Shared Word Translation
Genesis 47
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. Behold, they are in the land of Goshen.” And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.” They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
Jacob Blesses Pharaoh
Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years. Few and difficult have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the lives of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from before Pharaoh.
So 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 Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.
Joseph Administers During the Famine
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 because of the famine. And Joseph gathered all the silver 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 silver into Pharaoh’s house. When the silver 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 eyes? For our silver is gone.”
And Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock if your silver is gone.” 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.
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 silver is gone, and the herds of livestock belong to my lord. There is nothing left before my lord except our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s. As for the people, he moved them into the cities from one end of the border of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and lived on the allotment that Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their land.
Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. At the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed for the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” They said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it remains to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Only the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.
Jacob’s Final Request
Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.
When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and deal with me in steadfast love and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt. But let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” And he said, “Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of the bed.