Genesis 47 · WEB
Jacob Before Pharaoh; Joseph's Administration
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Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they own, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen."
2From among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
3Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers."
4They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
5Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.
6The land of Egypt is before you. Make your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."
7Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How old are you?"
9Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."
10Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
11Joseph placed 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.
12Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all of his father's household with food, according to their families.
13There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14Joseph gathered up 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.
15When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, "Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For our money fails."
16Joseph said, "Give me your livestock; and I will give you food for your livestock, if your money is gone."
17They brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and for the donkeys; and he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock for that year.
18When that year was ended, they came to him the second year, and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.
19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land won't be desolate."
20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every man of Egypt sold his field, because the famine was severe on them; and the land became Pharaoh's.
21As for the people, he moved them to the cities from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end of it.
22Only he didn't buy the land of the priests, for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them. That is why they didn't sell their land.
23Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
24It will happen at the harvests, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of the field, for your food, for those of your household, and for food for your little ones."
25They said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants."
26Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Only the land of the priests alone didn't become Pharaoh's.
27Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they got themselves possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.
28Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.
29The time came near that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please don't bury me in Egypt,
30but when I sleep with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place." He said, "I will do as you have said."
31He said, "Swear to me." He swore to him. Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.
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Summary
Joseph presents five brothers and then Jacob himself before Pharaoh. Jacob blesses Pharaoh twice, calling his 130 years "few and evil." As the famine deepens, Joseph systematically purchases land and eventually the people themselves for Pharaoh in exchange for grain, then returns the land with a 20% tax. Israel's family settles in Goshen, multiplies greatly, and enjoys seventeen prosperous years. As Jacob nears death, he makes Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan, not Egypt.
Themes
- Jacob as a man who blesses even the most powerful rulers
- The paradox of Israel flourishing in Egypt while Egyptians are impoverished
- Death wish for burial in the promised land as an act of faith
- Joseph's wise administration serving the common good
- Life as pilgrimage — Jacob identifies himself as a sojourner
Key verses
- Gen 47:27 — “Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they got themselves possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.”
- Gen 47:29-30 — “Please don't bury me in Egypt, but when I sleep with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place.”
- Gen 47:9 — “Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.'”
Context & background
Jacob's self-description as a "pilgrim" whose days have been "few and evil" is remarkable — he is 130 years old, has been reunited with his beloved son, and is about to die in peace, yet he looks back on his life with a kind of mournful honesty about the suffering and struggle it has contained. Jacob blessing Pharaoh (twice!) is a fulfillment of the promise that in Abraham's seed all nations would be blessed — the least of the nations blessing the greatest earthly power. The Israelites' rapid multiplication in Goshen is the first fulfillment of God's promise to make a great nation there, and sets the stage for the opening chapters of Exodus.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 2:11 — we are sojourners and pilgrims, as Jacob identified himself
- Acts 7:15-16 — Jacob died in Egypt, and his bones were eventually brought back to Canaan
- Exodus 1:7 — Israel was fruitful and multiplied exceedingly, picking up where Gen 47:27 leaves off
- Galatians 3:8 — all nations blessed through Abraham — Jacob's blessing of Pharaoh demonstrates this
- Hebrews 11:13 — the patriarchs confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on earth