The Book of Genesis, Chapter 47

This chapter is a continuation of Jacob/Israel, & family, going to Egypt. Also it’s about Joseph & the famine. This one is an interesting read. I hope y’all enjoy the read!

Joseph went & told Pharaoh that his family, with all their possessions, was in Goshen. Joseph then hand-picked 5 of his brothers & presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asks what they do for a living. The brothers tell Pharaoh that they’re shepherds & that they’ve come to live there because of the famine. Pharaoh gives his permission for them to settle in Goshen, & tells them that if any of them are apt then they can be put in charge of his livestock.

Joseph then presented Jacob/Israel, his dad, to Pharaoh. Jacob/Israel blessed Pharaoh, then Pharaoh asks how old Jacob/Israel is. Jacob answers, “The years of my pilgrimage are 130. My years have been difficult, & they don’t equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” (Genesis 47:9, NIV) Then Jacob/Israel blesses Pharaoh again & leaves Pharaoh’s presence.

So Joseph settled his father & his brothers in Egypt (Goshen) & gave them the best property, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh said. Joseph also gave them food, according to the number of the households.

Now there was no food in the whole region because the famine was so severe. Both Canaan & Egypt wasted away because of the famine. Joseph had collected all the money that was to be found in both Canaan & Egypt, because everyone had spent it on food that Joseph stored away. When the money was all gone, the people of Egypt & Canaan came to Joseph & told him to give them food. Joseph told them to bring him their livestock as payment for the food. So everyone brought their livestock to pay for the food.

After a year was over, the people came back. The people told Joseph that they didn’t have any money or livestock to give for the food. So they ask Joseph to buy their land & themselves for food (yes, they sold themselves into slavery for food.). So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. ALL of the land became Pharaoh’s. Joseph made all the people across Egypt become slaves. However, Joseph didn’t buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh, & had enough food from the allotment. Joseph then told the people that since they’ve sold their land, & themselves, they can have some seed to plant crops. But when the crops come in, Joseph made them give 1/5 of the crops directly to Pharaoh. The rest they could keep. So Joseph made it a law in Egypt that 1/5 of the produce belongs to Pharaoh.

Now the Israelites (the 1st mention of the term of “Israelites”) settled in Egypt/Goshen. They did well there. Jacob/Israel lived in Egypt 17 years & lived a total of 147 years. When the time drew near for Israel/Jacob to die, he called for Joseph, his son, & said to him, “If I’ve found favor in your eyes, promise me you won’t bury in Egypt. But bury me where my fathers are buried.” Joseph promised him. Israel/Jacob worshipped as he leaned on top of his staff.