Genesis 47
English Standard Version
Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen
47 So Joseph (A)went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in (B)the land of Goshen.” 2 And from among his brothers he took five men and (C)presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, (D)“What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, (E)“Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, (F)“We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell (G)in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers (H)in the best of the land. (I)Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any (J)able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, (K)and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my (L)sojourning are 130 years. (M)Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and (N)they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their (O)sojourning.” 10 And Jacob (P)blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Then Joseph settled 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 (Q)Rameses, (R)as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph (S)provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents.
Joseph and the Famine
13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 (T)And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that 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 to Joseph and said, “Give us food. (U)Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? (V)Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them[a] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 (W)Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a (X)fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; (Y)may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; (Z)the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.
27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, (AA)in the land of Goshen. (AB)And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. (AC)So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.
29 And (AD)when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now (AE)I have found favor in your sight, (AF)put your hand under my thigh and (AG)promise to deal kindly and truly with me. (AH)Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and (AI)bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then (AJ)Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.[b]
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:21 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew he removed them to the cities
- Genesis 47:31 Hebrew; Septuagint staff
Genesis 47
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob
47 So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their sheep and cattle and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”(A)
2 He took five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.(B) 3 Then Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our fathers, are shepherds.”(C) 4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants’ sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe.(D) So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, 6 the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land.(E) They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”(F)
7 Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”[a]
9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage(G) has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard,(H) and they have not surpassed the years of my fathers during their pilgrimages.”(I) 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from Pharaoh’s presence.
11 Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses,(J) as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food for their dependents.(K)
The Land Becomes Pharaoh’s
13 But there was no food in that entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were purchasing, and he brought the money to Pharaoh’s palace.(L) 15 When the money from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die here in front of you? The money is gone!”
16 But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the money is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the herds of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the money is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die here in front of you—both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh’s slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”
20 In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph moved the people to the cities[b] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he didn’t acquire was the priests’ portion, for it was given to them by Pharaoh. They lived off[c] the rations Pharaoh had given them; therefore they did not sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land. 24 At harvest, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh,(M) and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”
25 And they said, “You have saved our lives. We have found favor in our lord’s eyes and will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26 So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.
Israel Settles in Goshen
27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property in it and became fruitful and very numerous.(N) 28 Now Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, and his life span was 147 years. 29 When the time drew near for him to die,(O) he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh(P) and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness.(Q) Do not bury me in Egypt. 30 When I rest with my fathers, carry me away from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”(R)
Joseph answered, “I will do what you have asked.”
31 And Jacob said, “Swear to me.” So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed in thanks at the head of his bed.[d](S)
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:8 Lit many are the days of the years
- Genesis 47:21 Sam, LXX, Vg read and he made the people servants
- Genesis 47:22 Lit They ate
- Genesis 47:31 Or Israel worshiped while leaning on the top of his staff
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.