Genesis 47 – Jacob to Goshen
Timeline: 1689 BC
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In the last chapter, we saw Joseph reunite with his father, Jacob. His family was waiting in Goshen and was given instructions as to how they should present themselves to Pharaoh. Joseph had them emphasize the fact that they were shepherds because he wanted them to settle in Goschen, away from the city dwellers of Egypt, to avoid being corrupted. From this point forward, his father and brothers are subject to him, as their political superior, according to the reading of his early dreams. 1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” The scriptures did not reveal which of the five brothers Joseph took to Pharaoh, probably the ones whom he could trust to keep to the narrative. The famine had gone on for a couple of years at this point and the land in Canaan has been desolated. 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.” Not only did Pharaoh allow them to live in the land that was best suited for raising livestock, he elevated them to a position of authority. This meant that they received wages which enabled them to prosper. Joseph's family enjoyed the best that Egypt had to offer. They were allowed to worship their God separately them from the people in central and northern Egypt since they practiced idolatry. 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” Hebrews 7:7 states "Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better". Jacob blessed Pharaoh with the authority of a patriarch and a prophet. Perhaps the question about his age was a way of excusing his errogance. 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. Jacob's father Isaac lived to be one hundred eighty and his grandfather Abraham died at age one hundred seventy-five. So at one hundred and thirty, he felt his life was near the end and was short by comparison. He views his time on earth as a pilgrimage. 'Pilgrimage' is an individual's journey through life, outlining a particular spiritual pathway which will lead to encounter God. He lived through many problems throughout his life. Jacob blessed Pharaoh a second time, expressing gratitude to the benefactor of himself and his family. 11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, 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. Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families. Here, Goshen is referred to as "the land of Rameses". The Pharaoh at the time of Moses was called Rameses and since no one would have recognized the name "Goshen", he referred it to it by that name. Joseph rationed the food he gave to his family. He didn't treat his family any differently than he treated everyone else. 13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. Remember that the "government" taxed twenty percent of the produce during the years of plenty and then also purchased large quantities of the surplus produce of the country to store. The average tax at that time in other regions was thirty-three percent plus, so this was more than fair. 15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.” During the years of plenty, the farmers made record profits. However, instead of budgeting, they squandered their money and ran out after a couple of years of famine. They were used to living on eighty percent of what they harvested but now there was none to be grown. So they came to Joseph and begged for food. 16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. We teach our children that they have to work for things they want so they learn to value what they have. Joseph knew that if he gave the people the grain, they would squander it and there wouldn't be enough to last, so he charged them for the grain. When they ran out of money, Joseph made them barter for the food they received. 18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.” At the end of the third year, they ran out of money, sold all their land and because Joseph knew that selling them seed would be a waste since there were still years of famine ahead. So he bought their land for food so they may survive. They sold themselves and their land: they became indentured servants, a voluntary, temporary refuge for people suffering what would otherwise be desperate poverty. 20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands. Joseph did everything under submissiveness to God's revelation and therefore blessed Pharaoh because he treated Israel generously. God blesses those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. The word "bought" in this paragraph is translated from a Hebrew word meaning to aquire the right to something. So Pharoah aquired the right to a percentage of their harvest when they started farming again in the same way he aquired the people as servants. He moved the people into the city because that was where the food was stored. While they were there, they would be working for Pharoah building up the cities. During the reign of the Twelfth Dynasty, Egyptian influence expanded south and east and became the most powerful nation in the world. The priests were given food for wages and did not have to give up their lands. They were pagan priests which worshipped their gods and continued their duties. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s. The seed he is talking about is for the future. This is part of the negotiation. When the famine is over, they will receive the seed and plant their fields. They will give one-fifth of the harvest to Pharaoh and keep the rest to feed your families and so they agreed. By making it the law, taxes were permanently fixed at 20 percent. The people were grateful to Joseph since this was much much lower than other rulers who taxed at 35 - 50 percent. 27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” Jacob nurtured Joseph for seventeen years and now Joseph took care of Jacob and his family for seventeen years. During this time, they prospered and multiplied. When Jacob's time drew nigh that he must die, he asked Joseph to promise him that he would be buried with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah in the field and the cave in the land of Canaan. "Put your hand under my thigh" - In practice, meant putting the hand just below, or even on, the genitals. Symbolically, the promise is being associated with the descendants of that person. Joseph is not merely vowing to Jacob, but to all of Jacob's posterity. In some cultures, this gesture also implied that breaking the oath would be avenged by those descendants. This type of oath allowed the descendants to avenge their father and the person taking the oath could loose everything he owned. 31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed. Jacob was now both old and feeble. He raised himself and sat upon the head or uppermost part of his bed, that he might express his reverence to God as much as he could by bowing, being unable to do it kneeling.
1. How many brothers were selected to represent the family when Joseph introduced them to Pharaoh?
2. What did Pharaoh ask Joseph's brothers?
3. What favor did the Hebrews ask Pharaoh for?
4. Who, at one point, asked Jacob of his age?
5. How old was Jacob when he migrated to live in Egypt?
6. When the Egyptians spent all their money on food what did they use to buy food the second time?
7. When the Egyptians spent all their money on food what did they use to buy food the third time?
8. What law did Joseph make in Egypt?
9. How long did Jacob live in the land of Egypt?
10. When it came time for Jacob to die, what did he say to Joseph?
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