Genesis 47:3-13

3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They answered Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our ancestors,"

4 and added, "We have come to live in the land, because in the land of Kena'an there is no place to pasture your servant's flocks, the famine is so severe there. Therefore, please, let your servants live in the land of Goshen."

5 Pharaoh said to Yosef, "Your father and brothers have come to you,

6 and the land of Egypt lies before you. Have your father and brothers live on the best property in the country - let them live in the land of Goshen. Moreover, if you know that some of them are particularly competent, put them in charge of my livestock."

7 Yosef then brought in Ya'akov his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Ya'akov blessed Pharaoh.

8 Pharaoh asked Ya'akov,"How old are you?"

9 and Ya'akov replied, "The time of my stay on earth has been 130 years; they have been few and difficult, fewer than the years my ancestors lived."

10 Then Ya'akov blessed Pharaoh and left his presence.

11 Yosef found a place for his father and brothers and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the country, in the land of Ra'amses, as Pharaoh had ordered.

12 Yosef provided food for his father, his brothers and all his father's household, taking full care of even the youngest.

13 There was no food anywhere, for the famine was very severe, so that both Egypt and Kena'an grew weak from hunger.

Genesis 47:3-13 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.