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.'
`And thou -- thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed `these' over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,
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;
and Moses chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,
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.'
and over the herds that are feeding in Sharon `is' Shitrai the Sharonite; and over the herds in the valleys `is' Shaphat son of Adlai; and over the camels `is' Obil the Ishmeelite; and over the asses `is' Jehdeiah the Meronothite; and over the flock `is' Jaziz the Hagerite; all these `are' heads of the substance that king David hath.
according as Thou didst give to him authority over all flesh, that -- all that Thou hast given to him -- he may give to them life age-during;
Rivulets of waters `is' the heart of a king in the hand of Jehovah, Wherever He pleaseth He inclineth it.
Is not all the land before thee? be parted, I pray thee, from me; if to the left, then I to the right; and if to the right, then I to the left.'
And there `is' a man of the servants of Saul on that day detained before Jehovah, and his name `is' Doeg the Edomite, chief of the shepherds whom Saul hath.
And they take the soot of the furnace, and stand before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkleth it towards the heavens, and it is a boil `with' blains, breaking forth, on man and on beast;
lo, the hand of Jehovah is on thy cattle which `are' in the field, on horses, on asses, on camels, on herd, and on flock -- a pestilence very grievous. `And Jehovah hath separated between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there doth not die a thing of all the sons of Israel's; and Jehovah setteth an appointed time, saying, To-morrow doth Jehovah do this thing in the land.' And Jehovah doth this thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt die, and of the cattle of the sons of Israel not one hath died;
and take your father, and your households, and come unto me, and I give to you the good of the land of Egypt, and eat ye the fat of the land. `Yea, thou -- thou hast been commanded: this do ye, take for yourselves out of the land of Egypt, waggons for your infants, and for your wives, and ye have brought your father, and come; and your eye hath no pity on your vessels, for the good of all the land of Egypt `is' yours.'
and with us ye dwell, and the land is before you; dwell ye and trade `in' it, and have possessions in it.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 47
Commentary on Genesis 47 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 47
Ge 47:1-31. Joseph's Presentation at Court.
1. Joseph … told Pharaoh, My father and my brethren—Joseph furnishes a beautiful example of a man who could bear equally well the extremes of prosperity and adversity. High as he was, he did not forget that he had a superior. Dearly as he loved his father and anxiously as he desired to provide for the whole family, he would not go into the arrangements he had planned for their stay in Goshen until he had obtained the sanction of his royal master.
2. he took some of his brethren—probably the five eldest brothers: seniority being the least invidious principle of selection.
4. For to sojourn … are we come—The royal conversation took the course which Joseph had anticipated (Ge 46:33), and they answered according to previous instructions—manifesting, however, in their determination to return to Canaan, a faith and piety which affords a hopeful symptom of their having become all, or most of them, religious men.
7. Joseph brought in Jacob his father—There is a pathetic and most affecting interest attending this interview with royalty; and when, with all the simplicity and dignified solemnity of a man of God, Jacob signalized his entrance by imploring the divine blessing on the royal head, it may easily be imagined what a striking impression the scene would produce (compare Heb 7:7).
8. Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?—The question was put from the deep and impressive interest which the appearance of the old patriarch had created in the minds of Pharaoh and his court. In the low-lying land of Egypt and from the artificial habits of its society, the age of man was far shorter among the inhabitants of that country than it had yet become in the pure bracing climate and among the simple mountaineers of Canaan. The Hebrews, at least, still attained a protracted longevity.
9. The days of the years of my pilgrimage, &c.—Though a hundred thirty years, he reckons by days (compare Ps 90:12), which he calls few, as they appeared in retrospect, and evil, because his life had been one almost unbroken series of trouble. The answer is remarkable, considering the comparative darkness of the patriarchal age (compare 2Ti 1:10).
11. Joseph placed his father and his brethren … in the best of the land—best pasture land in lower Egypt. Goshen, "the land of verdure," lay along the Pelusiac or eastern branch of the Nile. It included a part of the district of Heliopolis, or "On," the capital, and on the east stretched out a considerable length into the desert. The ground included within these boundaries was a rich and fertile extent of natural meadow, and admirably adapted for the purposes of the Hebrew shepherds (compare Ge 49:24; Ps 34:10; 78:72).
13-15. there was no bread in all the land—This probably refers to the second year of the famine (Ge 45:6) when any little stores of individuals or families were exhausted and when the people had become universally dependent on the government. At first they obtained supplies for payment. Before long money failed.
16. And Joseph said, Give your cattle—"This was the wisest course that could be adopted for the preservation both of the people and the cattle, which, being bought by Joseph, was supported at the royal expense, and very likely returned to the people at the end of the famine, to enable them to resume their agricultural labors."
21. as for the people, he removed them to cities—obviously for the convenience of the country people, who were doing nothing, to the cities where the corn stores were situated.
22. Only the land of the priests bought he not—These lands were inalienable, being endowments by which the temples were supported. The priests for themselves received an annual allowance of provision from the state, and it would evidently have been the height of cruelty to withhold that allowance when their lands were incapable of being tilled.
23-28. Joseph said, Behold, &c.—The lands being sold to the government (Ge 47:19, 20), seed would be distributed for the first crop after the famine; and the people would occupy them as tenants-at-will on the payment of a produce rent, almost the same rule as obtains in Egypt in the present day.
29-31. the time drew nigh that Israel must die—One only of his dying arrangements is recorded; but that one reveals his whole character. It was the disposal of his remains, which were to be carried to Canaan, not from a mere romantic attachment to his native soil, nor, like his modern descendants, from a superstitious feeling for the soil of the Holy Land, but from faith in the promises. His address to Joseph—"if now I have found grace in thy sight," that is, as the vizier of Egypt—his exacting a solemn oath that his wishes would be fulfilled and the peculiar form of that oath, all pointed significantly to the promise and showed the intensity of his desire to enjoy its blessings (compare Nu 10:29).
31. Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head—Oriental beds are mere mats, having no head, and the translation should be "the top of his staff," as the apostle renders it (Heb 11:21).