Genesis 46:1-47:26

Christian Standard Bible

Jacob Leaves for Egypt

46 Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba,^(A) and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² That night God spoke to Israel in a vision:^(B) “Jacob, Jacob!” he said.

And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”

³ God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.^{(C) 4} I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back.^(D) Joseph will close your eyes when you die.”^[a](E)

⁵ Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him,^(F) along with their dependents and their wives. ⁶ They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt.^{(G) 7} His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt.

Jacob’s Family

⁸ These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt^(H)—Jacob and his sons:

Jacob Arrives in Egypt

²⁸ Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival^[i] at Goshen.^(S) When they came to the land of Goshen, ²⁹ Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time.^(T)

³⁰ Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive!”

³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.^{(U) 32} The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.’ ³³ When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock^[j] from our youth until now.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”^(V)

Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob

47 So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”^(W)

² He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.^{(X) 3} And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our ancestors, are shepherds.”^{(Y) 4} And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to stay 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.^(Z) 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.^(AA) They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”^(AB)

⁷ Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”

⁹ Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage^(AC) has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard,^(AD) and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.”^{(AE) 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,^(AF) as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹² And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents.^(AG)

The Land Becomes Pharaoh’s

¹³ But there was no food in the 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 silver 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 silver to Pharaoh’s palace.^{(AH) 15} When the silver 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 silver is gone!”

¹⁶ But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the silver 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 flocks 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 silver 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 made the people servants^[k] from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² The only land he did not acquire belonged to the priests, for they had an allowance from Pharaoh. They ate from their allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.

²³ 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,^(AI) and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”

²⁵ “You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor with our lord 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.