
Gen 47:13-26
Care being taken of Jacob and his family, the preservation of which was especially designed by Providence in Joseph's advancement, an account is now given of the saving of the kingdom of Egypt too from ruin; for God is King of nations as well as King of saints, and provideth food for all flesh. Joseph now returns to the management of that great trust which Pharaoh had lodged in his hand. It would have been pleasing enough to him to have gone and lived with his father and brethren in Goshen; but his employment would not permit it. When he had seen his father, and seen him well settled, he applied himself as closely as ever to the execution of his office. Note, Even natural affection must give way to necessary business. Parents and children must be content to be absent one from another, when it is necessary, on either side, for the service of God or their generation. In Joseph's transactions with the Egyptians observe,
Gen 47:27-31
Observe,