The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 47
Chapter XLVII · Vol. I, pp. 290–292
1 Joseph presenteth five of his brethren and his father before Pharaoh. 11 He giveth them habitation and maintenance. 13 He getteth all the Egyptians' money, 16 their cattle, 18 their lands for Pharaoh. 22 The priests' land was not bought. 23 He letteth the land to them again for a fifth of the increase. 28 Jacob's age. 29 He sweareth Joseph to bury him with his fathers.
1 Then aJoseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father, and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in bthe land of Goshen.
A.M. 2299. B.C. 1705.
a ch. 46.31; 45.16.
b ch. 46.28,34. It lay on the north-east of Egypt, west of the Red Sea.
2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, cWhat is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.
c ch. 46.33,34. Jon. 1.8. 2 Th. 3.10.
4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come;7 for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
7 Jacob and his sons intended only to sojourn in Goshen till the famine should be over; but the kindness which they received encouraged them to continue: and at last the Egyptians rendered their posterity slaves, and forced them to stay.
5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6 The land of Egypt is dbefore thee; in the ebest of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them 8dwell: and if thou knowest any fmen of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
d ch. 13.9; 20.15; 34.10.
e ch. 45.18,20; ver. 11. Jn. 17.2.
8 It is not implied that Goshen was the best province of Egypt in all respects, but only that it was the best adapted for the Israelites, who were shepherds. It was more of a pastoral than an agricultural province. Joseph knew this; he also knew that the province was little valued by the Egyptians, and that consequently there would be the less cause for jealousy should the Israelites be put in possession of it. Goshen lay on the north-eastern border of Egypt, bordering on the desert, and probably embracing nearly the whole of the isthmus of Suez.—P.
7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob gblessed Pharaoh.
g This may include, (1) saluting him, 2 Sa. 8. 10; 2 Ki. 4. 29; (2) prayer for his welfare, Nu. 6. 23, 24; (3) giving him thanks for his favours, Mat. 26.26; Lu. 22.19.
8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?9
9 Heb. how many are the days of the years of thy life?
9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, hThe days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: ifew and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the kdays of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
h He. 11.9,13; 13.14. Ps. 39.12; 119.19. 1 Ch. 29.15. 2 Co. 5.6. 1 Pe. 2.11.
i Job 14.1. Ps. 90.3-12.
k ch. 25.7; 35.28.
10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph lplaced his father and his brethren, 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.
l Ex. 1.11; 12.37, with Jn. 17.2,24; 10.10,28; 14.2,3.
12 And Joseph mnourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according nto their families.1
m Ex. 20.12. 1 Ti. 4.8. 1 Jn. 3.17,18.
n Heb. according to the little ones, ch. 50.21. 1 Th. 2.7.
1 Or, as a little child is nourished.
13 And there was no bread in all the land: for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt, and all the land of Canaan, fainted by reason of the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 And when money1 failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, oGive us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
16 And Joseph said, pGive your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
p Phi.4.8. Ro.12.17. 1 Co.10.32.
17 And they brought their qcattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses; and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second2 year, and said unto him, Wer will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle: there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands.
19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.3
3 Joseph removed the Egyptians far from their own lands, lest they should afterwards claim the property of them.
22 Only the land of the priests4 bought he not: sfor the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they sold not their lands.
23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day, and your land, for Pharaoh: lo, here is tseed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give uthe fifth5 part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
5 In requiring but a fifth part, he dealt mercifully with them, and faithfully for the king.—[From ch. 41. 34, 35 it would appear that the produce collected as a royal rent was but the fifth part of each year's crop, and whether this was, or was not, an increase on the customary amount does not appear; but, at all events, it was a moderate impost, and there appears no symptom of public dissatisfaction or complaint. How far private individuals may have availed themselves of Joseph's interpretation, and laid up in store against the anticipated famine, does not appear. But to estimate Joseph's management aright, Pharaoh must be considered as a merchant-king, one chief part, at least, of whose revenue consisted in agricultural produce, and not in direct or indirect pecuniary taxes; an arrangement still common in some eastern nations, and relics of which may still be traced in the seignorial rents of some parts of Italy and other European nations. It was, therefore, not merely Joseph's right, but his duty, to sell to the best advantage his employer's merchandise. Nor was his employer bound by any principle of even charity, to bestow his goods, while the purchaser was able to buy. Let the infidel scoffers who revile Joseph for his wisdom and fidelity set the example of bestowing their goods to men able to pay for them; and then, but not till then, can they escape from the weight of their own revilings. Had Joseph, indeed, enslaved the people, or had he taken advantage of their necessities to inflict an overwhelming rack-rent, there might and there would have been ground for accusation; but he did none of these things, but after an administration of justice and mercy, left the people grateful, contented, and prosperous.—C.]
25 And they said, Thou xhast saved our lives: let us yfind grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.6
A.M. 2303. B.C. 1701.
x ch.6.19; 45.7; 50.20.
y ch.33.15; 18.3. Ru. 2.13.
6 Farmers.
26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests7 only, which became not Pharaoh's.
7 Or, princes.
27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and zmultiplied exceedingly.
z ch.28.14; 46.3; 9.7. Ex. 1. 7. De. 26. 5. Ps. 105.24.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age8 of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.9
8 Heb. the days of the years of his life.
9 1689.
29 And the time drew nigh that Israel amust die; and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, bput, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
a ch.3.19. 2 Sa.14.14. He.9.27. Job 30.23. Ps. 89.48; 49.7,9,10.
b ch.24.2.
30 But I cwill lie with my fathers; and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place.1 And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
c He.11.22. ch.49.29; 50.12-14,25.
1 Jacob and the other patriarchs desired to be buried in Canaan, to testify their firm persuasion that God would bring their posterity to the full possession thereof; and to manifest their desire and expectation of the heavenly inheritance thereby typified.
Notes
[Ver. 21. Cities. The removal of the people to cities was necessary, for, in a rural distribution of houses, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to provide them food. It is most probable, however, that Joseph found many of the Egyptians, what they are at this day, an unsettled, a nomadic people. By bringing them into cities during the famine he accustomed them to stationary dwellings and settled habits; and where infidelity has accused him of cruelty, civilization must hail him as one of her chief benefactors. The habits of the wandering tribe called Gipsies in England will abundantly illustrate the evils of an unsettled condition; and the success of at least one minister in Scotland in inducing a village of these wanderers, situate in his parish, to resign their nomadic habits, and come under the permanent inspection of the ministry and regular preaching of the gospel, and afford opportunities for the systematic education of their children, will be cause of gratulation to every Christian philanthropist, and will form the best illustration and defence of the conduct of Joseph in this regulation. C.]
Reflections.—Let me never be ashamed of my relations, however low they be in station, if they be honest; nor let me ever be an idler, an inactive person, either in church or state. Activity and ingenuity in my profession are the way to preferment. What though man's days be shortened, and filled up with troubles, yet my life on earth, whether perplexed or prosperous, is but a pilgrimage to the better country above. In the meanwhile, let me highly esteem, as a blessing, the prayers of such as fear God: and if he put me into power, let my care be to do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith. Let mercy, as well as equity, run through all my conduct. But go where I will, and enjoy what I may, let me keep sight of the promises and of the everlasting abodes: and though, for a while, I content myself with this world as a lodging, let my care, my hope, be to go to the heavenly Canaan at my death, and be with Christ, which is far better. Even here also let me behold him presenting a lost world of his brethren before the great King, the Lord of hosts, and preparing mansions for them:—behold him as giving out of his unbounded stores all the necessary blessings of time and eternity, not for our money, our cattle, our land, our persons, but freely, according to the exceeding riches of his grace; and by his oath concerning the promises of our present peace and everlasting happiness!