Genesis 47
Expanded Bible
Jacob Settles in Goshen
47 Joseph went in and spoke to ·the king [L Pharaoh] and said, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks and herds and everything they own. They are now in the land of Goshen [45:10].” 2 Joseph ·chose [took] five of his brothers to ·introduce [present] to ·the king [L Pharaoh].
3 ·The king [L Pharaoh] said to his brothers, “What work do you do?”
And they said to him, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just as our ·ancestors [fathers] were.” 4 They said to ·the king [L Pharaoh], “We have come to ·live [sojourn; reside as aliens] in this land, because there is no ·grass in the land of Canaan for our animals to eat [L pasturage for the flocks of your servants], and the ·hunger [famine] is ·terrible [severe; heavy] there. So please allow ·us [L your servants] to live in the land of Goshen.”
5 Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and ·you may choose any place in Egypt for them to live [L the land of Egypt is before you]. Give your father and your brothers the best land; let them live in the land of Goshen. And if any of them are skilled shepherds, put them in charge of my ·sheep and cattle [L livestock].”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and ·introduced him to the king [L he stood before Pharaoh], and Jacob blessed ·the king [L Pharaoh].
8 Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Jacob, “How ·old are you [L many of the days are the years of your life]?”
9 Jacob said to him, “My life has been spent ·wandering from place to place [sojourning; residing as an alien]. It has been short and filled with trouble—only one hundred thirty years. My ·ancestors [fathers] ·lived [L wandered; sojourned; lived as an alien] much longer than I.” 10 Then Jacob blessed ·the king [L Pharaoh] and ·left [L went out from before the Pharaoh].
11 Joseph obeyed the king and ·gave his father and brothers [L settled his father and brothers and gave them a possession in] the best land in Egypt, near the city of Rameses [C a city built later during the time of Moses in the Nile Delta region; Ex. 1:11]. 12 And Joseph gave his father, his brothers, and ·everyone who lived with them [L all his father’s household] the food ·they needed [L according to their little ones/dependents].
Joseph Buys Land for the King
13 The ·hunger became worse [L famine was severe/intense/heavy], and since there was no food anywhere in the land, Egypt and Canaan ·became very poor [L wilted; languished]. 14 Joseph ·collected [gathered] all the ·money [silver] that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan. People paid for the grain they were buying, and Joseph brought that ·money [silver] to ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] palace. 15 After some time, when the people in Egypt and Canaan had no ·money [silver] left, ·they [L all Egypt] went to Joseph and said, “Please give us food. Our money is gone, ·and if we don’t eat, we will [L why should we…?] die here in front of you.”
16 Joseph answered, “Since you have no ·money [silver], give me your ·farm animals [livestock], and I will give you food in return [L for your livestock].” 17 So people brought their ·farm animals [livestock] to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. And he ·kept them alive by trading [supplied them with] food for their ·farm animals [livestock] that year.
18 ·The next year [L When that year ended] the people came to Joseph [L in the second year] and said, “·You know [L We cannot hide from my master/lord that] we have no money left, and all our ·animals [L herds of cattle] belong to you. ·We have [L Before our master/lord there is] nothing left except our bodies and our land. 19 ·Surely both we and our land will [L Why should we and our land…?] die here in front of you. Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we will be ·slaves [servants] to ·the king [L Pharaoh], together with our land. Give us seed to plant so that we will live and not die, and the land will not become ·a desert [desolate].”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for ·the king [L Pharaoh; C Joseph’s plan led to the tremendous power of the Pharaoh in Egypt and the world]. Every Egyptian sold Joseph his field, because the ·hunger [famine] was very ·great [strong; intense]. So the land ·became the king’s [belonged to the Pharaoh], 21 and Joseph made the people ·slaves[a] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land the priests owned. They did not need to sell their land because ·the king [L Pharaoh] ·paid them [gave them an allowance] for their work. So they had money to buy food.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now I have bought you and your land for ·the king [L Pharaoh], so I will give you seed and you can plant ·your fields [L the land]. 24 At harvest time you must give one-fifth to ·the king [L Pharaoh]. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves to use as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your families, and your ·children [little ones].”
25 The people said, “You have ·saved our lives [allowed us to live]. If ·you like [L we have found favor in the eyes of my master/lord], we will become slaves of ·the king [L Pharaoh].”
26 So Joseph made a law in Egypt, which continues today: One-fifth of everything from the land belongs to ·the king [L Pharaoh]. The only land ·the king [L Pharaoh] did not get was the priests’ land.
“Don’t Bury Me in Egypt”
27 The Israelites continued to live in the land of Goshen [45:10] in Egypt. There they got possessions and ·had many children [L were fruitful] and ·grew in number [greatly multiplied; 1:22].
28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, so he lived to be one hundred forty-seven years old. 29 When Israel [C another name for Jacob; 32:28] knew he soon would die, he called his son Joseph to him and said to him, “If ·you love me [L I have found grace in your eyes], put your hand under my ·leg [L thigh; C a euphemism for male genitalia; this was a commitment to keep a promise]. ·Promise me [L Deal with me according to loyalty and faithfulness that] you will not bury me in Egypt. 30 When I ·die [L lie with my fathers/ancestors], carry me out of Egypt, and bury me ·where my ancestors are buried [L in their burial place].”
Joseph answered, “I will do as you say.”
31 Then Jacob said, “·Promise [Swear to] me.” And ·Joseph promised [he swore to] him that he would do this [50:7–14]. Then Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his ·walking stick [staff; or bed].[b]
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:21 slaves Some Greek copies read “slaves.” The Hebrew text reads “move to cities.”
- Genesis 47:31 walking stick Some Greek copies read “walking stick.” The Hebrew text reads “bed.”
Genesis 47
Amplified Bible
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
47 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan, and they are in the land of Goshen.” 2 He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 And Pharaoh said to his brothers [as Joseph expected], “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers [before us].” 4 Moreover, they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live temporarily (sojourn) in the land [of Egypt], for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants [in our land], for the famine is very severe in Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know of any men of ability among them, [a]put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought Jacob (Israel) his father and presented him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh asked Jacob, [b]“How old are you?” 9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The [c]years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, and they have [d]not reached the years that my fathers lived during the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and departed from his presence. 11 So Joseph settled his father and brothers and gave them a possession in Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses (Goshen), as Pharaoh commanded. 12 Joseph provided and supplied his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to [the needs of] their children.
13 Now [in the course of time] there was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan languished [in destitution and starvation] because of the famine. 14 Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan [in payment] for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since the money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord [the fact] that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; 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 in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
Result of the Famine
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he relocated them [temporarily] to cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived on the amount which Pharaoh gave them, so they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you shall plant the land. 24 At harvest time [when you reap the increase] you shall give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you and those of your households and for your little ones.” 25 And 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 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt—valid to this [e]day—that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
27 Now [the people of] Israel lived in the country of Egypt, in [the land of] Goshen, and they gained possessions and acquired property there and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the [f]length of Jacob’s life was a hundred and forty-seven years.
29 And when the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, [g]please put your hand under my thigh and [promise to] deal loyally and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I lie down with my fathers [in death], you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place [at Hebron in the cave of Machpelah].” And Joseph said, “I will do as you have directed.” 31 Then he said, “Swear to me [that you will do it].” So he swore to him. Then Israel (Jacob) bowed in worship at the head of the bed.
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:6 Lit set them as princes of my cattle.
- Genesis 47:8 Lit how many are the days of the years of your life?
- Genesis 47:9 Lit the days of the years of.
- Genesis 47:9 Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, had lived to be a hundred and seventy-five years old; Isaac, Jacob’s father, lived to be a hundred and eighty. Jacob lived seventeen years after making this statement to Pharaoh, in which time he had an opportunity to get a much more optimistic view of God’s treatment of him. He died at a hundred and forty-seven, having said, “The Angel...has redeemed me continually from all evil” (Gen 48:16).
- Genesis 47:26 I.e. the time of Moses.
- Genesis 47:28 Lit the days of Jacob, the years of his.
- Genesis 47:29 I.e. this was a customary manner of taking a solemn oath.
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