Genesis 47:8-18

8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?"
9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my 1sojourning are 130 years. 2Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and 3they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their 4sojourning."
10 And Jacob 5blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
11 Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of 6Rameses, 7as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph 8provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

Joseph and the Famine

13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine.
14 9And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. 10Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone."
16 And Joseph answered, "Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone."
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.
18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land.

Genesis 47:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

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, Ge 47:1-10; 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, Ge 47:11,12; 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, Ge 47:13-22; of his giving them seed to sow with, on condition of Pharaoh's having a fifth part of the produce, Ge 47:23-26, 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, Ge 47:27-31.

Cross References 10

  • 1. 1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalms 39:12; Psalms 119:19, 54; Hebrews 11:9, 13
  • 2. Job 14:1; [Psalms 39:4, 5; James 4:14]
  • 3. Genesis 11:32; Genesis 25:7; Genesis 35:28
  • 4. 1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalms 39:12; Psalms 119:19, 54; Hebrews 11:9, 13
  • 5. ver. 7
  • 6. Exodus 1:11; Exodus 12:37; [Genesis 45:10]
  • 7. ver. 6
  • 8. Genesis 45:11; Genesis 50:21
  • 9. Genesis 41:56
  • 10. ver. 19
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.