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Genesis Chapter
Forty-seven
Genesis 47 Outlines
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
GENESIS 47
This chapter gives an
account of the presentation of five of Joseph's brethren, and then of his
father, to Pharaoh, and of what passed between them, Genesis 47:1; of
Joseph's settlement of them, according to the direction of Pharaoh, in the land
of Rameses in Goshen, and of his provision for them there, Genesis 47:11; of
his getting into his hands, for Pharaoh, the money, cattle, and lands, of the
Egyptians, excepting the lands belonging to the priests, for corn he had
supplied them with, Genesis 47:13; of
his giving them seed to sow with, on condition of Pharaoh's having a fifth part
of the produce, Genesis 47:23, of
the increase of Jacob's substance in Egypt, and that of his children; of the
time of his living there, and his approaching death, when he called Joseph to
him, and obliged him by an oath to bury him in the burying place of his
fathers, Genesis 47:27.
Genesis 47:1. Then Joseph
went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and
their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and
indeed they are in the land of Goshen.”
YLT 1And Joseph cometh, and
declareth to Pharaoh, and saith, `My father, and my brethren, and their flock,
and their herd, and all they have, have come from the land of Canaan, and lo,
they [are] in the land of Goshen.'
Then Joseph
came and told Pharaoh,....
After he had been with his
father, had had an interview with him, and had took his leave of him for a
time, he came to Pharaoh's court:
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;
Pharaoh had desired they
might come, and Joseph now acquaints him they were come; not being willing it
should be said that they were come in a private manner, and without his
knowledge; nor to dispose of them himself without the direction and approbation
of Pharaoh, who was superior to him; and he makes mention of their flocks and
herds, and other substance, partly to show that they were not a mean beggarly
family that came to live upon him, and partly that a proper place of pasturage
for their cattle might be appointed to them:
and behold,
they are in the land of Goshen;
they are stopped at
present, until they should have further directions and orders where to settle;
and this is the rather mentioned, because it was the place Joseph proposed with
himself to fix them in, if Pharaoh approved of it.
Genesis 47:2. 2 And
he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
YLT 2And out of his brethren he
hath taken five men, and setteth them before Pharaoh;
And he took
some of his brethren,....
Along with him, when he
left his father in Goshen; the word for "some" signifies the
extremity of a thing: hence some have fancied that he took some of the meanest
and most abject, so Jarchi, lest if they had appeared to Pharaoh strong and
robust, he should have made soldiers of them; others on the contrary think he
took those that excelled most in strength of body, and endowments of mind, to
make the better figure; others, that he took of both sorts, or some at both
ends, the first and last, elder and younger; but it may be, he made no choice
at all, but took some that offered next:
even five men:
whom the Targum of
Jonathan names as follow, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher; but Jarchi
will have them to be Reuben, Simeon and Levi, Issachar and Benjamin; but on
these accounts no dependence is to be had:
and presented
them, unto Pharaoh;
introduced them into his
presence, that he might converse with them, and ask them what questions he
thought fit.
Genesis 47:3. 3 Then
Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
And they said
to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our
fathers.”
YLT 3and Pharaoh saith unto his
brethren, `What [are] your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thy servants
[are] feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;'
And Pharaoh
said unto his brethren, what is your occupation?....
Which is the question he
had told his brethren beforehand would be asked them, and prepared them to give
an answer to it, Genesis 46:33;
which was perhaps an usual question Pharaoh asked of persons that came to
settle in his dominions, that he might have no idle vagrants there, and that he
might know of what advantage they were like to be of in his kingdom, and might
dispose of them accordingly:
and they said
unto Pharaoh, thy servants are shepherds, both we and also our
fathers;
see Genesis 46:34.
Genesis 47:4. 4 And
they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants
have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land
of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of
Goshen.”
YLT 4and they say unto Pharaoh,
`To sojourn in the land we have come, for there is no pasture for the flock
which thy servants have, for grievous [is] the famine in the land of Canaan;
and now, let thy servants, we pray thee, dwell in the land of Goshen.'
They said
moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land are we come,....
Not to obtain possessions
and inheritances, as if natives, and to abide there always, but to continue for
a little time; for they kept in mind that the land of Canaan was given to them
as an inheritance, and would be possessed by then, in due time, and therefore
had no thought for the present of continuing here long:
for thy
servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is sore in the
land of Canaan:
they say nothing of the
want of corn for themselves, because they could have it from Egypt, fetching
it, and paying a price for it, but of pasture for their cattle; for the land of
Canaan lying higher, was so scorched with the heat of the sun, and parched with
drought, that scarce any grass grew upon it; whereas Egypt, and especially the
land of Goshen, lying lower, and being marshy and fenny places, near the Nile,
had some grass growing on it, even when the Nile did not overflow to make it so
fruitful as it sometimes was:
now therefore,
we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen:
which request Joseph, no
doubt, directed them to make, it being the spot he had chosen for them in his
own mind, and even had promised it to his father; and which his brethren, by
their short stay in it as they came along, saw would be very convenient for
them, and was the true reason why Joseph instructed them to be particular in
the account of their trade and business, that Pharaoh might be inclined of
himself to propose it to them or however to grant it when requested.
Genesis 47:5. 5 Then
Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to
you.
YLT 5And Pharaoh speaketh unto
Joseph, saying, `Thy father and thy brethren have come unto thee:
And Pharaoh
spake unto Joseph,....
Who was present at the
conversation that passed between him and his brethren:
saying, thy
father and thy brethren are come unto thee;
which is observed, not for
Joseph's information, but to lead on to what he had to say further.
Genesis 47:6. 6 The
land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the
best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any
competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”
YLT 6the land of Egypt is before
thee; in the best of the land cause thy father and thy brethren to dwell --
they dwell in the land of Goshen, and if thou hast known, and there are among
them men of ability, then thou hast set them heads over the cattle I have.'
The land of
Egypt is before thee,....
To choose what part of it
he should judge most suitable and agreeable to his father and brethren:
in the best of
the land make thy father and brethren to dwell, in the land of Goshen let them
dwell;
as is requested; and which
was, as Pharaoh here suggests, the best part of the land, the most fertile and
fruitful, and the fittest for cattle, being full of pastures through the river
Nile and the canals of it, and Goshen being the most fertile portion in the
land of Rameses, as in Genesis 47:11;
this, Dr. Shaw observesF11Travels, p. 306. , could be no other than
what lay within two or three leagues at the most from the Nile, because the
rest of the Egyptian Arabia, which reaches beyond the influence of this river
to the eastward, is a barren inhospitable wilderness:
and if thou
knowest any man of activity among them;
strong in body, and of
great parts, and endowments of mind, and of great skill, and diligence, and
industry in the management of flocks and herds:
then make them
rulers over my cattle;
or "rulers of cattle
over those that are mine"F12שרי מקנה על אשר
לי "magistros pecuariae super illos, qui sunt
mihi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Schmidt and Answorth. : that
is, over his shepherds, to take care that they do their work well and
faithfully: from whence it appears that Pharaoh had flocks and herds and
shepherds; and therefore it cannot be thought that the Egyptians in those times
abstained from eating of animals, or that all shepherds, without exception,
were an abomination to them, only foreign ones that lived on spoil and plunder,
and made excursions into their country for such purposes: the office he
assigned to men of skill and industry was like that which Doeg the Edomite was
in, who was the chief of the herdsmen of Saul, 1 Samuel 21:7.
Genesis 47:7. 7 Then
Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob
blessed Pharaoh.
YLT 7And Joseph bringeth in
Jacob his father, and causeth him to stand before Pharaoh; and Jacob blesseth
Pharaoh.
And Joseph
brought in Jacob his father,....
That is, some time after
he had introduced his five brethren, and had gotten the grant of Goshen for
them, when he sent, for his father from thence, or he came quickly after to
Tanis or Memphis, where Pharaoh's court was:
and set him
before Pharaoh;
presented Jacob to him,
and placed his father right before Pharaoh, perhaps in a chair, or on a seat,
by Pharaoh's order, because of his age, and in honour to him:
and Jacob
blessed Pharaoh;
wished him health and
happiness, prayed for his welfare, and gave him thanks for all his kindness to
him and his; and he blessed him not only in a way of civility, as was usual
when men came into the presence of princes, but in an authoritative way, as a
prophet and patriarch, a man divinely inspired of God, and who had great power
in prayer with him: the Targum of Jonathan gives us his prayer thus,"may
it be the pleasure (i.e. of God) that the waters of the Nile may be filled, and
that the famine may remove from the world in thy days.'
Genesis 47:8. 8 Pharaoh
said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
YLT 8And Pharaoh saith unto
Jacob, `How many [are] the days of the years of thy life?'
And Pharaoh
said unto Jacob, how old art thou?
Or, "how many are the
days of the years of thy life?" which way of speaking Jacob takes up, and
very pertinently makes use of in his answer that follows: Dr. LightfootF13Works,
vol. 1. p. 667. thinks Pharaoh had never seen so old a man before, so grave a
head, and so grey a beard, and in admiration asked this question.
Genesis 47:9. 9 And
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one
hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my
life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my
fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
YLT 9And Jacob saith unto
Pharaoh, `The days of the years of my sojournings [are] an hundred and thirty
years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have
not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of
their sojournings.'
Jacob said unto
Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and
thirty years,....
He calls his life a
"pilgrimage"; as every good man's is; they are not at home in their
own country, they are seeking a better, even an heavenly one: Jacob's life was
very emphatically and literally a pilgrimage; he first dwelt in Canaan, from
thence he removed to Padanaram, and sojourned there awhile, and then came to
Canaan again; for some time he dwelt at Succoth, and then at Shechem, and after
that at Hebron, and now he was come down to Egypt, and he had spent one hundred
and thirty years of his life in this way: and with this perfectly agrees the
account of Polyhistor from DemetriusF14Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel.
l. 9. c. p. 21. p. 425. , an Heathen writer, who makes the age of Jacob when he
came into Egypt one hundred and thirty, and that year to be the third year of
the famine, agreeably to Genesis 45:6,
few and evil
have the days of the years of my life been;
see Job 14:1; he calls
his days but "few", in comparison of the long lives of the patriarchs
in former times, and especially in comparison of the days of eternity: and
"evil", because of the many afflictions he had met with; as from
Esau, from whose face he was obliged to flee lest he should kill him, Genesis 27:41; and
in Laban's house, where he served for a wife fourteen years, and endured great
hardships, Genesis 31:41; and
at Shechem, where his daughter was ravished, Genesis 34:2, and
his sons made that slaughter of the Shechemites, Genesis 34:25,
which he feared would cause his name to stink, Genesis 34:30; and
at Ephrath, where he buried his beloved Rachel, Genesis 35:16; and
at Hebron, where his sons brought him such an account as if they believed his
beloved son Joseph was destroyed by a wild beast, Genesis 37:32,
and have not
attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of
their pilgrimage;
his grandfather Abraham
lived to be one hundred amnd seventy five years of age, Genesis 25:7, and
his father Isaac lived to the age of one hundred and eighty, Genesis 35:28.
Genesis 47:10. 10 So
Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
YLT 10And Jacob blesseth Pharaoh,
and goeth out from before Pharaoh.
And Jacob
blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
When he took his leave of
him, he blessed him, in like manner as when he came into his presence, by wishing
all happiness to him, and giving him thanks for the honour he had done him, and
the favours he had conferred on him and his.
Genesis 47:11. 11 And Joseph situated 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.
YLT 11And Joseph settleth his
father and his brethren, and giveth to them a possession in the land of Egypt,
in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh commanded;
And Joseph
placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of
Egypt,....
Houses to dwell in, lands
to till, and pastures to feed their flocks and herds in:
in the best of
the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh commanded;
according to Jarchi and
Aben Ezra, the land of Rameses was a part of the land of Goshen: JeromF15De
locis Heb. fol. 94. A. says, that Rameses was a city the children of Israel
built in Egypt, and that the province was formerly so called in which Jacob and
his sons dwelt; but if it is the same with the city which was built by them, it
is here called so by anticipation: but Aben Ezra is of opinion that it is not
the same, and indeed the names are differently pointed and pronounced; that
built by the Israelites is Raamses, and was one of the treasure cities of
Pharaoh, and never inhabited by the Israelites; the Targums of Jonathan and
Jerusalem call this land the land of Pelusium; but this part of the country lay
not in the Pelusiac, but rather in the Heliopolitan home: Sir John Marsham is
of opinionF16Canon. Chron. Aegypt, &c. p. 90. that Rameses is
the name of Pharaoh, the then present king of Egypt, as there were several of
the kings of Egypt of that name; and therefore he thinks this land was the
king's land, the land of King Rameses, which Joseph placed his father and
brethren in by the order of Pharaoh: but it seems rather to be the name of a
place, and is thought by Dr. ShawF17Travels, p. 307. Ed. 2. to be
the same with Cairo: a very learned manF18Jablonski de Terra Goshen,
Dissert. 4. sect. 7. takes this to be the name of the land of Goshen, after the
coming of the Israelites into it, and observes, that, in the Egyptian language,
"Remsosch" signifies men that live a pastoral life, and so this
country was called Ramses or Remsosch, as being the country of the shepherds;
and the same learned writerF19Ib. Dissert. 3. sect. 2. is of
opinion, that the land of Goshen is the same with the Heracleotic nome, or
district, which lies in the great island the Nile makes above Memphis, and
which is now called by the Arabs Fioum, it being the best and most fruitful
part of all Egypt; which is confirmed by the testimony of Strabo, who saysF20Geograph.
l. 17. p. 556. it excels all the rest of the nomes, or districts; that it is
the only one that produces olives, large and perfect, with fine fruit, which,
if well gathered, make good oil, but all the rest of Egypt is without oil;
moreover it produces wine not a little (whereas Herodotus saysF21Euterpe,
sive, l. 2. c. 77. vines were wanting in Egypt, i.e. in other parts of it),
also corn and pulse, and other seeds: and that Fioum, as it is now called, is
the most fruitful, and is the most pleasant part of all Egypt, having vines,
olives, figs, and fruits of all sorts, the most excellent, and some of which
are not to be found in other parts of the country, the same, writer proves from
various travellers and historiansF23Paulus Lucas, Wilhelm. Tyrius,
&c. apud Jablonski, ibid. sect. 7. ; particularly Leo Africanus saysF24Descriptio
Africae, l. 8. p. 666,669. , that the Sahidic nome, in which he places Fium,
excels all the other parts of Egypt in plenty of pulse, as peas, beans, &c.
and of animals and linen, though all Egypt is very fruitful: and VanslebF25Relation
of a Voyage to Egypt, p. 148,154,155. says, the province of Fium has been
always esteemed one of the most excellent in all Egypt, because of its fruitful
fields, its great riches, and pleasant gardens,--all that grows here is of a
better taste than in other provinces: here are fields full of rose trees, and
woods of fig trees, which are not in other parts of Egypt; the gardens are full
of all manner of trees, pears, oranges, lemons, peaches, plums, and
apricots:--in Fium only, says he, of all the provinces of Egypt, are
vineyards--nor is any province so much cut into channels as this: they all
proceed from Joseph's river, and have bridges over them, made with burnt bricks
very strong; and tradition says they were built in the days of the Pharaohs;
and it is the opinion of the Coptics, that these kings employed the Israelites
in making: bricks for those bridges, which is very probable, from the infinite
number of men needful to make such a prodigious quantity: this part of Egypt
where Israel dwelt, by all relations, being so excellent, the impudence of
CelsusF26Apud Origen. contr. Cels. l. 4. p. 195. the Heathen is very
surprising, when he affirms that the nation of the Jews, becoming numerous in
Egypt, were ordered to dwell apart as sojourners, and to feed their flocks in
places vile and despicable.
Genesis 47:12. 12 Then
Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with
bread, according to the number in their families.
YLT 12and Joseph nourisheth his
father, and his brethren, and all the house of his father [with] bread,
according to the mouth of the infants.
And. Joseph
nourished his father, and his brethren, and his father's household, with bread,....
For though there might be
in Rameses pasture sufficient for their cattle, yet not corn for their
families, the famine still continuing; during which time Joseph, as a dutiful
and affectionate son, and as a kind brother, supplied them with all necessary
provision, signified by bread:
according to their
families;
according to the number of
them, some of his brethren having more and others less in their families; and
in proportion to their number he distributed food unto them, so that there was
no want: or "according to the mouth of an infant"F1לפי הטף "ad os
parvuli", Montanus, Schmidt. ; he nourished them like infants, he put as
it were the bread into their mouths, and fed them with as much care and
tenderness as infants are fed; and they had no more care to provide food for
themselves than children have, such a full and constant supply was handed forth
to them: in this Joseph was an eminent type of Christ, who supplies the wants
of his people.
Genesis 47:13. 13 Now
there was no bread 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.
YLT 13And there is no bread in
all the land, for the famine [is] very grievous, and the land of Egypt and the
land of Canaan are feeble because of the famine;
And there
was no bread in all the land,....
The land of Egypt and the
parts adjacent, but in Pharaoh's storehouses, all being consumed that were in
private hands the first two years of the famine:
for the famine was
very sore;
severe, pressed very hard:
so that the
land of Egypt, and all the land of Canaan, fainted by reason of the
famine;
that is, the inhabitants
of both countries, their spirits sunk, as well as their flesh failed for want
of food: or "raged"F2תלה
"insanivit vel acta fuit in rahiem", Vatablus; "furebat",
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; became furious, and were like madmen, as
the word signifies; according to KimchiF3In Sepher Shorash rad להה; so Ben Melech in loc. , they were at their wits' end,
knew not what to do, as Aben Ezra interprets it, and became tumultuous; it is
much they had not in a violent manner broke open the storehouses of corn, and
took it away by force; that they did not must be owing to the providence of
God, which restrained them, and to the care and prudence of Joseph as a means,
who, doubtless, had well fortified the granaries; and very probably there were
a body of soldiers placed everywhere, who were one of the three parts or states
of the kingdom of Egypt, as Diodorus SiculusF4Bibliothec. l. 1. p.
67. relates; to which may be added, the mild and gentle address of Joseph to
the people, speaking kindly to them, giving them hopes of a supply during the
famine, and readily relieving them upon terms they could not object to.
Genesis 47:14. 14 And
Joseph 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.
YLT 14and Joseph gathereth all
the silver that is found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for
the corn that they are buying, and Joseph bringeth the silver into the house of
Pharaoh.
And Joseph
gathered up all the money,....
Not that he went about to
collect it, or employed men to do it, but he gathered it, being brought to him
for corn as follows: even all
that was found
in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought:
by which means those
countries became as bare of money as of provisions:
and Joseph
brought the money into Pharaoh's house:
into his repository, as
the Targum of Jonathan, into his treasury, not into his own house or coffers,
in which he acted the faithful part to Pharaoh; for it was with his money he
bought the corn, built storehouses, kept men to look after them to sell the
corn; wherefore the money arising from thence belonged to him; nor did he do
any injury to the people: they sold their corn in the time of plenty freely; he
gave them a price for it, it then bore, and he sold it out again to them, at a
price according to the season; nor was it ever complained of, that it was an
exorbitant one; it was highly just and necessary it should be at a greater
price than when it was bought in, considering the great expense in the
collection, preservation, and distribution of it: it must be a vast sum of
money he amassed together, and Dr. HammondF5Annotat. on Acts vii.
43. thinks it probable that this Pharaoh, who, by Joseph's advice, got all this
wealth, is the same with Remphis, of whom Diodorus SiculusF6Bibliothec.
l. 1. p. 56. says, that he spent his time in minding the taxes and heaping up
riches from all quarters, and left more behind him than any of the kings that
reigned before, even in silver and gold four million talents, the same that
HerodotusF7Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 121. calls Rhampsinitus, who, he
says, had the greatest quantity of money of any of the kings of Egypt.
Genesis 47:15. 15 So
when the money failed 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 the money has failed.”
YLT 15And the silver is consumed
out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Canaan, and all the Egyptians
come in unto Joseph, saying, `Give to us bread -- why do we die before thee,
though the money hath ceased?'
And when money
failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan,....
It had been all spent in
the third, fourth, and fifth years of the famine; for it seems to be at the end
of the fifth, or beginning of the sixth year of the famine, that this was the
case, since we after read of a second or following year, which was very plainly
the last, since seed was given them to sow the land with, which shows the time
of drought to be near at an end:
all the
Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, give us bread;
freely, for nothing, since
they had no money to buy any with: no mention is made of the Canaanites, who
could not presume to come and ask for corn on such a footing:
for why should
we die in thy presence?
before his eyes, he not
relieving them when it was in his power to do it; they knew such an argument as
this would work upon a mind so humane, tender, and generous as was Joseph's:
for the money
faileth;
all was gone, they had
none left to purchase corn with; or they suggest they should not have desired
to have had it at free cost.
Genesis 47:16. 16 Then
Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your
livestock, if the money is gone.”
YLT 16and Joseph saith, `Give
your cattle; and I give to you for your cattle, if the money hath ceased.'
And Joseph
said, give your cattle,....
Oxen, sheep, horses,
asses, as follows:
and I will give
you for your cattle, if money fail;
that is, corn for cattle,
if they had no money to give.
Genesis 47:17. 17 So
they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in
exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the
donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock
that year.
YLT 17And they bring in their
cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph giveth to them bread, for the horses, and for
the cattle of the flock, and for the cattle of the herd, and for the asses; and
he tendeth them with bread, for all their cattle, during that year.
And they
brought their cattle unto Joseph,....
Which they might the more
readily do, since there was scarce any grass to feed them with; and though some
of them were creatures used for food, yet might be so lean and poor for want of
grass, as not to be fit to eat; and besides, they could do better without flesh
than without bread:
and Joseph gave
them bread in exchange for horses;
with which Egypt abounded,
to which many places of Scripture have respect, Deuteronomy 17:16,
and for the
flocks, and for the cattle of the herds;
the sheep and the oxen;
which shows that these creatures were bred and fed by them, and were, no doubt,
slain, and used for food:
and for the
asses;
which were used for
carrying burdens:
and he fed them
with bread for all their cattle, for that year;
which seems to be the
sixth year of the famine: one would wonder what Joseph should do with all their
cattle, where put them, and feed them, in such a time of drought; though it is
probable the number was not exceeding large, since they only fetched one year's
provision of bread.
Genesis 47:18. 18 When
that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will
not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of
livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our
lands.
YLT 18And that year is finished,
and they come in unto him on the second year, and say to him, `We do not hide
from my lord, that since the money hath been finished, and possession of the
cattle [is] unto my lord, there hath not been left before my lord save our
bodies, and our ground;
When the year
was ended, they came unto him the second year,....
Which seems to be the
seventh and last year of the years of famine; not the second year of the
famine, as Jarchi, but the second year of their great distress, when having
spent all their money they parted with their cattle; for it cannot be thought
that they should be drained of their money and cattle too in one year:
and said unto
him, we will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my
lord also hath our herds of cattle;
both these were well known
to Joseph, and therefore cannot be the things which they say they would not
hide: Musculus thinks it should be rendered in the past tense, "we have
not hid"; this they told him the last year, that their money was gone, and
he knew he had their cattle for their last year's provision: the sense seems to
be this, that seeing their money was spent, and their cattle were in the hands
of Joseph, they would not, and could not conceal from him what follows:
there is not
enough left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands;
and the one were starving
and the other desolate.
Genesis 47:19. 19 Why
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 of Pharaoh; give us seed,
that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”
YLT 19why do we die before thine
eyes, both we and our ground? buy us and our ground for bread, and we and our
ground are servants to Pharaoh; and give seed, and we live, and die not, and
the ground is not desolate.'
Wherefore shall
we die before thine eyes, both we and our land?....
Beholding their miserable
condition, and not helping them; die they must unless they had bread to eat, and
their land die also if they had not seed to sow; that is, would become
desolate, as the Septuagint version renders it; so Ben Melech observes, that
land which is desolate is as if it was dead, because it produces neither grass
nor fruit, whereas when it does it looks lively and cheerful:
buy us and our
land for bread;
they were willing to sell
themselves and their land too for bread to support their lives, nothing being
dearer to a man than life:
and we and our
land will be servants unto Pharaoh;
both should be his; they
would hold their land of him, and be tenants to him:
and give us
seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land may not be desolate;
entirely so; some parts of
it they could sow a little upon, as on the banks of the Nile, or perhaps that
river might begin to overflow, or they had some hopes of it, especially from
Joseph's prediction they knew this was the last year of famine, and therefore
it was proper to sow the ground some time in this, that they might have a crop
for the provision of the next year; and they had no seed to sow, and if they
were not furnished with it, the famine must unavoidably continue,
notwithstanding the flow of the Nile.
Genesis 47:20. 20 Then
Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians
sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became
Pharaoh’s.
YLT 20And Joseph buyeth all the
ground of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians have sold each his field, for
the famine hath been severe upon them, and the land becometh Pharaoh's;
And Joseph
bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh,....
Not for himself, nor did
he entail it on his posterity, but for Pharaoh, who became sole proprietor of
it:
for the
Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them;
everyone that had a field
sold it to buy bread for his family, so great was the famine; no mention is
made of their houses, either because these went with their lands, or they were
so mean that they were of little account, and would scarce bear any price; for
as Diodorus SiculusF8Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 47. reports of the
Egyptians, they were less careful of the structure of their houses, and
exceeded all bounds in the magnificence of their sepulchres:
so the land
became Pharaoh's;
not only with respect to
dominion and government, so it was before, but with respect to property;
before, every man's field, and garden, and vineyard were his own, and he was in
possession thereof for his own use, but now being sold, were Pharaoh's; and
they held them of him, and paid a rent for them in a manner hereafter directed
by a law.
Genesis 47:21. 21 And as for the people, he
moved them into the cities,[a] from one
end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.
YLT 21as to the people he hath
removed them to cities from the [one] end of the border of Egypt even unto its
[other] end.
And as for the
people, he removed them,....
From the places where they
dwelt, that it might appear they had no more property there, and might forget
it, and be more willing to pay rent elsewhere; and their posterity hereafter
could have no notion of its being theirs, or plead prescription; and besides,
by such a removal and separation of the inhabitants of cities, some to one
place, and some to another, sedition and mutiny might be prevented: he had them
to cities, from
one end of the borders of Egypt, even unto the other end thereof;
according to the Targums
of Jonathan and Jerusalem, those that dwelt in provinces, or in country towns
and villages, he removed to cities, and those that dwelt in cities he removed
into provinces, and placed them at the utmost distance from their former
habitations, for the reasons before given; and the above Targums suggest another
reason, to teach the Egyptians not to reproach the Israelites with being exiles
and strangers, when they were all of them removed from their native places, and
were strangers, where they were.
Genesis 47:22. 22 Only
the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted
to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them;
therefore they did not sell their lands.
YLT 22Only the ground of the
priests he hath not bought, for the priests have a portion from Pharaoh, and
they have eaten their portion which Pharaoh hath given to them, therefore they
have not sold their ground.
Only the land
of the priests bought he not,....
Not from any special
affection for them, or any superstitious veneration of them, which can never be
thought of so good a man, but for a reason following, which shows they had no
need to sell them:
for the priests
had a portion assigned them, by Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which
Pharaoh gave them;
they had a certain
allowance by the day of provision granted them, on which they lived; so
Herodotus saysF9Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 37. of the priests of Egypt,
that they spend nothing of their own, but sacred food is provided for them, and
great plenty of the flesh of geese and oxen is given daily to everyone of them.
And this was a delicate affair, which Joseph could not intermeddle with, but in
prudence must leave it as he found it, and do as had been used to be done; this
depending on the will and pleasure of Pharaoh, if not upon the constitution of
the land, as it seems to be from Diodorus SiculusF11Ut supra,
(Bibliothec. l. 1.) p. 66. , who divides Egypt into three parts; and the first
part he assigns to the priests, who, according to him, were maintained out of
their own revenues. Some understand this of "princes"F12אדמת הכהנים "agros
praesidum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. , the word sometimes being
used of them, and interpret it of the officers and courtiers of Pharaoh, his
nobles, that dwelt in his palace, and had their portion of food from him; but
the former sense seems best:
wherefore they
sold not their lands;
they were not obliged to
it, having provision from the king's table, or by his appointment.
Genesis 47:23. 23 Then
Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for
Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
YLT 23And Joseph saith unto the
people, `Lo, I have bought you to-day and your ground for Pharaoh; lo, seed for
you, and ye have sown the ground,
Then Joseph
said unto the people,....
After he had bought their
land, and before the removal of them to distant parts:
behold, I have
bought you this day, and your land, for Pharaoh:
which he observes to them,
that they might take notice of it, and confirm it, or object if they had
anything to say to the contrary:
lo, here is
seed for you, and ye shall sow the land:
by which it should seem
that they were not removed from the spot where they lived, but retained their
own land under Pharaoh, and had seed given them to sow it with, which may seem
contrary to Genesis 47:21;
wherefore that must be understood of a purpose and proposal to remove them, and
not that it was actually done; or, as Musculus gives the sense, Joseph by a
public edict called all the people from the extreme parts of Egypt to the
cities nearest to them, and there proclaimed the subjection of them, and their
lands to Pharaoh, but continued them to them as tenants of his; unless it
should be said, that in those distant parts to which they were sent, land was
put into their hands to till and manure for the king, and have seed given them
to sow it with; but this seems to be said to them at the same time the bargain
was made.
Genesis 47:24. 24 And
it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh.
Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for
those of your households and as food for your little ones.”
YLT 24and it hath come to pass in
the increases, that ye have given a fifth to Pharaoh, and four of the parts are
for yourselves, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for those who
[are] in your houses, and for food for your infants.'
And it shall
come to pass, in the increase,....
When the land shall
produce an increase, and it shall be gathered in:
that you shall
give the fifth part unto Pharaoh;
a fifth part of the
increase:
and four parts
shall be your own;
for the following uses,
one part
for seed of the
field:
to sow again with for the
next year: a second part
for your food;
for food for themselves: a
third part
for them of
your household;
their servants and maids:
and the fourth part
for food for
your little ones;
for their children, be
they young or old; or however four parts of five he proposed they should have
for their own use, and for the maintenance of their families, which was a kind
and generous proposal, when all might have been demanded, and they and theirs
treated as slaves.
Genesis 47:25. 25 So
they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my
lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
YLT 25And they say, `Thou hast
revived us; we find grace in the eyes of my lord, and have been servants to
Pharaoh;'
And they said,
thou hast saved our lives,....
Preserved them from death
through famine, by laying up stores of corn, which he had sold out to them for
their money, cattle, and land, or otherwise they must have perished, they and
theirs, and this favour they thankfully acknowledge:
let us find
grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants;
signifying, that they
esteemed it a great favour to be so on the foot of the bargain made with them,
and they desired a continuance in it.
Genesis 47:26. 26 And
Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh
should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which
did not become Pharaoh’s.
YLT 26and Joseph setteth it for a
statute unto this day, concerning the ground of Egypt, [that] Pharaoh hath a
fifth; only the ground of the priests alone hath not become Pharaoh's.
And Joseph made
it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day,....
With the consent of
Pharaoh, his nobles, and all the people of the land, who readily came into it;
and so it became, a fundamental law of their constitution, and which continued
to the times of Moses, the writer of this history:
that Pharaoh should have the fifth part;
that is, of the increase
the whole land of Egypt produced:
except the land
of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's;
it not being bought by
him; so Diodorus SiculusF13Ut supra. (Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 47.) , as
he assigns the first part of the land to the priests, so he says they were free
from all taxes and tribute, and next to the king were possessed of honour and
authority.
Genesis 47:27. 27 So
Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had
possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.
YLT 27And Israel dwelleth in the
land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they have possession in it, and are
fruitful, and multiply exceedingly;
And Israel
dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen,....
The historian returns to
the account of the Israelites, having before observed the placing of them in
Goshen by Joseph, at the direction of Pharaoh, in compliance with their own
request; and here they continued until they were grown more numerous, when they
were obliged to spread themselves further in this same country:
and they had
possessions therein;
fields and vineyards, as
the Targum of Jonathan; all the land was Pharaoh's, and they rented of him as
his people did, it may be supposed:
and grew, and
multiplied exceedingly;
even in Jacob's lifetime
they grew rich and numerous.
Genesis 47:28. 28 And
Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life
was one hundred and forty-seven years.
YLT 28and Jacob liveth in the
land of Egypt seventeen years, and the days of Jacob, the years of his life,
are an hundred and forty and seven years.
And Jacob lived
in the land of Egypt seventeen years,....
He lived just the same
term of years with Joseph in Egypt as he had lived with him in Syria and
Canaan, Genesis 37:2; about
two hours' walk from Fium are now to be seen the ruins of an ancient town,
which the Coptics say was inhabited by the patriarch Jacob, and for this cause
they name it, yet, Modsellet Jacub, or the tabernacle of JacobF14Vansleb's
Relation of a Voyage to Egypt, p. 167. , which place is supposed to be in the
land of Goshen, see Genesis 47:11,
so the whole
age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years;
he was one hundred and
thirty when he stood before Pharaoh, Genesis 47:9; and
now had lived in Egypt seventeen years, as in the above clause, which together
make up the sum; and this exact time of the years of his life is given by
Polyhistor from Demetrius, an Heathen writerF15Apud Euseb. Praepar.
Evangel. l. 9. c. 21. p. 425. .
Genesis 47:29. 29 When
the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to
him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my
thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
YLT 29And the days of Israel are
near to die, and he calleth for his son, for Joseph, and saith to him, `If, I
pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under
my thigh, and thou hast done with me kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray
thee, in Egypt,
And the time
drew nigh that Israel must die,....
As all men must, by the
appointment of God, even good men, the Israel of God; though they shall not die
a spiritual death, nor an eternal one, yet a corporeal one, which is for their
good, and is a blessing to them; the sting being removed, and so not a penal
evil, which is owing to Christ's dying for them, who has abolished death as
such; and there is a time fixed for their death, beyond which they must not
live, and before which they must not die, but when the time comes there is no
avoiding it; the time of Jacob's death was drawing on, as he perceived by the
great decline of his natural strength, and perhaps by a divine impulse on his
mind:
and he called
his son Joseph;
sent for him, by a
messenger, to come to him:
and said unto
him; when he was come:
if now I have
found grace in thy sight;
which is not spoken in a
way of submission, as from an inferior to a superior, as the phrase is
sometimes used; or as signifying what would be esteemed as a favour should it
be granted, but it is as if he should say, if thou hast any filial affection
for me as a parent, and art willing to show love and respect to me, do as
follows:
put, I pray
thee, thy hand under my thigh:
a gesture in swearing, as
Jarchi observes, Genesis 24:2;
adding, for explanation's sake:
and deal kindly
and truly with me;
"kindly", by
promising and swearing to do what he after desires; and "truly", by
observing his oath, and fulfilling his promise:
bury me not, I
pray thee, in Egypt;
not choosing to lie among
idolaters at death, with whom he cared not to have any fellowship in life.
Genesis 47:30. 30 but
let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in
their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.”
YLT 30and I have lain with my
fathers, and thou hast borne me out of Egypt, and buried me in their
burying-place.' And he saith, `I -- I do according to thy word;'
But I will lie
with my fathers,....
Abraham and Isaac, whose
bodies lay in the land of Canaan, where Jacob desired to be buried; partly to
express his faith in the promised land, that it should be the inheritance of
his posterity; and partly to draw off their minds from a continuance in Egypt,
and to incline them to think of removing thither at a proper time, and to
confirm them in the belief of their enjoyment of it; as well as to intimate his
desire after, and faith in the heavenly glory he was going to, of which Canaan
was a type:
and thou shalt
carry me out of Egypt;
into the land of Canaan:
and bury me in
their burying place;
in the burying place of
his fathers, in the cave of Machpelah, near Hebron; see Genesis 49:30,
and he said, I
will do as thou hast said;
Joseph promised his father
to fulfil his request, and do as he had desired of him.
Genesis 47:31. 31 Then he said, “Swear to
me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.
YLT 31and he saith, `Swear to
me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.
And he said,
swear unto me,....
This he required, not from
any distrust of Joseph, but to show his own eagerness, and the intenseness of his
mind about this thing, how much he was set upon it, and what an important thing
it was with him; as also, that if he should have any objections made to it, or
arguments used with him to divert him from it, by Pharaoh or his court, he
would be able to say his father had bound him by an oath to do it, which would
at once stop their mouths, and be judged a sufficient reason for what he did,
see Genesis 50:5,
and he sware
unto him;
not only gave his promise,
but confirmed it with an oath:
and Israel
bowed himself upon the bed's head:
not in a way of civil
respect to Joseph, giving him thanks for the assurance he had given him, that
he would bury him, not in Egypt, but in Canaan; but in a religious way to God,
giving thanks to him that he had lived to see his son Joseph, who, according to
the promise, would close his eyes, and that he had inclined his heart to fulfil
his request; though some think that no more is meant, than that after Jacob had
spent himself in discoursing with Joseph, he sunk down and reclined on his
pillow at his bed's head, to take some rest; for as for what the apostle says
in Hebrews 11:21; that
refers to another thing at another time; See Gill on Hebrews 11:21.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Genesis 47:21
Following Masoretic Text and Targum; Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, and
Vulgate read made the people virtual slaves.