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47 Then Yosef came and told Pharaoh, and said, Avi and my achim, and their tzon, and their bakar, and all that they have, are come out of Eretz Kena’an; and they are now in Eretz Goshen.

And he took some of his achim, even five anashim, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto his achim, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy avadim are roeh tzon, both we, and also Avoteinu.

They said morever unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy avadim have no mireh (pasture) for their tzon; for the ra’av (famine) is heavy in Eretz Kena’an; now therefore, let now thy avadim dwell in Eretz Goshen.

And Pharaoh spoke unto Yosef, saying, Avicha and acheicha are come unto thee;

Eretz Mitzrayim is before thee; in the best of the land make avicha and acheicha to dwell; in Eretz Goshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest any anshei chayil among them, then make them sarei mikneh (royal overseers of livestock) of mine.

And Yosef brought in Ya’akov aviv, and set him before Pharaoh; and Ya’akov made on Pharaoh a brocha.

And Pharaoh said unto Ya’akov, How old art thou?

And Ya’akov said unto Pharaoh, The days of the shanim of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty shanah; few and bad have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my avot in the days of their pilgrimage.

10 And Ya’akov made a brocha on Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.

11 And Yosef settled aviv and his achim, and gave them an achuzzah (possession) in Eretz Mitzrayim, in the best of the land, in Eretz Rameses, just as Pharaoh had commanded.

12 And Yosef provided for aviv, and his achim, and kol bais aviv, with lechem, according to the children.

13 And there was no lechem in kol ha’aretz; for the ra’av was very heavy, so that Eretz Mitzrayim and kol Eretz Kena’an fainted by reason of the ra’av (famine).

14 And Yosef gathered up all the kesef that was found in the Eretz Mitzrayim, and in Eretz Kena’an, for the shever (grain) which they bought; and Yosef brought the kesef into Bais Pharaoh (Pharaoh’s palace).

15 And when kesef failed in Eretz Mitzrayim, and in Eretz Kena’an, kol Mitzrayim came unto Yosef, and said, Give us lechem; for why should we die in thy presence? For the kesef is gone.

16 And Yosef said, Give your mikneh; and I will give you for your mikneh, if kesef is gone.

17 And they brought their mikneh unto Yosef; and Yosef gave them lechem in exchange for susim, and for the tzon, and for the mikneh of the bakar, and for the chamorim; and he fed them lechem for all their mikneh for that year.

18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the shanah hashenit, and said unto him, We will not hide it from adoni, how that our kesef is spent; adoni also hath our mikneh of behemah; there is not ought left in the sight of adoni, but geviyyatenu (our bodies), and adematenu (our lands);

19 Why shall we die before thine eyes, both we and adematenu? Buy us and adematenu for lechem, and we and adematenu will be avadim unto Pharaoh; and give us zera, that we may live, and not die, that the adamah be not desolate.

20 And Yosef bought kol Admat Mitzrayim for Pharaoh; for the Mitzrayim sold every ish his sadeh, because the ra’av (famine) was chazak over them; so the land became Pharaoh’s.

21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Mitzrayim even to the other end thereof.

22 Only the admat hakohanim bought he not; for the kohanim had a chok assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their chok which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they sold not their lands.

23 Then Yosef said unto the people, See, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is zera for you, and ye shall sow the adamah.

24 And it shall come to pass in the tevu’ot, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for zera of the sadeh, and for your ochel, and for them of your batim, and for food for your children.

25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives; let us find chen (grace, favor) in the sight of adoni, and we will be avadim to Pharaoh.

26 And Yosef made it a chok over Eretz Mitzrayim unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the admat hakohanim only, which became not Pharaoh’s.

27 And Yisroel settled in Eretz Mitzrayim, in Eretz Goshen; and they acquired property therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

[VAYAHI]

28 And Ya’akov lived in Eretz Mitzrayim seventeen shanah; so the whole age of Ya’akov was a hundred forty and seven shanah.

29 And the time drew near that Yisroel must die; and he called bno Yosef, and said unto him, If now I have found chen in thy sight, put, now, thy yad under my thigh, and do chesed and emes with me; bury me not, now, in Mitzrayim;

30 But I will lie with my avot, and thou shalt carry me out of Mitzrayim, and bury me in their kever. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he swore unto him. And Yisroel prostrated toward the rosh hamittah.

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan(A) and are now in Goshen.”(B) He chose five of his brothers and presented them(C) before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”(D)

“Your servants(E) are shepherds,(F)” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,(G) because the famine is severe in Canaan(H) and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.(I) So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”(J)

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you; settle(K) your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.(L) Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,(M) put them in charge of my own livestock.(N)

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him(O) before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed[a] Pharaoh,(P) Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.(Q) My years have been few and difficult,(R) and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.(S) 10 Then Jacob blessed[b] Pharaoh(T) and went out from his presence.

11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,(U) the district of Rameses,(V) as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.(W)

Joseph and the Famine

13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.(X) 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,(Y) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.(Z) 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,(AA) all Egypt came to Joseph(AB) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?(AC) Our money is all gone.”

16 “Then bring your livestock,(AD)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.(AE) 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,(AF) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.(AG) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone(AH) and our livestock belongs to you,(AI) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes(AJ)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,(AK) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.(AL) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,(AM) and that the land may not become desolate.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe(AN) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,[c](AO) from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests,(AP) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment(AQ) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed(AR) for you so you can plant the ground.(AS) 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth(AT) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;(AU) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”(AV)

26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth(AW) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.(AX)

27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.(AY) They acquired property there(AZ) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.(BA)

28 Jacob lived in Egypt(BB) seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.(BC) 29 When the time drew near for Israel(BD) to die,(BE) he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,(BF) put your hand under my thigh(BG) and promise that you will show me kindness(BH) and faithfulness.(BI) Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers,(BJ) carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”(BK)

“I will do as you say,” he said.

31 “Swear to me,”(BL) he said. Then Joseph swore to him,(BM) and Israel(BN) worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.[d](BO)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 47:7 Or greeted
  2. Genesis 47:10 Or said farewell to
  3. Genesis 47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities
  4. Genesis 47:31 Or Israel bowed down at the head of his bed