Genesis 47
Legacy Standard Bible
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
47 Then (A)Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of (B)Goshen.” 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and (C)set them before Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “(D)What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are (E)shepherds, both we and our fathers.” 4 And they said to Pharaoh, “(F)We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for (G)the famine is heavy in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants [a](H)live in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to [b]Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is [c]at your disposal; have your father and your brothers settle in (I)the best of the land, let them settle in the land of Goshen; and if you know any (J)excellent men among them, then [d]put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and stood him before Pharaoh; and Jacob (K)blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days (L)of the years of my sojourning are [e]130; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not [f]attained to (M)the days of the years [g]that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob (N)blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in (O)the best of the land, in the land of (P)Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph (Q)provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with [h]food, according to their little ones.
Joseph and the Famine
13 Now there was no [i]food in all the land because the famine was very heavy, so that (R)the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 (S)And Joseph gathered 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 Then the money came to an end in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan. So all the Egyptians came to Joseph [j]and said, “Give us [k]food, for (T)why should we die in your presence? For our money [l]is gone.” 16 Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money [m]is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them [n]food in exchange for the horses and the [o]flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he [p]fed them with [q]food in exchange for all their livestock [r]that year. 18 Then that year came to an end. And they came to him the [s]next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money has come to an end, and the [t]livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left [u]for my lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for [v]food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So 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 [w]every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 As for the people, he moved them to the cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other end. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they ate off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. 24 And it will be, at the harvest you shall give a (U)fifth to Pharaoh, and [x]four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 25 So they said, “You have kept us alive! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26 And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; (V)only the land of the priests [y]did not become Pharaoh’s.
27 Now Israel [z]lived in the land of Egypt, [aa]in Goshen, and they (W)took possession of property in it and (X)were fruitful and became very numerous. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt (Y)seventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.
29 Then (Z)the days for Israel to die drew near, and he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, (AA)place now your hand under my thigh and (AB)deal with me in lovingkindness and truth. Please do not bury me in Egypt. 30 But I will (AC)lie down with my fathers, and you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in (AD)their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31 Then he said, “(AE)Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then (AF)Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:4 Lit dwell
- Genesis 47:5 Lit Joseph, saying
- Genesis 47:6 Lit before you
- Genesis 47:6 Lit appoint them rulers
- Genesis 47:9 Lit 130 years
- Genesis 47:9 Lit reached
- Genesis 47:9 Lit of the life of my fathers
- Genesis 47:12 Or bread
- Genesis 47:13 Or bread
- Genesis 47:15 Lit saying
- Genesis 47:15 Or bread
- Genesis 47:15 Lit ceases
- Genesis 47:16 Lit ceases
- Genesis 47:17 Or bread
- Genesis 47:17 Lit livestock of the flocks and livestock of the herds
- Genesis 47:17 Lit led them as a shepherd
- Genesis 47:17 Or bread
- Genesis 47:17 Lit in that year
- Genesis 47:18 Lit second
- Genesis 47:18 Lit livestock of the cattle
- Genesis 47:18 Lit in the presence of
- Genesis 47:19 Or bread
- Genesis 47:20 Lit Egypt, every man
- Genesis 47:24 Lit four parts
- Genesis 47:26 Lit alone did
- Genesis 47:27 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 47:27 Lit in the land of Goshen
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
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