GenesisChapter 47

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¹So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers have come from the land of Canaan. They brought their flocks and herds and all they own. They are now in Goshen." ²Joseph picked five of his brothers. He brought them in to meet Pharaoh. ³Pharaoh asked Joseph's brothers, "What kind of work do you do?" They answered, "Your servants are shepherds. We are, and our fathers were too." ⁴Then they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to stay in this land for a while, because there is no grass for your servants' flocks. The famine in Canaan has been very bad. So please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." ⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and brothers have come to you. ⁶The land of Egypt is open to you. Let your father and brothers live in the best part of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know any skilled men among them, put them in charge of my own animals." ⁷Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob to meet Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?" ⁹Jacob answered, "I have been traveling for 130 years. My years have been few and hard. They have not been as many as the years my fathers traveled." ¹⁰Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left. ¹¹So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt. He gave them land in the best part of the country. It was in the area of Rameses, just as Pharaoh had ordered. ¹²Joseph also gave food to his father and brothers. He gave food to all his father's household, for all their families. ¹³But there was no food anywhere in the area, because the famine was so bad. The lands of Egypt and Canaan were worn out by the famine. ¹⁴People in Egypt and Canaan paid money for grain. Joseph collected all the money in both lands. He brought it into Pharaoh's palace. ¹⁵Soon the money in Egypt and Canaan was all gone. Then all the Egyptians came to Joseph. They said, "Give us food! Why should we die in front of you? Our money is gone!" ¹⁶Joseph said, "Then bring me your animals. Your money is gone, so I will trade you food for your animals." ¹⁷So they brought their animals to Joseph. He gave them food in trade for their horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys. All that year he fed them in trade for all their animals. ¹⁸When that year was over, they came to him the next year. They said, "We can't hide it from our lord. Our money is gone. All our animals belong to you. We have nothing left to give our lord but our bodies and our land. ¹⁹Why should we die in front of you? Why should our land be ruined too? Buy us and our land for food. Then we and our land will belong to Pharaoh as slaves. Give us seed so we can live and not die. Then the land won't become empty and wasted." ²⁰So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his fields, because the famine was so bad for them. The land became Pharaoh's. ²¹And Joseph made the people into servants from one end of Egypt to the other. ²²But he did not buy the priests' part of the land, because Pharaoh had given it to them. They ate the food Pharaoh gave them. So they did not sell their land. ²³Then Joseph said to the people, "Today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Plant it in the land. ²⁴At harvest time, give one-fifth of the crop to Pharaoh. You may keep the other four-fifths. Use it as seed for the fields. Use it as food for yourselves, your households, and your children." ²⁵They said, "You have saved our lives! Our lord has shown us favor. We will be Pharaoh's servants." ²⁶So Joseph made it a law in the land of Egypt. One-fifth of the crops belongs to Pharaoh. That law is still in place today. Only the priests' land does not belong to Pharaoh. ²⁷Now the Israelites lived in the land of Egypt, in the area of Goshen. They got land there. They had many children and grew to be very many. ²⁸Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. He lived to be 147 years old. ²⁹The time came near for Israel to die. He called for his son Joseph. He said, "If you care about me, put your hand under my thigh. Promise to be kind and faithful to me. Do not bury me in Egypt.a ³⁰When I go to rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt. Bury me where they are buried." Joseph answered, "I will do what you ask." ³¹Jacob said, "Swear to me." So Joseph made a promise to him. And Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.