Genesis 47

Genesis · Chapter 47

Genesis 47:23

1Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.2And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.3And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.4They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.5And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:6The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil 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 fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.11And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.12And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.13And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.15And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.16And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.17And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.18When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:19Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.20And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.21And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.22Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.23Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.24And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.25And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.26And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.27And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.29And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:30But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.31And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
23Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land.Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and he saidוַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai-YO-merH0559
to say

אָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

Josephיוֹסֵף֙yo-SEFH3130G
Joseph

יְהוֹסֵף (ye.ho.seph) A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.30.24; son of: Israel (H3478) and Rachel (H7354); brother of: Benjamin (H1144); half-brother of: Reuben (H7205), Simeon (H8095), Levi (H3878), Judah (H3063), Dan (H1835H), Naphtali (H5321), Gad (H1410), Asher (H0836), Issachar (H3485), Zebulun (H2074) and Dinah (H1783); married to Asenath (H0621); father of: Manasseh (H4519) and Ephraim (H0669); also called Zaphenath-paneah at Gen.41.45; Another name of yo.seph (יוֹסֵף "Joseph" H3130G) § Joseph = "Jehovah has added" the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel

toאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

the peopleהָעָ֔םha-'AMH5971A
people

עַם (am) : people/nation 1) nation, people 1a) people, nation 1b) persons, members of one's people, compatriots, country-men

here!הֵן֩henH2005
look!

הֵן (hen) interj 1) behold, lo, though hypothetical part 2) if Aramaic equivalent: hen (הֵן "look!" H2006A)

I have boughtקָנִ֨יתִיka-NI-tiH7069
to buy

קְנָא (qe.na) (P'al) to acquire, buy, purchase Aramaic of qa.nah (קָנָה "to buy" H7069)

this dayהַיּ֛וֹםhai-YOMH3117L
day

יוֹם (yom) : day/when/time/period 1) day, time, year 1a) day (as opposed to night) 1b) day (24 hour period) 1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1 1b2) as a division of time 1b2a) a working day, a day's journey 1c) days, lifetime (pl.) 1d) time, period (general) 1e) year 1f) temporal references 1f1) today 1f2) yesterday 1f3) tomorrow

land yourאַדְמַתְכֶ֖ם'ad-mat-KHEMH0127G
land: soil

אֲדָמָה (a.da.mah) : soil 1) ground, land 1a) ground (as general, tilled, yielding sustenance) 1b) piece of ground, a specific plot of land 1c) earth substance (for building or constructing) 1d) ground as earth's visible surface 1e) land, territory, country 1f) whole inhabited earth 1g) city in Naphtali

for Pharaohלְפַרְעֹ֑הle-far-'OHH6547H
Pharaoh

פַּרְעֹה (par.oh) A man of the Egyptians living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.37.36 Also named: Pharaō (Φαραώ "Pharaoh" G5328) § Pharaoh = "great house" the common title of the king of Egypt

here!הֵֽא־he'-H1887
behold

הֵא (he) behold!, lo!

[is] seedזֶ֔רַעZE-ra'H2233G
seed

זֶ֫רַע (ze.ra) : seed/sowing 1) seed, sowing, offspring 1a) a sowing 1b) seed 1c) semen virile 1d) offspring, descendants, posterity, children 1e) of moral quality 1e1) a practitioner of righteousness (fig.) 1f) sowing time (by meton)

and you will sowוּזְרַעְתֶּ֖םu-ze-ra'-TEMH2232
to sow

זָרַע (za.ra) 1) to sow, scatter seed 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to sow 1a2) producing, yielding seed 1b)(Niphal) 1b1) to be sown 1b2) to become pregnant, be made pregnant 1c) (Pual) to be sown 1d) (Hiphil) to produce seed, yield seed

the landהָאֲדָמָֽה׃ha-'a-da-MAHH0127G
land: soil

אֲדָמָה (a.da.mah) : soil 1) ground, land 1a) ground (as general, tilled, yielding sustenance) 1b) piece of ground, a specific plot of land 1c) earth substance (for building or constructing) 1d) ground as earth's visible surface 1e) land, territory, country 1f) whole inhabited earth 1g) city in Naphtali

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.