Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 47 mean?

The last several chapters explained how Joseph, Jacob’s son by Rachel (Genesis 46:19), came to bring his family to live in Egypt. Genesis 47 begins with Joseph’s family appearing before Pharaoh at court in a formal audience. Joseph selects five of his brothers to represent the family. When Pharaoh asks them their occupations, they reply as Joseph had coached them. They describe themselves as lifelong shepherds, and they formally ask Pharaoh that they be allowed to settle in the fertile region of Goshen. This is an interesting choice, as Joseph has noted that Egyptians generally look down on herdsmen (Genesis 46:34). His motives may be both practical and spiritual. By making it clear that the entire family is involved in shepherding, he lessens suspicion from Egyptians that these immigrants will displace them from work. Spiritually, living somewhere separate from most other Egyptians would help to preserve Israel’s commitment to God (Genesis 47:1–4).

Instead of answering the brothers directly, Pharaoh addresses Joseph, granting him the authority to grant his brothers’ request. This is both an honor to Joseph and an act of wisdom by Egypt’s ruler. This establishes that Jacob’s family is there under Joseph’s care—Joseph is their patron, not the Pharaoh himself. Pharaoh does, however, command Joseph to settle his family in Goshen and to put some of them in charge of managing his own livestock (Genesis 47:5–6).

Next, Pharaoh receives Joseph’s aged father Jacob. Jacob, who may have needed assistance to stand before Pharaoh, blesses him. Pharaoh asks Jacob’s age, and Jacob describes his 130 years as a sojourner as “few and evil.” Despite his bleak attitude, Jacob’s conversation with Pharaoh is relatively casual and mutually respectful. Jacob’s blessing on Pharaoh is well-received and would have been deeply appreciated (Genesis 47:7–10).

Joseph has received from Pharaoh the exact outcome he desired. He settles his family securely and with Pharaoh’s full blessing in the land of Goshen. There, he begins to provide to them a regular allotment of food for each person. This will be a crucial part of Israel’s stability and prosperity, which will only grow in the coming centuries (Exodus 1:5–7). This is a confirmation of Joseph’s prior understanding (Genesis 45:5–8) that God was responsible for the events of his life (Genesis 47:11–12).

Meanwhile, the intense regional famine continues. Joseph, on Pharaoh’s behalf, has been selling food to the people of Egypt and Canaan during that time (Genesis 41:55–57). Soon, however, the people run out of money. Joseph does not plan to starve them if they can’t pay. Rather, Joseph offers to provide food for another year in exchange for livestock owned by the people. With no other option, the people agree to sell their cattle and other animals to Joseph in exchange for food. This might have been something like a mortgage, where the people physically kept the animals, but they were ultimately owned and controlled by Pharaoh’s household (Genesis 47:13–17).

When the next year arrives, the people return to Joseph fully aware they have nothing to trade for food. Their only remaining possessions are their land and themselves. To survive, the people propose to offer up those very things. Joseph, representing Pharaoh, agrees. Joseph explains to the people that their servanthood will work much like a permanent mortgage. This form of indentured servitude was extremely common in the ancient world, and was fundamentally different from the harsh slavery experienced later by Israel (Exodus 1:8–14). The Egyptians will continue to work as they have done, paying to Pharaoh twenty percent of each year’s harvest from this point on. They will keep eighty percent for themselves. The people are grateful to Joseph for saving their lives, even at the cost of their full freedom (Genesis 47:18–22).

Unlike everyday Egyptians, Jacob’s family continues to grow and prosper. Since they are provided with food from Joseph, they can hold on to their cash, livestock, and even the land they now own in Egypt. As most citizens lose what they own, the growing number of Israelites prosper and continue to add to their numbers, providing more evidence of the blessing of God (Genesis 47:23–27).

Despite his pessimism, Jacob lives another seventeen years in Egypt, under the care and protection of his son. As time passes, Jacob eventually prepares for his own death. He asks Joseph to swear to take his body back to Canaan. This involves an ancient custom implying that the promise was being made not only to Jacob, but to all his descendants. His desire is to be buried with the bodies of Abraham and Isaac. Joseph, who will make good on his promise (Genesis 50:12–14), agrees to follow his father’s wishes (Genesis 47:28–31).

Chapter Context
After describing the family’s journey from Canaan and their arrival in Egypt in chapter 46, this passage opens on a formal conversation between Pharaoh and Joseph’s family. He officially grants their request to settle in Egypt. As the famine continues, citizens of Egypt and Canaan turn over their money, land, and livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. The final three chapters of Genesis explain Jacob’s dying blessings, and the passing of both Jacob and Joseph.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.”

The end of Genesis 46 described how Joseph prepared his father and brother for their meeting with the ruler of Egypt, who carries the title Pharaoh (Genesis 46:31–34). Jacob and his large family have arrived in Egypt at Pharaoh’s invitation. Joseph seems eager to make sure they interact with him in an appropriate way. It was no small thing to stand before the ruler of all Egypt. He held enormous power. His decisions carried the weight of life and death. His willingness to allow Joseph’s family to settle in Egypt meant life for them, amid the severe famine in the land (Genesis 41:28–31).

Now Joseph announces them to Pharaoh. Just as Pharaoh himself had suggested (Genesis 45:16–20), they have arrived with everything they own. Joseph mentions very specifically that they are camped in the land of Goshen. It’s possible Joseph wanted Pharaoh to allow his family to settle in that exact region. Goshen is not named in secular Egyptian history. It was likely along the eastern part of the Nile Delta since it was close to the court where Joseph resided and well-watered enough to support Jacob’s livestock. Later, the area will be described as the land of Rameses (Genesis 47:11).

Context Summary
Genesis 47:1–12 describes how Joseph’s family officially arrived as landowners in Egypt. They are given the fertile region of Goshen. At court, Joseph’s brothers formally request permission to settle there, and Jacob blesses Pharaoh twice. Pharaoh gives Joseph the authority to give his family enough land in Goshen to accommodate their herds and growing families. Joseph also begins to distribute a regular allotment of food to each member of his extended family.

Verse 2. And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.

Joseph is presenting his family at the court of Pharaoh. They are newly arrived at Pharaoh’s invitation (Genesis 45:16–20), in the land of Egypt. Jacob and his descendants are a large group from the land of Canaan. Pharaoh commanded Joseph to offer the best of the land of Egypt to his family to save them from a widespread famine (Genesis 41:28–31).

Instead of presenting all 11 of his brothers before Pharaoh, Joseph selects five. Egyptians preferred the number five, much as Scripture often values the number seven. Joseph seems very concerned that his family make the best impression possible. Joseph knows that he is highly favored by Pharaoh, but he wants to make the best home for his own people while avoiding any ill will between them and the Egyptians. In the prior passage, Joseph prepared his family with the right words to say when they met Egypt’s ruler (Genesis 46:31–34).

Verse 3. Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.”

Joseph is presenting his family at the court of Pharaoh. They have arrived in Egypt with all they own at Pharaoh’s invitation (Genesis 45:16–20). He wishes to help Joseph’s family to survive the crippling famine which will last for another five years (Genesis 1:28–31; 45:6).

Now comes the exact moment for which Joseph has coached his brothers (Genesis 46:31–34). He has selected five of the 11 to stand before Pharaoh to be interviewed. Pharaoh asks the expected question, “What is your occupation?” They answer exactly as Joseph instructed, describing themselves as lifelong shepherds, as their fathers were. This is an interesting choice, since Joseph made it clear to his family that shepherds were an “abomination” to the Egyptian people (Genesis 46:34). Some commentators believe Joseph intended for his brothers to emphasize their role as herdsmen, and to downplay their work with sheep, and they ignored his advice.

Others think Joseph is carefully balancing Egypt’s hospitality with his family’s spiritual well-being. He wants to secure enough fertile land to support their livestock. He knows skilled shepherds would fill a need in Egyptian culture. Being in a remote location, and performing a unpopular profession, would allow his family to remain somewhat separate from Egyptian society, at large, as their own unique people.

Verse 4. They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants ‘ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

Joseph’s brothers are being interviewed by the Pharaoh of Egypt. He has already invited Jacob’s large family to relocate to Egypt with all they own to survive the famine in the land (Genesis 45:16–20). In the previous verse, Pharaoh asked the question about their occupation, the question Joseph had discussed with them (Genesis 46:31–34). They responded with the practiced answer, declaring themselves to be lifelong shepherds (Genesis 47:1–3).

Now they continue with a formal request to be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen. They explain why they are making this request: The famine in Canaan is severe. They have no viable place to pasture their flocks. This is one possible reason Joseph had them mention shepherding to Egypt’s ruler, despite it being a distasteful profession to Egyptians. Such a request would encourage Pharaoh to settle Israel separately from the rest of his subjects, maintaining them as a unique people.

Joseph’s brothers describe themselves as “sojourners,” meaning travelers and immigrants, and as Pharaoh’s servants. This begins to fulfill the exact prophesy given to Abraham about his descendants in Genesis 15:13: “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.”

What Joseph and his family cannot know is this act of great kindness by Pharaoh will eventually result in the centuries-long enslavement of their people. For the moment, however, Pharaoh’s positive response to their request will mean the difference between life and death for the family.

Verse 5. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

Egypt’s ruler, known by the title Pharaoh, has concluded his official interview of Joseph’s family. They are represented by the five brothers Joseph selected to stand at court. They have described themselves as shepherds with large herds and flocks to support, and formally requested to be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen. This was likely in the Nile Delta.

Now Pharaoh begins to answer their request by addressing Joseph. It’s possible that the brothers have even been dismissed. This likely follows the protocol of the Pharaoh’s court, announcing his formal decisions to officers to be recorded and carried out. However, Pharaoh will make it clear he is granting the brothers’ request for Joseph’s sake. In the following verse, Pharaoh will announce that he is giving Joseph the authority to grant their request. This reflects a wise step by Pharaoh, keeping Joseph’s authority among his family intact despite their recent interaction with the only higher power in the land (Genesis 41:44).

Verse 6. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

Joseph’s large family has arrived in Egypt from Canaan at the Pharaoh’s invitation (Genesis 45:16–20). Their formal interview with him has concluded. He has heard their request to settle in Egypt since the famine has made it impossible for them to support their large herds and flocks in Canaan. Specifically, they have requested to settle in the fertile region of Goshen (Genesis 47:1–5).

To respond, Pharaoh addresses Joseph, not his brothers. He makes it clear that he is giving Joseph the authority to grant their request. This wisely maintains the understanding that the family is there under Joseph’s care, not necessarily that of Pharaoh. He commands Joseph to place his brothers on the best of the land of Egypt, specifically mentioning the land of Goshen for the first time.

This is the exact outcome Joseph has been hoping for, and it would have been enough. Pharaoh goes further, however. He tells Joseph to put the most able of his brothers in charge of his own livestock, an offer with huge implications. This would make some of Joseph’s brothers official officers of the court. This would afford them benefits not usually given to immigrants.

Scholars report that this position of a stockman for the Pharaoh is regularly mentioned in Egyptian history. As one might expect, it was mostly given to foreigners. This fits with Joseph’s statement in Genesis 46:34 that shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians. It’s not a job most Egyptians would want.

Verse 7. Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh (Genesis 45:16–20) has concluded his audience with Joseph’s brothers. Using Joseph as the main point of contact, he has granted their request to settle in the land of Goshen (Genesis 47:5–6). The formal decision has been pronounced, and the matter is settled. Now Joseph brings his father Jacob in before the Pharaoh. As he will himself say, Jacob is extremely old and frail (Genesis 47:8). It’s possible Joseph had to physically help his father stand before Pharaoh.

Jacob initiates the conversation by blessing Pharaoh, something he will do as he leaves, as well. The blessing of Jacob is no small thing. He himself is uniquely blessed by God in all the world. All the promises and blessings of God given to Abraham and Isaac have been given to him. Jacob’s blessing would carry the weight of one specially connected to the one true God.

Verse 8. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?”

Joseph is presenting his father Jacob to the Pharaoh—the monarch—of Egypt (Genesis 47:7). It is a special moment in history. Each man represents a nation, and those nations will become entwined for the next four centuries. Unfortunately, that relationship will include a long period of Israeli slavery at the hands of the Egyptians (Exodus 1:8–14). At this time, however, Pharaoh has saved Jacob’s people during a time of desperate famine. Pharaoh’s blessing on Abraham’s family has led to blessings on his own kingdom (Genesis 12:3). Echoing that, Jacob has begun their conversation by blessing Pharaoh.

Now Pharaoh asks Jacob a respectful question, one often asked of an older person: How old are you? Jacob will reveal that he is 130 years old. His life, as he sees it, has been difficult and filled with tragedies. He continues to view many parts of his unusual experience from a negative perspective. It’s possible Jacob is not in good health, though he will live another seventeen years in Egypt (Genesis 47:28). It is possible he required assistance even to stand before Pharaoh.

Verse 9. And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.”

Jacob, the patriarch of Israel, is meeting Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. At this point in their history, the Pharaoh is Jacob’s benefactor (Genesis 45:16–20). Pharaoh’s offer of a place for Jacob’s family to settle during the famine will mean the difference between life and death for them (Genesis 47:4–6).

Modern readers can easily miss the contrast between Jacob’s interview with Pharaoh and how others interact with the king of Egypt. This conversation is not nearly so formal as others recorded in Genesis. Jacob does not address himself as Pharaoh’s servant, as his sons did. He speaks openly, even negatively, about his own life. Pharaoh seems to treat Joseph’s aged father with great respect. Given his esteem for Joseph, this comes as no surprise (Genesis 41:44).

Pharaoh has asked Jacob his age. Jacob now responds with the somewhat dramatic negative language that has become characteristic of his later years (Genesis 37:35; 42:36; 43:14). He reports that he has spent his 130 years as a “sojourner.” This term implies someone who is wandering, traveling, or never fully settled in any one place (Hebrews 11:13). He describes those years as “few and evil” and much shorter than the lives of his fathers. We all get to decide how we will tell the story of our lives, both to ourselves and to others. Jacob, for now, seem to choose a pessimistic view.

Everything Jacob says is true, of course. He has lived on the road and on the run for most of his life. While clearly guilty of sins of his own (Genesis 25:31; 27:19), he has been cheated, mistreated, and betrayed by his own family (Genesis 29:25; 30:33–36). A daughter was raped (Genesis 34:1–2), a beloved wife died (Genesis 35:19), and her son was thought to have been killed by a wild animal (Genesis 37:31–33). He feels himself on the brink of death, some 50 younger than his own father died. This, apparently, is the story Jacob tells of his life.

He could have given another perspective on the same events. Jacob has also been greatly blessed by the Lord. He escaped the brother who wished to kill him (Genesis 33:4). He became enormously wealthy at the expense of a father-in-law who tried to cheat him (Genesis 30:43). He was given 12 sons and dozens of grandchildren (Genesis 35:23–26). His lost son Joseph was restored to him (Genesis 45:27–28), and his family was saved from the brink of starvation. Above all, he carried the powerful promises of the God of the universe, as his fathers had done before him (Genesis 35:9–12).

Verse 10. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.

With his family’s immediate future secured in Goshen in Egypt (Genesis 47:5–6), Joseph presents his father Jacob to the Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7–9). Jacob blesses Pharaoh both at the beginning and end of their brief interview. These blessings were a powerful and meaningful action, and perhaps Pharaoh understood that. Jacob’s blessings likely came from God Himself, the very same God Joseph worshiped. This was the same God who revealed to Joseph the meaning of the Pharaoh’s dream about the coming famine (Genesis 41:28–30). With that knowledge, Joseph had acted to save Pharaoh’s kingdom. It’s likely Pharaoh has some idea about how powerful Jacob’s blessings were, and was grateful for them.

Verse 11. Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

Joseph’s large family has arrived in Egypt from Canaan at the invitation of the Pharaoh (Genesis 45:16–20), who greatly favors Joseph. Joseph’s brothers have been granted fertile land in the region of Goshen to support their large flocks and herds (Genesis 47:1–6). Jacob and the Pharaoh have met, and Jacob has blessed Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7–10).

Now Joseph carries out the command of Pharaoh in granting the request of his brothers. He sets the family up in Goshen, which either was also known as Rameses, or this was the name of a part of that territory. It’s possible this name was established later, and that Genesis records it to connect with future events (Exodus 12:37). In any case, Jacob’s family is given the best of the land as a possession. They seem to own the land, which is far better than most immigrants would likely hope for. In all, things have turned out about as well as could have been hoped for; the young Israelite nation is being rescued during a time of severe famine.

Verse 12. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father ‘s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

At the command of Pharaoh and with his blessing, Joseph has established his large family in the region of Goshen, also called the land of Rameses. They now have as their possession the best of the land of Egypt (Genesis 47:1–11).

Why has Pharaoh done this for them? He favors Joseph very highly. He holds Joseph responsible for saving Egypt and much of the world from a devastating famine (Genesis 41:39–41) that will continue to afflict the region for another five years (Genesis 45:1–11). It seems Pharaoh knows he owes Joseph more than he could ever repay. He is certainly grateful. From that perspective, his treatment of Joseph’s family seems quite appropriate.

Now Joseph begins to distribute a regular allotment of food to every member of his father’s household. It’s true they owned large herds and flocks, but the family would still require bread made from the grain stored away by Joseph during the seven years of bounty that preceded the famine (Genesis 41:47–49).

For his part, Joseph believed God had brought him to this point in his life for this very purpose. His suffering and struggles were not meaningless, but rather were meant to save his family in their time of need (Genesis 45:5–8).

Verse 13. Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine.

This begins a new section about how the severe famine changed life for the people of Egypt (Genesis 41:53–55). Under Joseph’s management as the second in command to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:44), grain had been saved during the seven years of plenty that preceded the famine (Genesis 41:47–49). This was enough to keep the people of Egypt from starving to death. Likewise, the people of Canaan were able to come to Egypt and buy grain to keep themselves alive.

Now, with the famine moving into its third year, merely getting surplus food from Joseph is not enough to sustain the people. The land “languished,” described by a Hebrew word which applies to fainting, insanity, or collapse. The region was no longer capable of sustaining life naturally. Worse, as the following verses will reveal, the people are running out of money to buy food (Genesis 47:14–15).

Context Summary
Genesis 47:13–26 describes how Joseph’s plan for the famine made Egypt’s king even more powerful and wealthy. In essence, Joseph sells grain taxed from the people back to them. When the people run out of money to pay for food from the storehouses, Joseph trades for their livestock, land, and even their freedom. Pharaoh comes to own nearly everything and everyone in Egypt, resulting in a standing 20 percent income tax on the people.

Verse 14. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh ‘s house.

To this point, Joseph’s plan to save Egypt on Pharaoh’s behalf seemed humanitarian and altruistic. Pharaoh empowered Joseph to demand surplus crops from the people during the seven years of plenty before the famine. In doing so, he stored away enough grain to help every Egyptian survive the seven years that followed. There is no question that this stockpile of food is what saved countless lives (Genesis 45:5). And yet, we now see that Joseph’s plan is not merely charity. It’s also part of a consistent pattern of Joseph doing what is best for his employer (Genesis 39:5; 22–23). The strategy he employs in this famine certainly preserves lives, but it also drastically increases the wealth and power of Egypt’s monarch.

Though the grain was taken as a tax (Genesis 41:34), it is not redistributed without cost. Instead, it is sold back to the people (Genesis 41:56–57), including those from other lands. The Egyptian government did not distribute stored grain for free. As the famine continued, one family after another spent every last bit of money they had to obtain food from the storehouses of Egypt. The effect of this was a massive shift in Egypt’s wealth. In his role, Joseph effectively collected all the money of the people of Egypt and the people of Canaan.

The text is clear that Joseph was not corrupt; he dutifully brought all the money to Pharaoh. This famine would end up making the Pharaoh the wealthiest and most powerful man in the region for years to come.

Verse 15. And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.”

When a resource is scarce, it becomes more valuable. The more important the resource is, the more power it bestows. During a famine, those with food become the most powerful of all. Joseph, under the blessing of God, made Pharaoh very powerful and wealthy, indeed.

Pharaoh had empowered Joseph to store away enough grain before the famine to provide food for all the people in the land during the seven years of barren lands (Genesis 41:39–44). Joseph collected surplus grain through taxes (Genesis 41:34) as Pharaoh’s representative. When hard times came, though, he did not give the food back for free. Instead, he sold it to the people for the first two to three years of the seven-year famine (Genesis 41:55–57). In fact, as the famine wore on, the people of Egypt and Canaan exchanged all their wealth for food (Genesis 47:13–14). Pharaoh now had all the money in the region.

As the people continued coming to Joseph looking for more food, they had no coins or other money to offer. Yet they came, both Egyptians and Canaanites, in desperation, demanding food they could not pay for. “Why should we die before your eyes?” they said. Joseph’s answer reveals that he was ready for that question (Genesis 47:16).

Verse 16. And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.”

Joseph’s plan to help Egypt and the nearby nations survive seven years of famine had worked beautifully (Genesis 41:33–36). Under the authority of Pharaoh, Joseph had sold food to the people for the first two to three years (Genesis 41:55–57). Before long, this used up the cash reserves of the people; Pharaoh’s house had all the money in the region (Genesis 47:13–14).

Now the people have no money, but they continue to be desperate for food (Genesis 47:15). When they come back and demand food, Joseph offers an alternative plan: trading for livestock. Joseph suggested trading their cows, sheep, horses, and donkeys for food. It’s not likely that Joseph was taking direct possession of every animal, though it would make sense that some would be given over physically in exchange for food. More than likely, Joseph is mortgaging or taking ownership of the animals in some sense. This, as well, drastically increases the wealth and power of the Egyptian Pharaoh (Genesis 47:17).

Verse 17. So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.

The land of Egypt and nearby Canaan is barren. It has been barren for several years, and the famine will last for several more. Earlier verses described the land using terms related to fainting and insanity (Genesis 47:13). Joseph, as Pharaoh’s representative in Egypt, holds great stores of grain. These were built up through taxes (Genesis 41:33–36), then sold back to the people for cash (Genesis 41:55–57).

Just two years into the seven-year disaster (Genesis 45:6), the people of the region have no more money to buy grain. They are still in danger of starvation. Joseph has suggested an alternative: trade livestock for food. It’s not clear whether Joseph meant to literally hand over animals, physically, or simply consign their ownership to Pharaoh. This might have been a kind of mortgage or other arrangement.

Regardless of such details, the people comply. They don’t have much choice since the alternative is starvation. So, the Egyptians and the Canaanites bring their horses, sheep, cows, and donkeys to Joseph. In whatever sense Joseph arranged, the ruler of Egypt now owned almost all the herded animals in Egypt and the surrounding region.

Verse 18. And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord ‘s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land.

Over the previous two years, the Pharaoh of Egypt has taken possession of all the cash and livestock in the region (Genesis 47:13–15). This was in exchange for food during a severe famine (Genesis 41:55–57). Joseph, overseeing all these exchanges, ensured that everyone who could trade in livestock was fed for the previous year (Genesis 47:16–17). Joseph’s plan to survive the famine (Genesis 41:33–36) has certainly succeeded. However, it has also created a drastic shift in both power and wealth, in favor of the Egyptian ruler.

A new year has come, yet the famine remains and will persist for some time to come (Genesis 45:6). The people need more food to keep from starving. They return to Joseph admitting they now have neither cash nor cattle. It all belongs to Pharaoh already. They have nothing left to their names but land. Beyond that, they have only their own lives. They will, it seems, volunteer themselves for servitude to avoid starvation (Genesis 47:19).

Verse 19. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

Before the famine began, Joseph stockpiled grain using taxes (Genesis 41:33–36). He then sold the reserves to people in Egypt and Canaan when the land stopped producing (Genesis 41:55–57). Over time, the people of the region gave all their money to Egypt’s ruler in exchange for food. They then traded or mortgaged their animals (Genesis 47:13–17). As the famine persisted, the people had nothing left to offer other than their lands and their own lives.

The people’s growing desperation is seen in their pleas. At first, they asked Pharaoh what to do, and he referred them to Joseph, who arranged for sale of grain (Genesis 41:55). Then, they came directly to Joseph to beg for food (Genesis 47:15) and agreed to his terms. Now, they seem to come to Joseph with an immediate offer: their lands and servitude in exchange for food.

The people’s remark about the land dying is key to understanding how serious the situation had become. Unless the people can continue to receive grain from Joseph, they will not be able to cultivate anything from the land. Clearly, there is already so little that it cannot sustain the people (Genesis 47:13). If the people die, or leave, the land itself would revert entirely to wilderness. This time, Joseph did not have to suggest any bargains. The people came with the idea themselves, literally offering themselves and their land in exchange for grain and seed to plant on the land to keep it from becoming completely desolate.

If Joseph accepts this proposal, Pharaoh will become the owner of all the money, livestock, land, and people in the region.

Verse 20. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh ‘s.

Joseph, as representative of the king of Egypt, has made the Pharaoh an enormously wealthy and powerful man. The people will die without the food stores that Joseph oversees. After spending all their money, the people traded their livestock (Genesis 47:13–17). Still starving, they offered their land and themselves—as servants and slaves—in trade for another year’s worth of food.

Joseph agrees and buys all the land of Egypt as Pharaoh’s property. This implies that, in some sense, the people had previously been free and privately owned their lands and herds. They had been a free people, such as it was, but would now be entirely subject to the king of Egypt. Now they have sold their land for food. Joseph will continue this pattern, buying the people themselves as servants. Pharaoh would now own nearly everything of value in all Egypt, and he would have Joseph to thank for it.

In practice, most of the people would remain on their land and continue in their occupations. The mortgaging of their property, land, and freedom would involve giving 20 percent of all their future harvests to Pharaoh (Genesis 47:23–24).

Verse 21. As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other.

Joseph’s plan, provided by the blessing of the Lord, to save Egypt and the surrounding peoples from a seven-year famine has succeeded (Genesis 41:33–36; 55–57). The stores of grain set aside during seven years of plenty before the famine have provided all the food needed to keep the people alive. However, the famine has brought another consequence. Through Joseph, Pharaoh has not simply given food away. Instead, he has sold it, first for money and then for livestock. As the famine raged on, the people gave all their money, herds, and land to Pharaoh’s house in exchange for food (Genesis 47:13–20).

Now, through Joseph, Pharaoh has brought all the people of Egypt under servitude. The people have sold their freedom to avoid starvation. Previously free—in the sense of controlling their own money and land and livestock—the Egyptian people are now under a loose form of enslavement, or indentured servitude.

Verse 22. Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.

People must eat to survive. The only source of food during a crippling seven-year famine has been Joseph, second-in-command to Pharaoh over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:44). The people have spent all their cash, have traded all their livestock, and now have sold their land and their freedom to Pharaoh. He owns everything (Genesis 47:13–21).

The one exception are the priests. Priests facilitated the worship of the various gods the Egyptians served. Priests were prominent people in society supported by Pharaoh himself with a fixed income. As such, they would have continued to have money to use to buy food from Joseph. They had no need to sell their land to Pharaoh to get food. In this way, the temples and the priest class maintained a level of independence from Pharaoh.

Verse 23. Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

Every time Joseph is given power by his master, he greatly increases that master’s success. This was the case with Potiphar (Genesis 39:5), and with the Egyptian prison manager (Genesis 39:22–23). It has been even more so the case with the king of Egypt, known by the title Pharaoh.

Representing Pharaoh, Joseph taxed the people during seven years of abundance, stockpiling massive amounts of grain (Genesis 41:33–36). When the famine struck, he then sold that food to the people of Egypt and Canaan (Genesis 41:55–57). Ultimately, this meant the people exchanged all their cash, livestock, land, and even their freedom. All but the priests are now servants of Pharaoh—everything of value is effectively mortgaged to the king of Egypt (Genesis 47:13–22).

Joseph now announces the completion of this agreement with the people. In essence, being “owned” by Pharaoh will help the people in the short term. They no longer need to come up with something to trade for food from year to year. Pharaoh will provide them with both food and seed to use for planting to keep the land from wasting away. Even in a famine, the people know they need to keep cultivating land, so it won’t completely revert into wilderness (Genesis 47:19).

In fact, the famine is nearing its conclusion. Soon, regular planting and harvest will begin again in Egypt and the surrounding regions. To prepare for this, Joseph’s plan includes a transition that will both restore normal harvesting and ensure the wealth of Pharaoh. This, again, involves taxing the people (Genesis 47:24).

Verse 24. And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.”

Joseph is continuing to make his announcement to the people of Egypt, who have sold themselves and their land to Pharaoh in exchange for enough food to keep them alive. Now that Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt, owns them and their land, they will freely be given food to eat and seed to plant in their fields. In a practical sense, everything they own—even their own lives—are mortgaged to Pharaoh. They will continue as they did before the famine with that understanding in place.

Legally, the land, animals, and all labor now belong to Pharaoh. The people are using borrowed property to survive. Their annual payment for the use of those things, Joseph now explains, will be one-fifth of each year’s harvest. The people will be allowed to keep four-fifths for themselves for food and seed for the next year’s planting. This begins what amounts to a twenty percent income tax in Egypt; this would remain in effect through the time Genesis was written (Genesis 47:26).

Verse 25. And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.”

As the right-hand man of Egypt’s ruler, Joseph has traded food to the desperate citizens in exchange for everything they own and even their freedom (Genesis 47:13–22). In the previous verses, he announced the terms of this exchange. The people would receive food and seed for planting. Pharaoh would own their land and their lives. In effect, they were now a nation of servants to the Pharaoh. To continue to live, they must pay 20 percent of each year’s harvest to Pharaoh from this point forward.

This type of servanthood is most accurately labeled “indentured servitude.” This is not the “slavery” often associated with more modern times. In a world without stability, banking, or social welfare, people often traded service as a way of paying off debt or earning food and shelter. “Selling” oneself or family into this kind of servanthood was a normal, common practice in a world almost entirely made up of either “servants” or “masters.” In practice, many of the conditions depicted here resemble modern concepts such as mortgage, rent, or income tax—albeit permanent ones (Genesis 47:26). The servanthood of the people of Egypt, as arranged by Joseph, is extremely different from the harsh slavery imposed on the Israelites by other Pharaohs over the coming centuries (Exodus 1:8–13).

That context helps a modern reader understand why the people seem grateful, instead of resentful. They give him credit for saving their lives in the famine and acknowledge their free choice to become servants to Pharaoh.

Verse 26. So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh ‘s.

This verse sums up the lasting result of this season in Egypt’s history. The Lord has worked through Joseph to save the lives of many people in Egypt and the surrounding regions. Still, that rescue has come at a cost. The people have been forced to sell their cash, their livestock, their land, and their freedom to Pharaoh’s government in exchange for food (Genesis 47:13–22). The result is an understanding that Pharaoh owns almost everything in Egypt.

Under the agreement, however, the people continued to work their farms and tend their livestock. Like a combination of a mortgage or income tax, they would give 20 percent of each year’s harvest to Pharaoh. As the famine continued, this would mostly mean Pharaoh’s household providing seed. Over time, it would become extremely profitable for the Egyptian monarchy. This arrangement remained in effect at the time Genesis was written.

Verse 27. Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

Having completed the description of the famine’s impact on the lives of the Egyptian citizens, Genesis now turns attention back to Joseph’s family. Here the entire group is called by Jacob’s God-given name Israel (Genesis 35:10–11). It is the name that will come to identify the nation that will grow from them.

Jacob and his family found themselves in a unique situation. At the request of Egypt’s own monarch, known by the title “Pharaoh,” they had become landowners settled in the land of Goshen (Genesis 45:16–20; 47:6). Joseph provided their allotment of food (Genesis 47:12). This meant they did not need to sell their possessions or land to avoid starvation (Genesis 47:20–21). In a very short number of years, the Israelites in Egypt grew wealthy while most of the Egyptians lost everything and became slaves to the state.

Of course, this gave Jacob’s family an advantage. They gained possessions while most Egyptians lost theirs. They thrived in Goshen, and they kept having babies, adding to their growing numbers (Exodus 1:7). Years later, when the rulers had forgotten the benefits of blessing Israel, the Egyptians would grow to resent these thriving Israelites in their midst. This would lead to oppression and brutal slavery by Egypt (Exodus 1:8–14).

Context Summary
Genesis 47:27–31 follows an explanation of how a famine brought all Egypt into servanthood under the Pharaoh. That included a standing twenty percent tax. The Israelites, meanwhile, grow and prosper. In the future, this will lead to jealousy and oppression by leaders with no memory of Joseph and his contributions (Exodus 1:8–13). After years of safety in his son’s care, Jacob nears death and asks for his body to one day be buried with his ancestors in Canaan.

Verse 28. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.

Jacob’s large family settled in Egypt and grew larger (Genesis 46:26). With Joseph’s provision, and under the authority of Pharaoh, they thrived and prospered (Genesis 47:6). Jacob survived many more years, despite his assumption that he was near death (Genesis 46:30). When his end finally comes, 17 years after the move to Egypt, he will be 147 years old.

As Jacob told Pharaoh (Genesis 47:9), he will not live to the same age as his fathers. Isaac lived to 180 years old (Genesis 35:28–29) and Abraham to 175 (Genesis 25:7–10). Jacob’s most prominent son, Joseph, will live to be 110 years old (Genesis 50:26), as lifespans on the earth continue to grow shorter and shorter.

Verse 29. And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt,

It’s not clear exactly when this conversation took place. Jacob came into Egypt speaking as if he was about to die (Genesis 46:30), only to live another seventeen years (Genesis 47:28). Whenever it happened, it’s in a moment when Jacob is planning for the aftermath of his own death. He has successfully resettled his large family in Egypt, and they are thriving (Genesis 47:27). He knows the family will not be leaving this area any time soon. A key concern in Jacob’s mind is burial: he doesn’t want his remains to stay in Egypt. He wants to be interred with his ancestors, in Canaan (Genesis 47:30).

Jacob calls Joseph to his side and puts his request to Joseph very formally. The expression “if I have found favor in your sight” implies an obligation on the person being asked, while also expressing humility. This is an extremely important issue for Jacob. It’s critical enough for Jacob to request a common, solemn gesture of promise. This is a guarantee that Joseph will make this request happen.

As was Abraham’s servant (Genesis 24:2–3), Joseph is asked to put his hand “under my thigh” and swear a promise. In practice, this likely meant putting the hand just below, or even on, the genitals. Symbolically, the promise is being associated with the descendants of that person. Joseph is not merely vowing to Jacob, but to all of Jacob’s posterity. In some cultures, this gesture also implied that breaking the oath would be avenged by those descendants.

Strange as this seems to modern readers, the same intent is used in more recent practices. Legal witnesses or political appointees would often place their hand on a Bible to swear an oath. Symbolically, their promise is also being made to God; Joseph’s vow is also being made to Jacob’s future line.

Verse 30. but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.”

Jacob is preparing for his own death, and has called Joseph to his side. He is asking Joseph to swear an oath promising not to allow him to be buried in Egypt (Genesis 47:29). Instead, he is asking Joseph to “deal kindly and truly” with him by taking his body back to Canaan to be buried with his fathers in their burying place. This included demanding that Joseph solemnly vow to fulfill the promise.

The family tomb was originally purchased by Abraham after Sarah died (Genesis 23:17–20). It was known as the cave of Machpelah, and it was located east of Mamre. Abraham was buried there (Genesis 25:9), as was Isaac (Genesis 35:27–29). Now Jacob wanted Joseph to bury him there, as well. Joseph agrees to do as his father says (Genesis 50:12–14).

Verse 31. And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.

Jacob believes he is nearing the time of his death. He has called Joseph to make a serious, formal request: that he not be buried in Egypt (Genesis 47:29–30). Instead, he wants his body taken back to Canaan, to the family tomb near Mamre (Genesis 23:17–20), where Abraham and Isaac are buried. At the time Jacob makes this request, the tomb is one of the only pieces of land his family legally owns in Canaan. It is a symbol of God’s promise that they will one day own all the land (Genesis 35:12).

Joseph agreed to do as his father asked, but Jacob wants Joseph to swear it to him. Joseph does so now, accepting the responsibility to see this last request is carried out. When the time comes, the dutiful son will make good on his promise (Genesis 50:12–14).

Jacob, called again by his God-given name Israel (Genesis 35:10–11), responds by bowing. Scholars debate the precise arrangement that’s being described. It might be that Jacob is weak and slumping over on his bed. However, the very next verse makes note of a time when Jacob was more literally at death’s door (Genesis 48:1), so the act depicted here does not seem a sign of physical weakness. A more often-accepted interpretation is that Jacob is worshipping, perhaps by kneeling in his bed.

End of Chapter 47.

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