Genesis 47:1-14

1 Joseph went in to the king and said, "My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks and herds and everything they own. They are now in the land of Goshen."

2 Joseph chose five of his brothers to introduce to the king.

3 The king said to the brothers, "What work do you do?" And they said to him, "We, your servants, are shepherds, just as our ancestors were."

4 They said to the king, "We have come to live in this land, because there is no grass in the land of Canaan for our animals to eat, and the hunger is terrible there. So please allow us to live in the land of Goshen."

5 Then the king said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you,

6 and you may choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land; let them live in the land of Goshen. And if any of them are skilled shepherds, put them in charge of my sheep and cattle."

7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and introduced him to the king, and Jacob blessed the king.

8 Then the king said to Jacob, "How old are you?"

9 Jacob said to him, "My life has been spent wandering from place to place. It has been short and filled with trouble -- only one hundred thirty years. My ancestors lived much longer than I."

10 Then Jacob blessed the king and left.

11 Joseph obeyed the king and gave his father and brothers the best land in Egypt, near the city of Rameses.

12 And Joseph gave his father, his brothers, and everyone who lived with them the food they needed.

13 The hunger became worse, and since there was no food anywhere in the land, Egypt and Canaan became very poor.

14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan. People paid for the grain they were buying, and he brought that money to the king's palace.

Genesis 47:1-14 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.