Genesis 47

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Translator Notes

1. Joseph acts as intermediary between his family and Pharaoh, navigating the delicate politics of settling foreigners in Egypt. He has already placed them in Goshen before seeking formal royal permission — a shrewd move that presents Pharaoh with a fait accompli in the most favorable location.
2. 'The land of Goshen' (erets Goshen) — the fertile eastern Nile delta region, ideal for pastoral families. It was geographically separate enough from the Egyptian heartland to allow the Israelites to maintain their distinct identity, yet close enough to benefit from Egyptian resources.

Translator Notes

1. 'Five men' (chamishah anashim) — Joseph selects five of his eleven brothers, presumably those who would make the best impression. The Hebrew 'from the end/extremity of his brothers' (miqqetseh echav) has been variously interpreted: some take it as 'from among' and others as 'the least significant' — that is, Joseph deliberately chose the least impressive brothers so Pharaoh would not conscript them into royal service.
2. 'Presented them' (vayyatsigem) — the same verb used for formally setting something or someone before an authority. Joseph carefully stages this audience.

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1. 'Shepherds of flocks' (ro'ei tson) — the brothers openly declare their pastoral identity. This is significant because shepherding was considered lowly or even abominable to Egyptians (see 46:34). Yet they do not hide their vocation; they identify with the occupation of their fathers, anchoring themselves in patriarchal continuity.
2. 'Both we and our fathers' (gam-anachnu gam-avoteinu) — the emphasis on generational continuity frames shepherding not merely as a livelihood but as a heritage. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all herdsmen. The brothers claim their place in this lineage.

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Translator Notes

1. 'To sojourn' (lagur) — not to settle permanently but to reside as aliens. This word choice is theologically significant: the brothers frame their presence as temporary, as guests rather than settlers. This sojourning language (ger, magur, lagur) runs through the patriarchal narratives, expressing Israel's fundamental posture as strangers in every land except the one God has promised.
2. 'The famine is severe' (kaved hara'av) — literally 'heavy is the famine.' The adjective kaved (heavy, weighty) conveys the crushing, oppressive nature of the famine. It is the same root used for Pharaoh's hardened (heavy) heart in Exodus.

Translator Notes

1. Pharaoh addresses Joseph directly, acknowledging the family's arrival. The phrasing 'have come to you' (ba'u elekha) places Joseph as the family's anchor in Egypt — they have come to Joseph, not to Egypt. This underscores Joseph's role as the providential link between the family and the foreign power.

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Translator Notes

1. 'In the best of the land' (bemeitav ha'arets) — Pharaoh's generosity exceeds the brothers' request. They asked only for Goshen; Pharaoh offers the finest portion of all Egypt. This lavish hospitality reflects Joseph's immense value to Pharaoh, and it fulfills God's promise that Israel would be settled in Egypt (46:3-4).
2. 'Capable men' (anshei-chayil) — men of strength, skill, and competence. The term chayil denotes valor, ability, and substance. Pharaoh recognizes that skilled herdsmen would be an asset and offers them positions of responsibility over royal livestock — a mark of trust and honor.
3. 'Chief herdsmen over my livestock' (sarei miqneh al-asher-li) — literally 'rulers of livestock over what is mine.' Pharaoh invites Joseph's brothers into royal service. This is a remarkable integration: foreign shepherds, whose occupation Egyptians disdained, are offered oversight of the king's own herds.

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1. 'Jacob blessed Pharaoh' (vayevarekh Ya'aqov et-Par'oh) — this is an extraordinary moment. The aged patriarch, a landless sojourner dependent on Pharaoh's hospitality, pronounces blessing upon the most powerful ruler in the known world. The writer of Hebrews notes the theological principle at work: 'without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater' (Hebrews 7:7). Jacob's authority to bless derives not from political power but from his standing as bearer of the Abrahamic covenant.
2. 'Set him before Pharaoh' (vayyaamidehu lifnei Far'oh) — the verb 'amad (to stand, set upright) gives the scene a formal, courtly character. Yet what follows is not obeisance but blessing — Jacob is the one who confers, not receives.

Translator Notes

1. 'How many are the days of the years of your life?' (kamah yemei shenei chayyekha) — the Hebrew is far more expansive than 'how old are you?' Pharaoh asks about the days, the years, and the life — a layered expression that invites reflection on the totality of a life lived. The phrasing suggests Pharaoh was struck by Jacob's aged appearance. Jacob's response will match this expansiveness with theological depth.

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Translator Notes

1. 'My sojourning' (megurai) — Jacob does not say 'my life' (chayyai) first, but 'my sojourning.' He defines his entire existence as that of a stranger and pilgrim. The word magur/megurai comes from the same root as ger (sojourner, alien). Jacob's self-understanding is profoundly theological: he has never been at home in this world. His true home is the promise, not yet realized.
2. 'Few and difficult' (me'at vera'im) — literally 'few and evil.' Jacob's assessment is brutally honest. Though 130 years is long by modern standards, it falls short of Abraham's 175 years and Isaac's 180 years. And the quality of those years — marked by Esau's enmity, Laban's deception, Dinah's violation, Rachel's death, Joseph's loss — has been ra'im: evil, grievous, full of sorrow.
3. 'Have not reached' (lo hissigu) — the verb nasag means to overtake, attain, reach. Jacob's years have not caught up with his fathers'. This is a statement of both quantity (shorter lifespan) and quality (greater suffering). There is no self-pity but a sober reckoning before the throne of the world's most powerful king.

Translator Notes

1. Jacob's audience with Pharaoh is framed by two blessings — one upon entering (v. 7) and one upon departing. The patriarch arrives as a supplicant but acts as a priest, conferring divine favor on the king. This second blessing confirms that Jacob's authority derives from his covenant status: he is the one through whom blessing flows to the nations (12:3).

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Translator Notes

1. 'A possession' (achuzzah) — the word denotes a permanent holding or estate, not merely a temporary campsite. This is the same term used for Abraham's purchase of the cave of Machpelah (23:4, 9, 20). Joseph secures for his family a deeded holding in Egypt's choicest territory.
2. 'The land of Rameses' (erets Ra'meses) — this appears to be another name for Goshen, or a specific district within it. The name Rameses is likely an editorial update reflecting the later name of the region, as the city of Rameses (Pi-Ramesses) was built centuries later. The name would become grimly familiar: it is one of the store cities the enslaved Israelites would build (Exodus 1:11).

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Translator Notes

1. 'Sustained' (vayekhalkel) — from the root kul, meaning to contain, sustain, provide for. Joseph's role as sustainer fulfills the providential purpose revealed in 45:5-7. The same root appears in 1 Kings 4:7 for Solomon's provisioning system. Joseph's administration foreshadows royal stewardship.
2. 'According to the number of their children' (lefi hattaf) — literally 'according to the mouth of the little ones.' The provision was calculated per dependent, ensuring each family received food proportional to its size. The word taf refers specifically to small children, suggesting Joseph's particular attention to the most vulnerable members of the household.

Translator Notes

1. 'Languished' (vattelah) — from the root lahah, meaning to be exhausted, to faint, to languish. The land itself is personified as weakening under the famine's oppression. Both Egypt and Canaan are affected — the famine is universal, sparing no nation. This sets the stage for Joseph's sweeping economic measures.
2. This verse marks the beginning of a narrative section (vv. 13-26) describing Joseph's administration of the famine. The narrator shifts from the family story to a political-economic account of how Joseph centralized all wealth and land under Pharaoh's control.

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Translator Notes

1. 'Collected all the money' (vaylaqet et-kol-hakkesef) — the verb laqat means to gather, glean, collect. Joseph systematically drains the monetary supply of two entire regions. The word kesef (silver/money) underscores that coinage-equivalent silver was the medium of exchange. All of it flows to Pharaoh's treasury.
2. 'For the grain they were buying' (bashever asher-hem shoverim) — the root shavar here means to buy grain. Joseph's stored grain becomes the instrument of total economic consolidation. What began as wise administration now transforms the entire social order.

Translator Notes

1. 'The money was exhausted' (vayyittom hakkesef) — the verb tamam means to be complete, finished, used up. The money has not merely diminished — it is entirely gone. The people's desperation drives them to appeal directly to Joseph, and their plea is raw: 'Why should we die before you?'
2. 'Why should we die before you?' (lammah namut negdekha) — literally 'why should we die in front of you?' The people frame their starvation as something Joseph is witnessing and therefore bears responsibility for. Their cry is both a plea and a subtle accusation — will you watch us perish?

Translator Notes

1. 'Give me your livestock' (havu miqneikhem) — Joseph proposes the next stage of exchange: livestock for grain. The word miqneh (livestock, cattle) represents the people's primary productive asset after money. By accepting livestock as payment, Joseph transfers the means of agricultural production to Pharaoh's control.

Translator Notes

1. The catalogue of livestock — horses (sussim), flocks (tson), herds of cattle (baqar), and donkeys (chamorim) — represents every category of animal wealth. The thoroughness of the list emphasizes the completeness of the transfer. By year's end, the people have no animals left.
2. 'He provided them' (vayenahelem) — from the root nahal, to lead, guide, provide for. The same root is used of God leading Israel through the wilderness (Exodus 15:13). Joseph guides the people through famine with careful provision, though at enormous cost to their independence.

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Translator Notes

1. 'We will not hide from my lord' (lo-nekached me'adoni) — the people's transparency reveals their total vulnerability. They have nothing left to bargain with and openly confess it. The repeated 'my lord' (adoni) reflects the power imbalance — Joseph holds all leverage.
2. 'Our bodies and our land' (geviyyotenu ve'admatenu) — geviyyah refers to the physical body, often a dead body or corpse. The people offer the last two things they possess: their very persons and their ancestral soil. This language carries the weight of desperation — they speak of their bodies as if they are already nearly dead.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'Buy us and our land' (qeneh-otanu ve'et-admatenu) — the people voluntarily request their own purchase. The verb qanah (to buy, acquire) is used here for acquiring persons — a transaction that transforms free citizens into royal dependents. The people initiate this exchange, driven by the primal need to survive.
2. 'Slaves to Pharaoh' (avadim leFar'oh) — the word avadim (slaves, servants) here describes a feudal relationship: the people become crown serfs bound to the land. This foreshadows the later enslavement of the Israelites (Exodus 1:13-14), where the same word describes brutal bondage. The irony is thick: Joseph saves Egypt through a system that will later devour his own descendants.
3. 'Give us seed' (veten-zera) — the plea for seed represents hope beyond mere survival. Seed means future harvests, renewed productivity, life continuing. The word zera (seed) resonates with the covenant promises — Abraham's 'seed' would be great. Here, agricultural seed and covenantal seed share the same Hebrew word.

Translator Notes

1. 'Bought all the land of Egypt' (vayyiqen Yosef et-kol-admat Mitsrayim) — the consolidation is complete. Every privately held field passes to the crown. Joseph has created a command economy in which Pharaoh owns all land, all livestock, and all labor. The narrator states this without moral commentary, leaving readers to assess the implications.
2. 'The famine overpowered them' (chazaq alehem hara'av) — the verb chazaq (to be strong, overpower) portrays the famine as a conquering force. The people did not sell willingly from abundance but surrendered under duress. The famine, not Joseph, is the proximate agent of their dispossession.

Translator Notes

1. 'He relocated them to the cities' (he'evir oto le'arim) — Joseph moves the rural population into urban centers. This mass relocation severs the people's attachment to their ancestral lands and completes their dependence on Pharaoh's centralized system. Some textual traditions (notably the Samaritan Pentateuch and LXX) read 'he made them slaves' (he'evid) rather than 'he removed them to cities,' which would make the enslavement even more explicit.
2. 'From one end of Egypt's border to the other' (miqqetseh gevul-Mitsrayim ve'ad-qatsehu) — the geographical scope emphasizes that this was not a local measure but a nationwide transformation. No region of Egypt was exempt from Joseph's reorganization.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'The priests' (hakkohanim) — the Egyptian priestly class held a privileged position, receiving a state-funded stipend (choq) from Pharaoh. Their exemption from land sale reflects the deeply embedded power of the Egyptian religious establishment. The priestly class maintained its independent land base while everyone else lost theirs.
2. 'A fixed allotment' (choq) — the word choq means a prescribed portion, statute, or decree. It refers here to the regular provision Pharaoh guaranteed to the priests. Because they had guaranteed income, they had no need to sell their land for food. This same word choq will later describe God's statutes given to Israel — laws that sustain and order life.

Translator Notes

1. 'I have bought you this day' (qaniti etkhem hayyom) — Joseph formally declares the transaction complete. The people and their land now belong to Pharaoh. Yet immediately he provides seed — the instrument of future productivity. Joseph's administration combines consolidation of power with genuine provision for the people's survival.
2. 'Here is seed for you' (he-lakhem zera) — after stripping the people of money, livestock, land, and freedom, Joseph gives back the one thing that makes life possible: seed for planting. This act of provision within a system of total control creates a complex moral picture — Joseph preserves life even as he restructures society around absolute royal authority.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'A fifth' (chamishit) — a twenty percent tax on agricultural production. By ancient Near Eastern standards, this was a moderate rate. Mesopotamian tax rates could reach a third or more. Joseph's system, while built on total royal ownership, leaves the people with eighty percent of their produce — enough for seed, food, and family sustenance.
2. 'Four parts' (arba hayadot) — literally 'four hands,' meaning four portions out of five. The metaphor of 'hands' for portions is distinctive Hebrew idiom. The people retain the substantial majority of their harvest, making the system workable rather than extractive to the point of collapse.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'You have saved our lives' (hecheyitanu) — literally 'you have caused us to live.' The hiphil form of chayah emphasizes Joseph's agency in their survival. Despite losing everything — money, livestock, land, and personal freedom — the people express gratitude. Survival itself is the supreme value when death looms.
2. 'Let us find favor' (nimtsa-chen) — the word chen (grace, favor) appears throughout Genesis at moments of dependency: Noah found chen before God (6:8), Jacob sought chen from Esau (33:8), Joseph found chen in Potiphar's house (39:4). The people now seek the same gracious regard from Joseph that sustains the vulnerable before the powerful.

Translator Notes

1. 'Established it as a statute' (vayyasem otah lechoq) — Joseph's emergency measure becomes permanent law. The word choq (statute, decree) gives the arrangement the force of enduring legislation. What began as famine relief becomes the foundational economic structure of Egypt.
2. 'To this day' (ad-hayyom hazzeh) — this editorial note places the narrative in historical perspective, suggesting the arrangement persisted into the time of the narrator. The fifth-tax and priestly exemption became permanent features of the Egyptian economy, both attributed to Joseph's administration during the great famine.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'They acquired property' (vayyiahazu bah) — from the root achaz, to seize, take hold of, acquire. While the Egyptians are losing their land, Israel is gaining property in Goshen. The contrast is striking and deliberate: Joseph's family prospers in the very land whose native inhabitants are being dispossessed.
2. 'Were fruitful and multiplied' (vayyifru vayyirbu) — this language directly echoes the creation mandate (1:28) and God's promise to Jacob at Bethel (35:11). The verbs parah (to be fruitful) and ravah (to multiply) are covenant markers. In Egypt, removed from the promised land, Israel begins to fulfill the promise of becoming a great nation. This growth will eventually provoke Pharaoh's fear (Exodus 1:7-10).

Translator Notes

1. 'Seventeen years' — Jacob's final seventeen years in Egypt mirror the seventeen years Joseph spent with his father before being sold (37:2). The number creates a poignant symmetry: the years of separation are answered by years of reunion. Jacob's life ends with the same duration of closeness to Joseph with which it began.
2. 'One hundred and forty-seven years' — shorter than Abraham (175) and Isaac (180), confirming Jacob's own assessment that his days 'have not reached' those of his fathers (v. 9). Yet these 147 years encompass one of Scripture's most dramatic arcs: from grasping Esau's heel to blessing Pharaoh.

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Translator Notes

1. 'Place your hand under my thigh' (sim-na yadekha tachat yerekhi) — this solemn oath gesture appears only twice in Scripture: here and when Abraham's servant swore regarding Isaac's bride (24:2, 9). The thigh (yarekh) is associated with procreative power and descendants. By placing his hand there, Joseph swears by Jacob's offspring — by the covenant future itself. The gesture binds the oath to the most sacred dimension of family continuity.
2. 'Steadfast love and faithfulness' (chesed ve'emet) — this paired expression describes covenant loyalty enacted in truth. Chesed is lovingkindness that exceeds obligation; emet is reliability, trustworthiness, fidelity. Together they describe the highest form of interpersonal commitment. Jacob asks Joseph not merely for a favor but for an act of covenantal faithfulness.
3. 'Do not bury me in Egypt' (al-na tiqbereni beMitsrayim) — Jacob's insistence on burial outside Egypt is not merely sentimental. It is a theological statement: Egypt is not home. The land of promise, where Abraham and Isaac are buried, is where Jacob's body must rest. His burial there is an act of faith in God's promise that Israel will return to Canaan.

Translator Notes

1. 'I will lie down with my fathers' (veshakhavti im-avotai) — the expression 'to lie with one's fathers' is a standard idiom for death that carries the hope of reunion. Jacob envisions joining Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah in the cave of Machpelah — the one piece of the promised land that the patriarchs actually owned.
2. 'Their burial place' (qivratam) — the cave of Machpelah in Hebron, purchased by Abraham from Ephron the Hittite (chapter 23). This cave is the patriarchal family tomb and the tangible anchor of Israel's claim to the promised land. Jacob's burial there will affirm his belonging to the covenant community and the covenant land.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. 'Swear to me' (hishav'ah li) — Jacob requires a formal oath, not merely a promise. The shevuah (oath) invokes God as witness and guarantor, making the commitment inviolable. Jacob's insistence reveals both the gravity of the request and his awareness that circumstances in Egypt might tempt Joseph to bury his father there instead.
2. 'Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed' (vayyishtachu Yisra'el al-rosh hamittah) — the verb hishtachavah means to bow down in worship or reverence. Jacob, too frail to rise, worships God from his bed. The LXX (Septuagint) reads 'upon the top of his staff' (matteh instead of mittah), which Hebrews 11:21 follows. Whether bed or staff, the image is the same: a dying patriarch worshipping God in gratitude that his burial in the promised land is secured.
3. The switch from 'Jacob' (the human name) to 'Israel' (the covenant name) at this climactic moment is significant. It is Israel — the one who wrestled with God and prevailed — who worships at the end. The covenant identity has the final word.