1 Then Joseph 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 Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9 And Jacob 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.
10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18 When 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 hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19 Wherefore shall we die before thine 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.
20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22 Only 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: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
1 Then Joseph H3130 came H935 and told H5046 Pharaoh, H6547 and said, H559 My father H1 and my brethren, H251 and their flocks, H6629 and their herds, H1241 and all that they have, are come out H935 of the land H776 of Canaan; H3667 and, behold, they are in the land H776 of Goshen. H1657
2 And he took H3947 some H7097 of his brethren, H251 even five H2568 men, H582 and presented H3322 them unto H6440 Pharaoh. H6547
3 And Pharaoh H6547 said H559 unto his brethren, H251 What is your occupation? H4639 And they said H559 unto Pharaoh, H6547 Thy servants H5650 are shepherds, H7462 H6629 both we, and also our fathers. H1
4 They said H559 moreover unto Pharaoh, H6547 For to sojourn H1481 in the land H776 are we come; H935 for thy servants H5650 have no pasture H4829 for their flocks; H6629 for the famine H7458 is sore H3515 in the land H776 of Canaan: H3667 now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants H5650 dwell H3427 in the land H776 of Goshen. H1657
5 And Pharaoh H6547 spake H559 unto Joseph, H3130 saying, H559 Thy father H1 and thy brethren H251 are come H935 unto thee:
6 The land H776 of Egypt H4714 is before thee; H6440 in the best H4315 of the land H776 make H3427 thy father H1 and brethren H251 to dwell; H3427 in the land H776 of Goshen H1657 let them dwell: H3427 and if thou knowest H3045 H3426 any men H582 of activity H2428 among them, then make them H7760 rulers H8269 over my cattle. H4735
7 And Joseph H3130 brought in H935 Jacob H3290 his father, H1 and set him H5975 before H6440 Pharaoh: H6547 and Jacob H3290 blessed H1288 Pharaoh. H6547
8 And Pharaoh H6547 said H559 unto Jacob, H3290 How H4100 old H2416 H3117 H8141 art thou?
9 And Jacob H3290 said H559 unto Pharaoh, H6547 The days H3117 of the years H8141 of my pilgrimage H4033 are an hundred H3967 and thirty H7970 years: H8141 few H4592 and evil H7451 have the days H3117 of the years H8141 of my life H2416 been, and have not attained H5381 unto the days H3117 of the years H8141 of the life H2416 of my fathers H1 in the days H3117 of their pilgrimage. H4033
10 And Jacob H3290 blessed H1288 Pharaoh, H6547 and went out H3318 from before H6440 Pharaoh. H6547
11 And Joseph H3130 placed H3427 his father H1 and his brethren, H251 and gave H5414 them a possession H272 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 in the best H4315 of the land, H776 in the land H776 of Rameses, H7486 as Pharaoh H6547 had commanded. H6680
12 And Joseph H3130 nourished H3557 his father, H1 and his brethren, H251 and all his father's H1 household, H1004 with bread, H3899 according H6310 to their families. H2945
13 And there was no bread H3899 in all the land; H776 for the famine H7458 was very H3966 sore, H3515 so that the land H776 of Egypt H4714 and all the land H776 of Canaan H3667 fainted H3856 by reason H6440 of the famine. H7458
14 And Joseph H3130 gathered up H3950 all the money H3701 that was found H4672 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and in the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 for the corn H7668 which they bought: H7666 and Joseph H3130 brought H935 the money H3701 into Pharaoh's H6547 house. H1004
15 And when money H3701 failed H8552 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and in the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 all the Egyptians H4714 came H935 unto Joseph, H3130 and said, H559 Give H3051 us bread: H3899 for why should we die H4191 in thy presence? for the money H3701 faileth. H656
16 And Joseph H3130 said, H559 Give H3051 your cattle; H4735 and I will give H5414 you for your cattle, H4735 if money H3701 fail. H656
17 And they brought H935 their cattle H4735 unto Joseph: H3130 and Joseph H3130 gave H5414 them bread H3899 in exchange for horses, H5483 and for the flocks, H6629 and for the cattle H4735 of the herds, H1241 and for the asses: H2543 and he fed H5095 them with bread H3899 for all their cattle H4735 for that year. H8141
18 When that year H8141 was ended, H8552 they came H935 unto him the second H8145 year, H8141 and said H559 unto him, We will not hide H3582 it from my lord, H113 how that our money H3701 is spent; H8552 my lord H113 also hath H413 our herds H4735 of cattle; H929 there is not ought left H7604 in the sight H6440 of my lord, H113 but our bodies, H1472 and our lands: H127
19 Wherefore shall we die H4191 before thine eyes, H5869 both we and our land? H127 buy H7069 us and our land H127 for bread, H3899 and we and our land H127 will be servants H5650 unto Pharaoh: H6547 and give H5414 us seed, H2233 that we may live, H2421 and not die, H4191 that the land H127 be not desolate. H3456
20 And Joseph H3130 bought H7069 all the land H127 of Egypt H4714 for Pharaoh; H6547 for the Egyptians H4714 sold H4376 every man H376 his field, H7704 because the famine H7458 prevailed H2388 over them: so the land H776 became Pharaoh's. H6547
21 And as for the people, H5971 he removed H5674 them to cities H5892 from one end H7097 of the borders H1366 of Egypt H4714 even to the other end H7097 thereof.
22 Only the land H127 of the priests H3548 bought he H7069 not; for the priests H3548 had a portion H2706 assigned them of Pharaoh, H6547 and did eat H398 their portion H2706 which Pharaoh H6547 gave H5414 them: wherefore they sold H4376 not their lands. H127
23 Then Joseph H3130 said H559 unto the people, H5971 Behold, I have bought H7069 H853 you this day H3117 and your land H127 for Pharaoh: H6547 lo, H1887 here is seed H2233 for you, and ye shall sow H2232 the land. H127
24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, H8393 that ye shall give H5414 the fifth H2549 part unto Pharaoh, H6547 and four H702 parts H3027 shall be your own, for seed H2233 of the field, H7704 and for your food, H400 and for them of your households, H1004 and for food H398 for your little ones. H2945
25 And they said, H559 Thou hast saved our lives: H2421 let us find H4672 grace H2580 in the sight H5869 of my lord, H113 and we will be Pharaoh's H6547 servants. H5650
26 And Joseph H3130 made H7760 it a law H2706 over the land H127 of Egypt H4714 unto this day, H3117 that Pharaoh H6547 should have the fifth H2569 part; except H7535 the land H127 of the priests H3548 only, which became not Pharaoh's. H6547
27 And Israel H3478 dwelt H3427 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 in the country H776 of Goshen; H1657 and they had possessions H270 therein, and grew, H6509 and multiplied H7235 exceedingly. H3966
28 And Jacob H3290 lived H2421 in the land H776 of Egypt H4714 seventeen H6240 H7651 years: H8141 so the whole age H2416 H3117 of Jacob H3290 was an hundred H3967 forty H705 H8141 and seven H7651 years. H8141
29 And the time H3117 drew nigh H7126 that Israel H3478 must die: H4191 and he called H7121 his son H1121 Joseph, H3130 and said H559 unto him, If now I have found H4672 grace H2580 in thy sight, H5869 put, H7760 I pray thee, thy hand H3027 under my thigh, H3409 and deal H6213 kindly H2617 and truly H571 with me; bury H6912 me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: H4714
30 But I will lie H7901 with my fathers, H1 and thou shalt carry H5375 me out of Egypt, H4714 and bury H6912 me in their buryingplace. H6900 And he said, H559 I will do H6213 as thou hast said. H1697
31 And he said, H559 Swear H7650 unto me. And he sware H7650 unto him. And Israel H3478 bowed H7812 himself upon the bed's H4296 head. H7218
1 Then Joseph went in 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 Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2 And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.
4 And they said unto Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for thy servants' flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6 the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How many are the days of the years of thy life?
9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for `our' money faileth.
16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread in exchange for all their cattle for that year.
18 And when that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide from my lord, how that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord's; there is nought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19 wherefore should we die before thine 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, and that the land be not desolate.
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was sore upon them: and the land became Pharaoh's.
21 And as for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22 Only the land of the priests bought he not: for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they sold not their land.
23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24 And it shall come to pass at the ingatherings, that ye shall give a fifth unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
26 And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's.
27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they gat them possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred forty and seven years.
29 And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;
30 but when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31 And he said, Swear unto me: and he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
1 And Joseph cometh, and declareth to Pharaoh, and saith, `My father, and my brethren, and their flock, and their herd, and all they have, have come from the land of Canaan, and lo, they `are' in the land of Goshen.'
2 And out of his brethren he hath taken five men, and setteth them before Pharaoh;
3 and Pharaoh saith unto his brethren, `What `are' your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thy servants `are' feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;'
4 and they say unto Pharaoh, `To sojourn in the land we have come, for there is no pasture for the flock which thy servants have, for grievous `is' the famine in the land of Canaan; and now, let thy servants, we pray thee, dwell in the land of Goshen.'
5 And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph, saying, `Thy father and thy brethren have come unto thee:
6 the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land cause thy father and thy brethren to dwell -- they dwell in the land of Goshen, and if thou hast known, and there are among them men of ability, then thou hast set them heads over the cattle I have.'
7 And Joseph bringeth in Jacob his father, and causeth him to stand before Pharaoh; and Jacob blesseth Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh saith unto Jacob, `How many `are' the days of the years of thy life?'
9 And Jacob saith unto Pharaoh, `The days of the years of my sojournings `are' an 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.'
10 And Jacob blesseth Pharaoh, and goeth out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph settleth his father and his brethren, and giveth to them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh commanded;
12 and Joseph nourisheth his father, and his brethren, and all the house of his father `with' bread, according to the mouth of the infants.
13 And there is no bread in all the land, for the famine `is' very grievous, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan are feeble because of the famine;
14 and Joseph gathereth all the silver that is found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn that they are buying, and Joseph bringeth the silver into the house of Pharaoh.
15 And the silver is consumed out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Canaan, and all the Egyptians come in unto Joseph, saying, `Give to us bread -- why do we die before thee, though the money hath ceased?'
16 and Joseph saith, `Give your cattle; and I give to you for your cattle, if the money hath ceased.'
17 And they bring in their cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph giveth to them bread, for the horses, and for the cattle of the flock, and for the cattle of the herd, and for the asses; and he tendeth them with bread, for all their cattle, during that year.
18 And that year is finished, and they come in unto him on the second year, and say to him, `We do not hide from my lord, that since the money hath been finished, and possession of the cattle `is' unto my lord, there hath not been left before my lord save our bodies, and our ground;
19 why do we die before thine eyes, both we and our ground? buy us and our ground for bread, and we and our ground are servants to Pharaoh; and give seed, and we live, and die not, and the ground is not desolate.'
20 And Joseph buyeth all the ground of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians have sold each his field, for the famine hath been severe upon them, and the land becometh Pharaoh's;
21 as to the people he hath removed them to cities from the `one' end of the border of Egypt even unto its `other' end.
22 Only the ground of the priests he hath not bought, for the priests have a portion from Pharaoh, and they have eaten their portion which Pharaoh hath given to them, therefore they have not sold their ground.
23 And Joseph saith unto the people, `Lo, I have bought you to-day and your ground for Pharaoh; lo, seed for you, and ye have sown the ground,
24 and it hath come to pass in the increases, that ye have given a fifth to Pharaoh, and four of the parts are for yourselves, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for those who `are' in your houses, and for food for your infants.'
25 And they say, `Thou hast revived us; we find grace in the eyes of my lord, and have been servants to Pharaoh;'
26 and Joseph setteth it for a statute unto this day, concerning the ground of Egypt, `that' Pharaoh hath a fifth; only the ground of the priests alone hath not become Pharaoh's.
27 And Israel dwelleth in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they have possession in it, and are fruitful, and multiply exceedingly;
28 and Jacob liveth in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, are an hundred and forty and seven years.
29 And the days of Israel are near to die, and he calleth for his son, for Joseph, and saith to him, `If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and thou hast done with me kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt,
30 and I have lain with my fathers, and thou hast borne me out of Egypt, and buried me in their burying-place.' And he saith, `I -- I do according to thy word;'
31 and he saith, `Swear to me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.
1 And Joseph came and told Pharaoh and said, My father and my brethren, and their sheep and their cattle, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2 And he took from the whole number of his brethren, five men, and set them before Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said to his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.
4 And they said to Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for the sheep that thy servants have, for the famine is grievous in the land of Canaan; and now, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.
6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land settle thy father and thy brethren: let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if thou knowest men of activity among them, then set them as overseers of cattle over what I have.
7 And Joseph brought Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of thy life?
9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojourning are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they do not attain to the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their sojourning.
10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph settled his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph maintained his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to the number of the little ones.
13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very grievous; and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted through the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 And when money came to an end in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, Give us bread! for why should we die before thee? for [our] money is all gone.
16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle, and I will give you for your cattle, if [your] money be all gone.
17 And they brought their cattle to Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread for horses, and for flocks of sheep, and for herds of cattle, and for asses; and he fed them with bread for all their cattle that year.
18 And that year ended; and they came to him the second year, and said to him, We will not hide [it] from my lord that since [our] money is come to an end, and the herds of cattle are in the possession of my lord, nothing is left before my lord but our bodies and our land.
19 Why should we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be bondmen to Pharaoh; and give seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not desolate.
20 And Joseph bought all the soil of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them; and the land became Pharaoh's.
21 And as for the people, he removed them into the cities, from [one] end of the borders of Egypt even to the [other] end of it.
22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had an assigned portion from Pharaoh, and ate their assigned portion which Pharaoh had given them; so they did not sell their land.
23 And Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and sow the land.
24 And it shall come to pass in the increase that ye shall give the fifth to Pharaoh, and the four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25 And they said, Thou hast saved us alive. Let us find favour in the eyes of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's bondmen.
26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, [that] the fifth should be for Pharaoh, except the land of the priests: theirs alone did not become Pharaoh's.
27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they had possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred and forty-seven years.
29 And the days of Israel approached that he should die. And he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;
30 but when I shall lie with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their sepulchre. And he said, I will do according to thy word.
31 And he said, Swear to me; and he swore to him. And Israel worshipped on the bed's head.
1 Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen."
2 From among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."
4 They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
5 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.
6 The land of Egypt is before you. Make your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my cattle."
7 Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?"
9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."
10 Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
11 Joseph placed his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 Joseph nourished his father, his brothers, and all of his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13 There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14 Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 When 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 bread, for why should we die in your presence? For our money fails."
16 Joseph said, "Give your cattle; and I will give you food for your cattle, if money fails."
17 They brought their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and for the donkeys: and he fed them with bread in exchange for all their cattle for that year.
18 When that year was ended, they came to him the second year, and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord how our money is all spent, and the herds of cattle are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands.
19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land won't be desolate."
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was severe on them, and the land became Pharaoh's.
21 As for the people, he moved them to the cities from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end of it.
22 Only he didn't buy the land of the priests, for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them. That is why they didn't sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
24 It will happen at the harvests, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of the field, for your food, for them of your households, and for food for your little ones."
25 They said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants."
26 Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Only the land of the priests alone didn't become Pharaoh's.
27 Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they got themselves possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.
28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.
29 The time drew near that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please don't bury me in Egypt,
30 but when I sleep with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place." He said, "I will do as you have said."
31 He said, "Swear to me," and he swore to him. Israel bowed himself on the bed's head.
1 Then Joseph went to Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brothers with their flocks and their herds and all they have, are come from Canaan, and are now in the land of Goshen.
2 And he took five of his brothers to Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said to them, What is your business? And they said, Your servants are keepers of sheep, as our fathers were before us.
4 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.
5 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Let them have the land of Goshen; and if there are any able men among them, put them over my cattle.
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.
7 Then Joseph made his father Jacob come before Pharaoh, and Jacob gave him his blessing.
8 And Pharaoh said to him, How old are you?
9 And Jacob said, The years of my wanderings have been a hundred and thirty; small in number and full of sorrow have been the years of my life, and less than the years of the wanderings of my fathers.
10 And Jacob gave Pharaoh his blessing, and went out from before him.
11 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.
12 And Joseph took care of his father and his brothers and all his father's people, giving them food for the needs of their families.
13 Now there was no food to be had in all the land, so that all Egypt and Canaan were wasted from need of food.
14 And all the money in Egypt and in the land of Canaan which had been given for grain, came into the hands of Joseph: and he put it in Pharaoh's house.
15 And when all the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, Give us bread; would you have us come to destruction before your eyes? for we have no more money.
16 And Joseph said, Give me your cattle; I will give you grain in exchange for your cattle if your money is all gone.
17 So they took their cattle to Joseph and he gave them bread in exchange for their horses and flocks and herds and asses, so all that year he gave them food in exchange for their cattle.
18 And when that year was ended, they came to him in the second year, and said, We may not keep it from our lord's knowledge that all our money is gone, and all the herds of cattle are my lord's; there is nothing more to give my lord but our bodies and our land;
19 Are we to come to destruction before your eyes, we and our land? take us and our land and give us bread; and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh; and give us seed so that we may have life and the land may not become waste.
20 So Joseph got all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian gave up his land in exchange for food, because of their great need; so all the land became Pharaoh's.
21 And as for the people, he made servants of them, town by town, from one end of Egypt to the other.
22 Only he did not take the land of the priests, for the priests had their food given them by Pharaoh, and having what Pharaoh gave them, they had no need to give up their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, I have made you and your land this day the property of Pharaoh; here is seed for you to put in your fields.
24 And when the grain is cut, you are to give a fifth part to Pharaoh, and four parts will be yours for seed and food, and for your families and your little ones.
25 And they said to him, Truly you have kept us from death; may we have grace in your eyes, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
26 Then Joseph made a law which is in force to this day, that Pharaoh was to have the fifth part; only the land of the priests did not become his.
27 And so Israel was living among the Egyptians in the land of Goshen; and they got property there, and became very great in numbers and in wealth.
28 And Jacob was living in the land of Goshen for seventeen years; so the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.
29 And the time of his death came near, and he sent for his son Joseph and said to him, If now I am dear to you, put your hand under my leg and take an oath that you will not put me to rest in Egypt;
30 But when I go to my fathers, you are to take me out of Egypt and put me to rest in their last resting-place. And he said, I will do so.
31 And he said, Take an oath to me; and he took an oath to him: and Israel gave worship on the bed's head.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 47
Commentary on Genesis 47 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
When Joseph had announced to Pharaoh the arrival of his relations in Goshen, he presented five out of the whole number of his brethren ( אחיו מקצה ; on קצה see Genesis 19:4) to the king.
Pharaoh asked them about their occupation, and according to Joseph's instructions they replied that they were herdsmen ( צאן רעה , the singular of the predicate, see Ges. §147c), who had come to sojourn in the land ( גּוּר , i.e., to stay for a time), because the pasture for their flocks had failed in the land of Canaan on account of the famine. The king then empowered Joseph to give his father and his brethren a dwelling ( הושׁיב ) in the best part of the land, in the land of Goshen, and, if he knew any brave men among them, to make them rulers over the royal herds, which were kept, as we may infer, in the land of Goshen, as being the best pasture-land.
Joseph then presented his father to Pharaoh, but not till after the audience of his brothers had been followed by the royal permission to settle, for which the old man, who was bowed down with age, was not in a condition to sue. The patriarch saluted the king with a blessing, and replied to his inquiry as to his age, “ The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years; few and sorrowful are the days of my life's years, and have not reached (the perfect in the presentiment of his approaching end) the days of the life's years of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage .” Jacob called his own life and that of his fathers a pilgrimage ( מגוּרים ), because they had not come into actual possession of the promised land, but had been obliged all their life long to wander about, unsettled and homeless, in the land promised to them for an inheritance, as in a strange land. This pilgrimage was at the same time a figurative representation of the inconstancy and weariness of the earthly life, in which man does not attain to that true rest of peace with God and blessedness in His fellowship, for which he was created, and for which therefore his soul is continually longing (cf. Psalms 39:13; Psalms 119:19, Psalms 119:54; 1 Chronicles 29:15). The apostle, therefore, could justly regard these words as a declaration of the longing of the patriarchs for the eternal rest of their heavenly fatherland (Hebrews 11:13-16). So also Jacob's life was little ( מעט ) and evil (i.e., full of toil and trouble) in comparison with the life of his fathers. For Abraham lived to be 175 years old, and Isaac 180; and neither of them had led a life so agitated, so full of distress and dangers, of tribulation and anguish, as Jacob had from his first flight to Haran up to the time of his removal to Egypt.
After this probably short interview, of which, however, only the leading incidents are given, Jacob left the king with a blessing.
Joseph assigned to his father and his brethren, according to Pharaoh's command, a possession ( אחזּה ) for a dwelling-place in the best part of Egypt, the land of Raëmses, and provided them with bread, “ according to the mouth of the little ones, ” i.e., according to the necessities of each family, answering to the larger or smaller number of their children. כּלכּל with a double accusative ( Ges. §139). The settlement of the Israelites is called the land of Raëmses ( רעמסס , in pause רעמסס Exodus 1:11), instead of Goshen , either because the province of Goshen ( Γεσέμ , lxx) is indicated by the name of its former capital Raëmses (i.e., Heroopolis , on the site or in the immediate neighbourhood of the modern Abu Keisheib , in Wady Tumilat (vid., Exodus 1:11), or because Israel settled in the vicinity of Raëmses . The district of Goshen is to be sought in the modern province of el Sharkiyeh (i.e., the eastern), on the east side of the Nile, towards Arabia, still the most fertile and productive province of Egypt (cf. Robinson, Pal. i. 78, 79). For Goshen was bounded on the east by the desert of Arabia Petraea, which stretches away to Philistia (Exodus 13:17, cf. 1 Chronicles 7:21) and is called Γεσέμ Ἀραβίας in the Septuagint in consequence (Genesis 45:10; Genesis 46:34), and must have extended westwards to the Nile, since the Israelites had an abundance of fish (Numbers 11:5). It probably skirted the Tanitic arm of the Nile, as the fields of Zoan , i.e., Tanis , are said to have been the scene of the mighty acts of God in Egypt (Psalms 78:12, Psalms 78:43, cf. Numbers 13:22). In this province Joseph assigned his relations settlements near to himself (Genesis 45:10), from which they could quickly and easily communicate with one another (Genesis 46:28; Genesis 48:1.). Whether he lived at Raëmses or not, cannot be determined, just because the residence of the Pharaoh of that time is not known, and the notion that it was at Memphis is only based upon utterly uncertain combinations relating to the Hyksos.
To make the extent of the benefit conferred by Joseph upon his family, in providing them with the necessary supplies during the years of famine, all the more apparent, a description is given of the distress into which the inhabitants of Egypt and Canaan were plunged by the continuance of the famine.
Genesis 47:13
The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted with hunger. - ותּלהּ : from להה = לאה , to languish, to be exhausted, only occurring again in Proverbs 26:18, Hithp . in a secondary sense.
Genesis 47:14
All the money in both countries was paid in to Joseph for the purchase of corn, and deposited by him in Pharaoh's house, i.e., the royal treasury.
Genesis 47:15-17
When the money was exhausted, the Egyptians all came to Joseph with the petition: “ Give us bread, why should we die before thee ” (i.e., so that thou shouldst see us die, when in reality thou canst support us)? Joseph then offered to accept their cattle in payment; and they brought him near their herds, in return for which he provided them that year with bread. נהל : Piel to lead, with the secondary meaning, to care for (Psalms 23:2; Isaiah 40:11, etc.); hence the signification here, “to maintain.”
Genesis 47:18-19
When that year had passed ( תּתּם , as in Psalms 102:28, to denote the termination of the year), they came again “the second year” (i.e., after the money was gone, not the second of the seven years of famine) and said: “ We cannot hide it from my lord ( אדוני , a title similar to your majesty ), but the money is all gone, and the cattle have come to my lord; we have nothing left to offer to my lord but our bodies and our land .” אם כּי is an intensified כּי following a negation (“but,” as in Genesis 32:29, etc.), and is to be understood elliptically; lit., “for if,” sc., we would speak openly; not “that because,” for the causal signification of אם is not established. תּם with אל is constructio praegnans : “completed to my lord,” i.e., completely handed over to my lord. לפני נשׁאר is the same: “left before my lord,” i.e., for us to lay before, or offer to my lord. “ Why should we die before thine eyes, we and our land! Buy us and our land for bread, that we may be, we and our land, servants (subject) to Pharaoh; and give seed, that we may live and not die, and the land become not desolate .” In the first clause נמוּת is transferred per zeugma to the land; in the last, the word תּשׁם is used to describe the destruction of the land. The form תּשׁם is the same as תּקל in Genesis 16:4.
Genesis 47:20-21
Thus Joseph secured the possession of the whole land to Pharaoh by purchase, and “ the people he removed to cities, from one end of the land of Egypt to the other .” לערים , not from one city to another, but “according to (= κατά ) the cities;” so that he distributed the population of the whole land according to the cities in which the corn was housed, placing them partly in the cities themselves, and partly in the immediate neighbourhood.
Genesis 47:22
The lands of the priests Joseph did not buy, “ for the priests had an allowance from Pharaoh, and ate their allowance, which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they sold not their lands .” חק a fixed allowance of food, as in Proverbs 30:8; Ezekiel 16:27. This allowance was granted by Pharaoh probably only during the years of famine; in any case it was an arrangement which ceased when the possessions of the priests sufficed for their need, since, according to Diod. Sic. i. 73, the priests provided the sacrifices and the support of both themselves and their servants from the revenue of their lands; and with this Herodotus also agrees (2, 37).
Genesis 47:23-27
Then Joseph said to the people: “ Behold I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh; there have ye ( הא only found in Ezekiel 16:43 and Daniel 2:43) seed, and sow the land; and of the produce ye shall give the fifth for Pharaoh, and four parts ( ידת , as in Genesis 43:34) shall belong to you for seed, and for the support of yourselves, your families and children .” The people agreed to this; and the writer adds (Genesis 47:26), it became a law, in existence to this day (his own time), “with regard to the land of Egypt for Pharaoh with reference to the fifth,” i.e., that the fifth of the produce of the land should be paid to Pharaoh.
Profane writers have given at least an indirect support to the reality of this political reform of Joseph's. Herodotus , for example (2, 109), states that king Sesostris divided the land among the Egyptians, giving every one a square piece of the same size as his hereditary possession ( κλῆρον ), and derived his own revenue from a yearly tax upon them. Diod. Sic. (1, 73), again, says that all the land in Egypt belonged either to the priests, to the king, or to the warriors; and Strabo (xvii. p. 787), that the farmers and traders held rateable land, so that the peasants were not landowners. On the monuments, too, the kings, priests, and warriors only are represented as having landed property (cf. Wilkinson, Manners and Customs , i. 263). The biblical account says nothing about the exemption of the warriors from taxation and their possession of land, for that was a later arrangement. According to Herod . 2, 168, every warrior had received from former kings, as an honourable payment, twelve choice fields ( ἄρουραι ) free from taxation, but they were taken away by the Hephaesto-priest Sethos , a contemporary of Hezekiah, when he ascended the throne ( Herod . 2, 141). But when Herodotus and Diodorus Sic . attribute to Sesostris the division of the land into 36 νομοί , and the letting of these for a yearly payment; these comparatively recent accounts simply transfer the arrangement, which was actually made by Joseph, to a half-mythical king, to whom the later legends ascribed all the greater deeds and more important measures of the early Pharaohs. And so far as Joseph's arrangement itself was concerned, not only had he the good of the people and the interests of the king in view, but the people themselves accepted it as a favour, inasmuch as in a land where the produce was regularly thirty-fold, the cession of a fifth could not be an oppressive burden. And it is probable that Joseph not only turned the temporary distress to account by raising the king into the position of sole possessor of the land, with the exception of that of the priests, and bringing the people into a condition of feudal dependence upon him, but had also a still more comprehensive object in view; viz., to secure the population against the danger of starvation in case the crops should fail at any future time, not only by dividing the arable land in equal proportions among the people generally, but, as has been conjectured, by laying the foundation for a system of cultivation regulated by laws and watched over by the state, and possibly also by commencing a system of artificial irrigation by means of canals, for the purpose of conveying the fertilizing water of the Nile as uniformly as possible to all parts of the land. (An explanation of this system is given by Hengstenberg in his Dissertations , from the Correspondance d'Orient par Michaud , etc.) To mention either these or any other plans of a similar kind, did not come within the scope of the book of Genesis, which restricts itself, in accordance with its purely religious intention, to a description of the way in which, during the years of famine, Joseph proved himself to both the king and people of Egypt to be the true support of the land, so that in him Israel already became a saviour of the Gentiles. The measures taken by Joseph are thus circumstantially described, partly because the relation into which the Egyptians were brought to their visible king bore a typical resemblance to the relation in which the Israelites were placed by the Mosaic constitution to Jehovah, their God-King, since they also had to give a double tenth, i.e., the fifth of the produce of their lands, and were in reality only farmers of the soil which Jehovah had given them in Canaan for a possession, so that they could not part with their hereditary possessions in perpetuity (Leviticus 25:23); and partly also because Joseph's conduct exhibited in type how God entrusts His servants with the good things of this earth, in order that they may use them not only for the preservation of the lives of individuals and nations, but also for the promotion of the purposes of His kingdom. For, as is stated in conclusion in Genesis 47:27, not only did Joseph preserve the lives of the Egyptians, for which they expressed their acknowledgements (Genesis 47:25), but under his administration the house of Israel was able, without suffering any privations, or being brought into a relation of dependence towards Pharaoh, to dwell in the land of Goshen, to establish itself there ( נאחז as in Genesis 34:10), and to become fruitful and multiply.
Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. He then sent for Joseph, as he felt that his death was approaching; and having requested him, as a mark of love and faithfulness, not to bury him in Egypt, but near his fathers in Canaan, he made him assure him on oath (by putting his hand under his hip, vid., p. 164) that his wishes should be fulfilled. When Joseph had taken this oath, “ Israel bowed (in worship) upon the bed's head .” He had talked with Joseph while sitting upon the bed; and when Joseph had promised to fulfil his wish, he turned towards the head of the bed, so as to lie with his face upon the bed, and thus worshipped God, thanking Him for granting his wish, which sprang from living faith in the promises of God; just as David also worshipped upon his bed (1 Kings 1:47-48). The Vulgate rendering is correct: adoravit Deum conversus ad lectuli caput . That of the lxx, on the contrary, is προσεκύνησεν Ἰσραὴλ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄδρον τῆς ῥάβδου αὐτοῦ (i.e., המּטּה ); and the Syriac and Itala have the same (cf. Hebrews 11:21). But no fitting sense can be obtained from this rendering, unless we think of the staff with which Jacob had gone through life, and, taking αὐτου therefore in the sense of αὑτοῦ , assume that Jacob made use of the staff to enable him to sit upright in bed, and so prayed, bent upon or over it, though even then the expression המטה ראשׁ remains a strange one; so that unquestionably this rendering arose from a false reading of המטה , and is not proved to be correct by the quotation in Hebrews 11:21. “ Adduxit enim lxx Interpr. versionem Apostolus, quod ea tum usitata esset, non quod lectionem illam praeferendam judicaret (Calovii Bibl. illustr. ad h. l. ).