DaySpring Hope & Encouragement Bible - Flipbook - Page 85
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G enesis 47
11 So Joseph assigned the best land of E
gypt—the region of Rameses—to
his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had
commanded. 12 And Joseph provided food for his father and his brothers
in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the
smallest children.
Joseph’s Leadership in the Famine
13 Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up, and
people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. 14 By selling
grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Ca
naan, and he put the money in Pharaoh’s treasury. 15 When the people of Egypt
and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Our money is
gone!” they cried. “But please give us food, or we will die before your very eyes!”
16 Joseph replied, “Since your money is gone, bring me your livestock. I
will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17 So they brought their
livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks
of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Joseph provided them with
food for another year.
18 But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We
cannot hide the truth from you, my lord. Our money is gone, and all our
livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies
and our land. 19 Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our
land in exchange for food; we offer our land and ourselves as slaves for Pha
raoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not
become empty and desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians
sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land
belonged to Pharaoh. 21 As for the people, he made them all slaves,* from
one end of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land
belonging to the priests. They received an allotment of food directly from
Pharaoh, so they didn’t need to sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your
land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields.
24 Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh.
You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food
for you, your households, and your little ones.”
25 “You have saved our lives!” they exclaimed. “May it please you, my lord,
to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26 Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in
the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown
on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh.
27 Meanwhile, the people of Israel settled in the region of Goshen in Egypt.
There they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their population
grew rapidly. 28 Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so
he lived 147 years in all.
29 As the time of his death drew near, Jacob* called for his son Joseph and
said to him, “Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and
swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request: Do not bury me in Egypt. 30 When I die, please take my body out of
Egypt and bury me with my ancestors.”
47:21 As in Greek version and Samaritan Pentateuch; Hebrew reads he moved them all into the
towns.
47:29 Hebrew Israel; also in 47:31b. See note on 35:21.
