Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 78
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Genesis 48
JOSEPH’S LEADERSHIP IN THE FAMINE
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 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!”
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 Pharaoh. 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 Pha
raoh, 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 Pha
raoh. 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.”
So Joseph promised, “I will do as you ask.”
31
“Swear that you will do it,” Jacob insisted.
So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed
humbly at the head of his bed.*
13
JACOB BLESSES MANASSEH
AND EPHRAIM
48
PG 1437
b | BLESSINGS | 48:12-22
PG 174
One day not long after this, word came
to Joseph, “Your father is failing rapidly.” So Joseph went to visit his father, and
he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and
Ephraim.
2
When Joseph arrived, Jacob was told, “Your
son Joseph has come to see you.” So Jacob*
gathered his strength and sat up in his bed.
3
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty* appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and
blessed me. 4 He said to me, ‘I will make you
fruitful, and I will multiply your descendants.
I will make you a multitude of nations. And I
will give this land of Canaan to your descendants* after you as an everlasting possession.’
5
“Now I am claiming as my own sons these
two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh,
who were born here in the land of Egypt before
I arrived. They will be my sons, just as Reuben
and Simeon are. 6 But any children born to you
in the future will be your own, and they will inherit land within the territories of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh.
7
“Long ago, as I was returning from Paddanaram,* Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We
were still on the way, some distance from Eph
rath (that is, Bethlehem). So with great sorrow
I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.”
8
Then Jacob looked over at the two boys.
“Are these your sons?” he asked.
9
“Yes,” Joseph told him, “these are the sons
God has given me here in Egypt.”
And Jacob said, “Bring them closer to me, so
I can bless them.”
10
Jacob was half blind because of his age
and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the
boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them. 11 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I
never thought I would see your face again, but
now God has let me see your children, too!”
12
Joseph moved the boys, who were at their
grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face
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. 47:31 Greek version reads and
Israel bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff. Compare Heb
11:21. 48:2 Hebrew Israel; also in 48:8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 21. See note on
35:21. 48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai. 48:4 Hebrew seed; also in 48:19.
48:7 Hebrew Paddan, referring to Paddan-aram; compare Gen 35:9.
