Genesis 47
1 Joseph chose five of his [older] brothers to go with him to talk to the king. He introduced his [older] brothers to the king, and then he said, “My father and my [older] brothers [and younger brother] have come from the Canaan region. They have brought all their sheep and goats and cattle and everything else that they own, and they are living now in Goshen region.”
Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen.
Five men also the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:
3 The king asked the brothers, “What work do you do?” They replied, “We are shepherds, just as our ancestors were.”
And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: We thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.
4 They also said to him, “We have come here to live for a while in this land, because the famine is very severe in Canaan, and our animals have no (pasture/grass to eat) there. So now, please let us live in the Goshen region.”
We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.
5 The king said to Joseph, “I am happy that your father and your [older] brothers [and younger brother] have come to you.
The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.
6 They can live wherever you want in the whole country of Egypt. Give your father and your brothers the best part of the land. They can live in Goshen. And if you know that any of them have any special ability to work with livestock, have them be in charge of my own livestock, too.”
The land of Egypt is before thee: make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob [into the palace] and introduced him to the king. Jacob asked God to bless the king.
After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented him before him: and he blessed him.
8 Then the king asked Jacob, “How old are you?”
And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy life?
9 Jacob replied, “I have been traveling around for 130 years. I have not lived as long as my ancestors, but my life has been full of troubles.”
He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.
10 Then Jacob again [asked God to] bless the king, and left him.
And blessing the king, he went out.
11 [That is how Joseph enabled his father and older] brothers [and younger brother] to start living in Egypt. As the king had commanded, he gave them property in the best part of the land, in [Goshen, which is now called] Rameses.
But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded.
12 Joseph also provided food for all his father’s family. The amounts that he gave them were according to how many children each of them had.
And he nourished them, and all his father’s house, allowing food to every one.
13 There were no crops growing in the whole region, because the famine was very severe. The people of Egypt and Canaan [MTY] became weak because they did not have enough food to eat.
For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land: more especially of Egypt and Chanaan.
14 Joseph collected all the money that the people in Egypt and Canaan paid for the grain they were buying from him, and he brought the money to the king’s palace.
Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it into the king’s treasure.
15 When the people of Egypt and Canaan had spent all their money for grain, they all kept coming to Joseph and saying, “Please give us some food! If you do not give us grain, we will die [RHQ]! We have used all our money to buy food, and we have no money left!”
And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now no money.
16 Joseph replied, “Since your money is all gone, bring me your livestock. If you do that, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, and for them I will give you food, if you have no money.
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph. He gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle, and their donkeys.
And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.
18 The next year they came to him again and said, “We cannot hide this from you: We have no more money, and now our livestock belongs to you. We have only our bodies and our land to give to you. We have nothing else left.
And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.
19 (If you do not give us some food, we will die!/Do you want to watch us die?) [RHQ] If you do not give us seeds, our fields will become useless [IDM]. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we will be the king’s slaves, and he will own the land. Give us seeds that we can plant and grow food, in order that we will not die, and in order that our land will not become like a desert.”
Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thine, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king’s servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.
20 So Joseph bought all the farms in Egypt for the king. The people of Egypt each sold their land to him because the famine was very severe, [and they had no other way to get money to buy food]. So all the farms became the king’s farms.
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao’s hands:
21 As a result, Joseph caused all the people from one border of the country to the other to become the king’s slaves.
And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof,
22 But he did not buy the priests’ land, because they received food from the king regularly, so the food that the king gave them was enough for them. That is the reason they did not sell their land to him.
Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions.
23 Joseph said to the people [who sold themselves and their land to him], “Listen to me! Today I have bought you and your land for the king. So here are seeds for you so that you can plant them in the ground.
Then Joseph said to the people: Behold as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao: take seed and sow the fields,
24 But when you harvest the crop, you must give one-fifth of the crop to the king. The rest of the crop you can keep, to be seed to plant in the fields, and to be food for you and your children and for everyone else in your household to eat.”
That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king: the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children.
25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! We want you to be pleased with us. And we will be the king’s slaves.”
And they answered: Our life is in thy hand: only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.
26 So Joseph made a law about all the land in Egypt, stating that one-fifth of the crops that are harvested belongs to the king. That law still exists. Only the land that belonged to the priests did not become the king’s land.
From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the king, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.
27 Jacob and his family started to live in Egypt, in the Goshen region. They acquired property there. Many children were born to them there. As a result, their population increased greatly.
So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it: and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.
28 Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years. Altogether he lived 147 years.
And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.
29 When it was almost time for him to die, he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have pleased you, make a solemn promise that you will be kind to me and faithfully do what I am now asking you: When I die, do not bury me here in Egypt.
And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt:
30 Instead, take my body out of Egypt, and bury it in Canaan where my ancestors are buried.” Joseph replied, “I will do that.”
But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.
31 Jacob said, “(Swear/Solemnly promise) to me that you will do it!” So Joseph swore to do it. Then Jacob turned over in bed, bowed his head, and worshiped God.
And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed’s head.
