Genesis 47:1-11

Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen

1 Then 1Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of 2Goshen."
2 He took five men from among his brothers and 3presented * them to Pharaoh.
3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "4What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are 5shepherds, both we and our fathers."
4 They said to Pharaoh, "6We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for 7the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants 8live in the land of Goshen."
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.
6 "The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in 9the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any 10capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented * him to Pharaoh; and Jacob 11blessed Pharaoh.
8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?"
9 So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The 12years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained 13the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning."
10 And Jacob 14blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence.
11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in 15the best of the land, in the land of 16Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered.

Genesis 47:1-11 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 16

  • 1. Genesis 46:31
  • 2. Genesis 45:10; Genesis 46:28
  • 3. Acts 7:13
  • 4. Genesis 46:33
  • 5. Genesis 46:34
  • 6. Genesis 15:13; Deuteronomy 26:5; Psalms 105:23
  • 7. Genesis 43:1; Acts 7:11
  • 8. Genesis 46:34
  • 9. Genesis 45:10, 18; Genesis 47:11
  • 10. Exodus 18:21, 25; 1 Kings 11:28; Proverbs 22:29
  • 11. Genesis 47:10; 2 Samuel 14:22; 1 Kings 8:66
  • 12. Hebrews 11:9, 13
  • 13. Genesis 25:7; Genesis 35:28
  • 14. Genesis 47:7
  • 15. Genesis 47:6, 27
  • 16. Exodus 1:11; Exodus 12:37

Footnotes 17

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