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G ENESIS 48
page 47
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 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
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.
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.*
Jacob Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim
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 Ephrath (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 to the ground. 13 Then he positioned the
boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he
directed Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and
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