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Genesis Chapter Forty-seven

 

Genesis 47 Outlines

Jacob Settles in Goshen (v.1~12)

Joseph Deals with the Famine (v.13~26)

Joseph’s Vow to Jacob (v.27~31)

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)

Footnotes:

a.    Genesis 47:21 Following Masoretic Text and Targum; Samaritan Pentateuch Septuagint and Vulgate read made the people virtual slaves.