Genesis 47:20 T 53
30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am r eady to die, s ince I have seen for myself
that you are still alive.”
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go
up and s peak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s
household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The
men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have b
rought a
long their
flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and
asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have
tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will
be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable
to the Egyptians.”
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 and are now in Goshen.” 2 He c hose five of his brothers and presented
them before Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers
were.” 4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because
the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So
now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to
you, 6 and the land of E
gypt is before you; settle your father and your broth
ers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know
of any a
mong them with special ability, put them in c harge of my own live
stock.”
7 Then Joseph b
rought his father Jacob in and presented him before Phar
aoh. After Jacob blessed a Pharaoh, 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”
9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and
thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not e
qual the years
of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” 10 Then Jacob blessed b Pharaoh and went out
from his presence.
11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in E
gypt and gave them
property in the best part of the land, the district of Rame s es, as Pharaoh di
rected. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s
household with food, according to the number of their children.
47
Joseph and the Famine
13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was
severe; both E
gypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph
collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment
for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When
the money of the people of E
gypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Jo
seph and said, “Give us food. Why s hould we die before your eyes? Our money
is all gone.”
16 “Then b
ring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange
for your livestock, s ince your money is gone.” 17 So they b
rought t heir livestock
to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep
and goats, their cattle and donkeys. 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 s ince our money is gone and our
livestock belongs to you, t here is nothing left for our lord except our bodies
and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes — we and our land as
well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be
in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that
the land may not become desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in E
gypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one
and all, sold their f ields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land
a 7 Or
greeted b 10 Or said farewell to