Hands-On Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 82
Genesis 47 ... page 52
all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’
When you tell him this, he will let you live here in
the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise
shepherds.”
CHAPTER
47
Jacob Blesses Pharaoh
Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him,
“My father and my brothers have arrived from
the land of Canaan. They have come with all their
flocks and herds and possessions, and they are
now in the region of Goshen.”
2Joseph took five of his brothers with him and
presented them to Pharaoh. 3And Pharaoh asked
the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
They replied, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. 4We have come to
live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very
severe there. So please, we request permission to
live in the region of Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your
father and brothers have joined you here,
6choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for
them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt.
Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any
of them have special skills, put them in charge of
my livestock, too.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and
presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed
Pharaoh.
8 “How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.
9Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for
130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.” 10Then
Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his
court.
11So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—
the region of Rameses—to his father and his
brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded. 12And 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
13Meanwhile,
the famine became so severe that
all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan.
14By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan,
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!”
16Joseph replied, “Since your money is gone,
bring me your livestock. I will give you food in
exchange for your livestock.” 17So 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.
18But 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 Pharaoh. Just give us
grain so we may live and not die, and so the land
does not become empty and desolate.”
20So 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. 21As 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.
24Then 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.” 26Joseph 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.
27Meanwhile, 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. 28Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he lived
147 years in all.
29As 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. 30When I die, please take my body
out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors.”
