Genesis 47:1

1 Therefore Joseph entered, and told to Pharaoh, and said, My father and brethren, the sheep and the great beasts of them, and all things that they wield (and all the things that they possess), have come from the land of Canaan; and lo! they stand in the land of Goshen.

Genesis 47:1 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 47:1

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh
After he had been with his father, had had an interview with him, and had took his leave of him for a time, he came to Pharaoh's court:

and said, my father, and my brethren, and their flocks, and their
herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan;
Pharaoh had desired they might come, and Joseph now acquaints him they were come; not being willing it should be said that they were come in a private manner, and without his knowledge; nor to dispose of them himself without the direction and approbation of Pharaoh, who was superior to him; and he makes mention of their flocks and herds, and other substance, partly to show that they were not a mean beggarly family that came to live upon him, and partly that a proper place of pasturage for their cattle might be appointed to them:

and behold, they [are] in the land of Goshen;
they are stopped at present, until they should have further directions and orders where to settle; and this is the rather mentioned, because it was the place Joseph proposed with himself to fix them in, if Pharaoh approved of it.

Genesis 47:1 In-Context

1 Therefore Joseph entered, and told to Pharaoh, and said, My father and brethren, the sheep and the great beasts of them, and all things that they wield (and all the things that they possess), have come from the land of Canaan; and lo! they stand in the land of Goshen.

2 And Joseph ordained five, the least, or meekest, men of his brethren, to come before the king,

3 whom he asked, What work have ye? They answered, We thy servants be keepers of sheep, both we and our fathers; (and Pharaoh asked them, What work do you do? And they answered, We, thy servants, be shepherds, and herdsmen, both we and our fathers;)

4 we came into thy land to be pilgrims, that is, to dwell for a time, for no grass is to the flocks of thy servants; for hunger waxeth grievous in the land of Canaan, and we ask that thou command us thy servants to be in the land of Goshen. (we have come to live in thy land, that is, to live here for a time, for there is no grass for the flocks, and herds, of thy servants, for the famine hath spread far and wide in the land of Canaan; and we ask that thou allow us, thy servants, to live in the land of Goshen.)

5 And so the king said to Joseph, Thy father and thy brethren have come to thee;