Genesis 47:26

26 And Joseph appointed it to them for an ordinance until this day; to reserve a fifth part for Pharao, on the land of Egypt, except only the land of the priests, that was not Pharao's.

Genesis 47:26 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 47:26

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 Siculus ^F13, 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Ut supra. (Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 47.)

Genesis 47:26 In-Context

24 And there shall be the fruits of it; and ye shall give the fifth part to Pharao, and the four parts shall be for yourselves, for seed for the earth, and for food for you, and all that are in your houses.

25 And they said, Thou hast saved us; we have found favour before our lord, and we will be servants to Pharao.

26 And Joseph appointed it to them for an ordinance until this day; to reserve a fifth part for Pharao, on the land of Egypt, except only the land of the priests, that was not Pharao's.

27 And Israel dwelt in Egypt, in the land of Gesem, and they gained an inheritance upon it; and they increased and multiplied very greatly.

28 And Jacob survived seventeen years in the land of Egypt; and Jacob's days of the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven years.