Genesis 47
47
Josephās Wise Administration
1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, āMy father, my brothers, their flocks and herds, and all that they own have arrived from the land of
Canaan. They are now#tn Heb āLook they [are] in the land of Goshen.ā Joseph draws attention to the fact of their presence in Goshen. in the land of Goshen.ā 2 He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.#tn Heb āand from the whole of his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.ā
3 Pharaoh said to Josephās#tn Heb āhisā; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. brothers, āWhat is your occupation?ā They said to Pharaoh, āYour servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.ā#tn Heb āboth we and our fathers.ā 4 Then they said to Pharaoh, āWe have come to live as temporary residents#tn Heb āto sojourn.ā in the land. There#tn Heb āfor there.ā The Hebrew uses a causal particle to connect what follows with what precedes. The translation divides the statement into two sentences for stylistic reasons. is no pasture for your servantsā flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.ā
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, āYour 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 region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men#tn Heb āmen of skill.ā among them, put them in charge#tn Heb āmake them rulers.āsn Put them in charge of my livestock. Pharaoh is, in effect, offering Josephās brothers jobs as royal keepers of livestock, a position mentioned often in Egyptian inscriptions, because the Pharaohs owned huge herds of cattle. of my livestock.ā
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him#tn Heb ācaused him to stand.ā before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed#sn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb translated āblessedā is difficult in this passage, because the content of Jacobās blessing is not given. The expression could simply mean that he greeted Pharaoh, but that seems insufficient in this setting. Jacob probably praised Pharaoh, for the verb is used this way for praising God. It is also possible that he pronounced a formal prayer of blessing, asking God to reward Pharaoh for his kindness. Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, āHow long have you lived?ā#tn Heb āHow many are the days of the years of your life?ā 9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, āAll#tn Heb āthe days of.ā the years of my travels#tn Heb āsojournings.ā Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places. are 130. All#tn Heb āthe days of.ā the years of my life have been few and painful;#tn The Hebrew word ×ØÖ·×¢ (raā) can sometimes mean āevil,ā but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point. the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.ā#tn Heb āand they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.ā 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.#tn Heb āfrom before Pharaoh.ā
11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory#tn Heb āa possession,ā or āa holding.ā Joseph gave them a plot of land with rights of ownership in the land of Goshen. in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses,#sn The land of Rameses is another designation for the region of Goshen. It is named Rameses because of a city in that region (Exod 1:11; 12:37). The use of this name may represent a modernization of the text for the understanding of the intended readers, substituting a later name for an earlier one. Alternatively, there may have been an earlier Rameses for which the region was named. just as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his fatherās household, according to the number of their little children.
13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away#tn The verb ×Ö·×Ö·× (lahah, = ×Öø×Öø×, laāah) means āto faint, to languishā; it figuratively describes the land as wasting away, drooping, being worn out. because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as payment#tn Or āin exchange.ā On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. ×Ö¼Ö°. for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaohās palace.#tn Heb āhouse.ā 15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians#tn Heb āall Egypt.ā The expression is a metonymy and refers to all the people of Egypt. came to Joseph and said, āGive us food! Why should we die#tn The imperfect verbal form has a deliberative force here. before your very eyes because our money has run out?ā
16 Then Joseph said, āIf your money is gone, bring your livestock, and I will give you food#tn The word āfoodā has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. in exchange for#tn On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. ×Ö¼Ö°. your livestock.ā 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys.#tn The definite article is translated here as a possessive pronoun. He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, āWe cannot hide from our#tn Heb āmy.ā The expression āmy lordā occurs twice more in this verse. lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become#tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence. Pharaohās slaves.#sn Pharaohās slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaohās responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine. Give us seed that we may live#tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result. and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.ā#tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [×] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each#tn The Hebrew text connects this clause with the preceding one with a causal particle (×Ö¼Ö“×, ki). The translation divides the clauses into two sentences for stylistic reasons. of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe.#tn The Hebrew text adds āupon them.ā This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons. So the land became Pharaohās. 21 Joseph#tn Heb āand heā; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. made all the people slaves#tc The MT reads āand the people he removed to the cities,ā which does not make a lot of sense in this context. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX read āhe enslaved them as slaves.ā from one end of Egyptās border to the other end of it. 22 But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, āSince I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate#tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive is equivalent to a command here. the land. 24 When you gather in the crop,#tn The words āthe cropā have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. give#tn The perfect form with the vav (×) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here. one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the rest#tn Heb āfour parts.ā will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.ā 25 They replied, āYou have saved our lives! You are showing us favor,#tn Heb āwe find favor in the eyes of my lord.ā Some interpret this as a request, āmay we find favor in the eyes of my lord.ā and we will be Pharaohās slaves.ā#sn Slaves. See the note on this word in v. 21.
26 So Joseph made it a statute,#tn On the term translated āstatuteā see P. Victor, āA Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,ā VT 16 (1966): 358-61. which is in effect#tn The words āwhich is in effectā have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaohās.
27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.
28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years#tn Heb āthe days of the years.ā of Jacobās life were 147 in all. 29 The time#tn Heb ādays.ā for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, āIf now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh#sn On the expression put your hand under my thigh see Gen 24:2. and show me kindness and faithfulness.#tn Or ādeal with me in faithful love.ā Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest#tn Heb ālie down.ā Here the expression ālie downā refers to death. with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.ā Joseph#tn Heb āheā; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said, āI will do as you say.ā
31 Jacob#tn Heb āheā; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said, āSwear to me that you will do so.ā#tn Heb āswear on oath to me.ā The words āthat you will do soā have been supplied in the translation for clarity. So Joseph#tn Heb āheā; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. gave him his word.#tn Heb āswore on oath to him.ā Then Israel bowed down#sn The Hebrew verb normally means ābow down,ā especially in worship or prayer. Here it might simply mean ābend low,ā perhaps from weakness or approaching death. The narrative is ambiguous at this point and remains open to all these interpretations. at the head of his bed.#tc The MT reads ×Ö“×Ö¼Öø× (mittah, ābed, couchā). The LXX reads the word as ×Ö·×Ö¼Ö¶× (matteh, āstaff, rodā) and interprets this to mean that Jacob bowed down in worship while leaning on the top of his staff. The LXX reading was used in turn by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 11:21).
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Genesis 47: NET
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