Genesis 47

Jacob Blesses Pharaoh

47Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, "My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen."H3130H935H5046H6547H559H1H251H6629H1241H935H776H3667H776H16572Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh.H3947H7097H251H2568H582H3322H6440H65473And Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?" They replied, "We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors.H6547H559H251H4639H559H6547H5650H7462H6629H14We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. So please, we request permission to live in the region of Goshen."H559H6547H1481H776H935H5650H4829H6629H7458H3515H776H3667H5650H3427H776H16575Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now that your father and brothers have joined you here,H6547H559H3130H559H1H251H9356choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too."H776H4714H6440H4315H776H3427H1H251H3427H776H1657H3427H3045H3426H582H2428H7760H8269H47357Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.H3130H935H3290H1H5975H6440H6547H3290H1288H65478"How old are you?" Pharaoh asked him.H6547H559H3290H4100H2416H3117H81419Jacob replied, "I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors."H3290H559H6547H3117H8141H4033H3967H7970H8141H4592H7451H3117H8141H2416H5381H3117H8141H2416H1H3117H403310Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.H3290H1288H6547H3318H6440H654711So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded.H3130H3427H1H251H5414H272H776H4714H4315H776H776H7486H6547H668012And Joseph provided food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.H3130H3557H1H251H1H1004H3899H6310H2945

Joseph’s Leadership in the Famine

13Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan.H3899H776H7458H3966H3515H776H4714H776H3667H3856H6440H745814By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money in Pharaoh's treasury.H3130H3950H3701H4672H776H4714H776H3667H7668H7666H3130H935H3701H6547H100415When 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!"H3701H8552H776H4714H776H3667H4714H935H3130H559H3051H3899H4191H3701H65616Joseph replied, "Since your money is gone, bring me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for your livestock."H3130H559H3051H4735H5414H4735H3701H65617So 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.H935H4735H3130H3130H5414H3899H5483H6629H4735H1241H2543H5095H3899H4735H814118But 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.H8141H8552H935H8145H8141H559H3582H113H3701H8552H113H413H4735H929H7604H6440H113H1472H12719Why 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."H4191H5869H127H7069H127H3899H127H5650H6547H5414H2233H2421H4191H127H345620So 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.H3130H7069H127H4714H6547H4714H4376H376H7704H7458H2388H776H654721As for the people, he made them all slaves

, from one end of Egypt to the other.H5971H5674H5892H7097H1366H4714H709722The 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.H127H3548H7069H3548H2706H6547H398H2706H6547H5414H4376H12723Then 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.H3130H559H5971H7069H853H3117H127H6547H1887H2233H2232H12724Then 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."H8393H5414H2549H6547H702H3027H2233H7704H400H1004H398H294525"You have saved our lives!" they exclaimed. "May it please you, my lord, to let us be Pharaoh's servants."H559H2421H4672H2580H5869H113H6547H565026Joseph 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.H3130H7760H2706H127H4714H3117H6547H2569H7535H127H3548H654727Meanwhile, 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.H3478H3427H776H4714H776H1657H270H6509H7235H396628Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all.H3290H2421H776H4714H6240H7651H8141H2416H3117H3290H3967H705H8141H7651H814129As 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.H3117H7126H3478H4191H7121H1121H3130H559H4672H2580H5869H7760H3027H3409H6213H2617H571H6912H471430When I die, please take my body out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors." So Joseph promised, "I will do as you ask."H7901H1H5375H4714H6912H6900H559H6213H169731"Swear that you will do it," Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed humbly at the head of his bed

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