The Genesis
Chapter
47
1 So JoSeph went and told Pharaoh: 'My father and brothers have arrived from the land of CanaAn with their cattle, oxen, and all their possessions. And {Look!} they are now in the land of Gesem.'
2 Then he took five of his brothers and brought them before Pharaoh. 3 And when Pharaoh asked them, 'What is your occupation?' they replied, 'Your servants (both we and our father) are shepherds.'
4 Then they said to Pharaoh: 'We have come to stay in [your] land, because there is no pasture for your servant's flocks, due to the famine in the land of CanaAn. So now we are living in the land of Gesem.' And Pharaoh told JoSeph: 'Let them live in the land of Gesem. And if you know any among them who are capable, put them in charge of my cattle also.' So, that's how Jacob and his sons came to Egypt (to JoSeph). And when Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) heard about that, 5 he told JoSeph: '[Now that] your father and brothers have come to you, 6 {Look!} the whole land of Egypt is before you. Choose the best land as a place for your father and brothers to settle!'
7 Thereafter, JoSeph brought his father Jacob in and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blest Pharaoh. 8 Then Pharaoh asked Jacob: 'How old are you?'
9 And Jacob replied to Pharaoh: 'The years of my life that I've lived are a hundred and thirty. But these years have been too few and too troubled. I haven't reached the age that my ancestors [achieved], back in the days when they lived.'
10 And Jacob [again] blest Pharaoh, and left.
11 So, just as Pharaoh commanded, JoSeph gave his father and brothers a tract of land as their possession and settled them there in the land of Egypt. It was prime ground in the land of RaMesse. 12 Then JoSeph provided grain for his father, brothers, and his father's entire household.
13 However, there was no grain [growing on] the land, because the famine was terrible. So in the land of Egypt and in the land of CanaAn, people were weak from the famine. 14 As the result, JoSeph collected all the money that there was in the land of Egypt and in the land of CanaAn for the grain that they were buying, and he took it all to the house of Pharaoh. 15 So, soon there was no more money left in the land of Egypt or in the land of CanaAn; so all the Egyptians came to JoSeph and said: 'Give us bread! Do you want us to die here before you? Why, all our money is gone!'
16 And JoSeph replied to them: 'If all your money is gone, then bring me your cattle, and I'll give you bread in exchange for them.'
17 So they brought their cattle to JoSeph, and he gave them bread in exchange for their horses, sheep, oxen, and burros. And JoSeph kept the people alive with bread that year, in exchange for their cattle.
18 Well, that year passed, and they came to him the second year and said: 'Must we be consumed before you, our lord? For our money has failed, and we've brought all our possessions and our cattle to you, our lord; so we don't have anything left, other than our bodies and our land. 19 Therefore, so that we won't die before you, and so that our land isn't devastated, buy our land and us for bread, and we and our land will become Pharaoh's servants. Give us seeds to grow so we can live and not die, and so that our land won't be devastated!'
20 As the result, JoSeph bought all the land of the Egyptians for Pharaoh… they sold it all to Pharaoh, because the famine was so bad, and the entire land became Pharaoh's, 21 and the people became his servants from one end of Egypt to the other… 22 that is, except for the land of the priests. JoSeph didn't buy [their land], because Pharaoh gave [grain] as gifts to the priests. So they ate what Pharaoh gave them, and they didn't have to sell their land.
23 Then JoSeph told all the Egyptians: '{Look!} I have purchased both you and your land today, for Pharaoh. So now, take the seeds and plant the land. 24 Then when it produces, you must give a fifth of its produce to Pharaoh. You may keep the rest for yourselves as seeds for planting and as food for you and for all who are in your homes.'
25 And they said: 'You have saved us! We've found favor before you, our lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants!'
26 So JoSeph passed a law that we still have today: a fifth part [of the produce of the land of Egypt] is to be [given to] Pharaoh. The only exception is the land of the priests… that isn't Pharaoh's.
27 Well, IsraEl lived in the land of Gesem in Egypt, and they owned an allotment [of land] there, so the [family] grew rapidly and profusely.
28 Thereafter, Jacob survived seventeen more years in the land of Egypt, until he reached a hundred and forty-seven years old. 29 And as the time for IsraEl to die neared, he called his son JoSeph and said to him: 'If I've found favor before you, put your hand under my thigh and [swear] to me mercifully and truthfully that you won't bury me in Egypt, 30 but that I will sleep with my ancestors. [Swear that] you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb.' And he said, 'I will do what you've asked.'
31 But [Jacob] said: 'Swear to me!' And he swore to him. Then IsraEl bowed, as he leaned on his cane.
2 Then he took five of his brothers and brought them before Pharaoh. 3 And when Pharaoh asked them, 'What is your occupation?' they replied, 'Your servants (both we and our father) are shepherds.'
4 Then they said to Pharaoh: 'We have come to stay in [your] land, because there is no pasture for your servant's flocks, due to the famine in the land of CanaAn. So now we are living in the land of Gesem.' And Pharaoh told JoSeph: 'Let them live in the land of Gesem. And if you know any among them who are capable, put them in charge of my cattle also.' So, that's how Jacob and his sons came to Egypt (to JoSeph). And when Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) heard about that, 5 he told JoSeph: '[Now that] your father and brothers have come to you, 6 {Look!} the whole land of Egypt is before you. Choose the best land as a place for your father and brothers to settle!'
7 Thereafter, JoSeph brought his father Jacob in and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blest Pharaoh. 8 Then Pharaoh asked Jacob: 'How old are you?'
9 And Jacob replied to Pharaoh: 'The years of my life that I've lived are a hundred and thirty. But these years have been too few and too troubled. I haven't reached the age that my ancestors [achieved], back in the days when they lived.'
10 And Jacob [again] blest Pharaoh, and left.
11 So, just as Pharaoh commanded, JoSeph gave his father and brothers a tract of land as their possession and settled them there in the land of Egypt. It was prime ground in the land of RaMesse. 12 Then JoSeph provided grain for his father, brothers, and his father's entire household.
13 However, there was no grain [growing on] the land, because the famine was terrible. So in the land of Egypt and in the land of CanaAn, people were weak from the famine. 14 As the result, JoSeph collected all the money that there was in the land of Egypt and in the land of CanaAn for the grain that they were buying, and he took it all to the house of Pharaoh. 15 So, soon there was no more money left in the land of Egypt or in the land of CanaAn; so all the Egyptians came to JoSeph and said: 'Give us bread! Do you want us to die here before you? Why, all our money is gone!'
16 And JoSeph replied to them: 'If all your money is gone, then bring me your cattle, and I'll give you bread in exchange for them.'
17 So they brought their cattle to JoSeph, and he gave them bread in exchange for their horses, sheep, oxen, and burros. And JoSeph kept the people alive with bread that year, in exchange for their cattle.
18 Well, that year passed, and they came to him the second year and said: 'Must we be consumed before you, our lord? For our money has failed, and we've brought all our possessions and our cattle to you, our lord; so we don't have anything left, other than our bodies and our land. 19 Therefore, so that we won't die before you, and so that our land isn't devastated, buy our land and us for bread, and we and our land will become Pharaoh's servants. Give us seeds to grow so we can live and not die, and so that our land won't be devastated!'
20 As the result, JoSeph bought all the land of the Egyptians for Pharaoh… they sold it all to Pharaoh, because the famine was so bad, and the entire land became Pharaoh's, 21 and the people became his servants from one end of Egypt to the other… 22 that is, except for the land of the priests. JoSeph didn't buy [their land], because Pharaoh gave [grain] as gifts to the priests. So they ate what Pharaoh gave them, and they didn't have to sell their land.
23 Then JoSeph told all the Egyptians: '{Look!} I have purchased both you and your land today, for Pharaoh. So now, take the seeds and plant the land. 24 Then when it produces, you must give a fifth of its produce to Pharaoh. You may keep the rest for yourselves as seeds for planting and as food for you and for all who are in your homes.'
25 And they said: 'You have saved us! We've found favor before you, our lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants!'
26 So JoSeph passed a law that we still have today: a fifth part [of the produce of the land of Egypt] is to be [given to] Pharaoh. The only exception is the land of the priests… that isn't Pharaoh's.
27 Well, IsraEl lived in the land of Gesem in Egypt, and they owned an allotment [of land] there, so the [family] grew rapidly and profusely.
28 Thereafter, Jacob survived seventeen more years in the land of Egypt, until he reached a hundred and forty-seven years old. 29 And as the time for IsraEl to die neared, he called his son JoSeph and said to him: 'If I've found favor before you, put your hand under my thigh and [swear] to me mercifully and truthfully that you won't bury me in Egypt, 30 but that I will sleep with my ancestors. [Swear that] you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb.' And he said, 'I will do what you've asked.'
31 But [Jacob] said: 'Swear to me!' And he swore to him. Then IsraEl bowed, as he leaned on his cane.
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