Genesis 47:2

2 And out of his brethren he hath taken five men, and setteth them before Pharaoh;

Genesis 47:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 47:2

And he took some of his brethren
Along with him, when he left his father in Goshen; the word for "some" signifies the extremity of a thing: hence some have fancied that he took some of the meanest and most abject, so Jarchi, lest if they had appeared to Pharaoh strong and robust, he should have made soldiers of them; others on the contrary think he took those that excelled most in strength of body, and endowments of mind, to make the better figure; others, that he took of both sorts, or some at both ends, the first and last, elder and younger; but it may be, he made no choice at all, but took some that offered next:

[even] five men:
whom the Targum of Jonathan names as follow, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher; but Jarchi will have them to be Reuben, Simeon and Levi, Issachar and Benjamin; but on these accounts no dependence is to be had:

and presented them, unto Pharaoh;
introduced them into his presence, that he might converse with them, and ask them what questions he thought fit.

Genesis 47:2 In-Context

1 And Joseph cometh, and declareth to Pharaoh, and saith, `My father, and my brethren, and their flock, and their herd, and all they have, have come from the land of Canaan, and lo, they [are] in the land of Goshen.'

2 And out of his brethren he hath taken five men, and setteth them before Pharaoh;

3 and Pharaoh saith unto his brethren, `What [are] your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thy servants [are] feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;'

4 and they say unto Pharaoh, `To sojourn in the land we have come, for there is no pasture for the flock which thy servants have, for grievous [is] the famine in the land of Canaan; and now, let thy servants, we pray thee, dwell in the land of Goshen.'

5 And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph, saying, `Thy father and thy brethren have come unto thee: