Gen. 47:1 Then 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.
Gen. 47:2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
Gen. 47:3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
Gen. 47:4 They 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.
Gen. 47:5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
Gen. 47:6 The 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.
Joseph went before Pharaoh as he had said and took five of his brothers with him to represent the family. When asked their occupation, they told Pharaoh that they were shepherds and had come to live here for a while because of the famine, hoping to settle in Goshen. Evidently, Goshen was some of the best land in Egypt, and the Pharaoh kept his promise to provide them with Egypt’s best. He did request that if any among them had exceptional abilities, that they be put in charge of his own livestock.
My daughter-in-law shared her beautiful thoughts with me on this section. She noted how Pharaoh loved and trusted Joseph. He treated these strangers so well simply because they were related to Joseph. It reminded her of how God treats us with great blessing simply because of our relationship with Jesus. It has nothing to do with what we have done and is solely because of what He has done!
Gen. 47:7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
Gen. 47:8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
Gen. 47:9 And 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.
Gen. 47:10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Then Joseph presented his father to the king. Jacob blessed the Pharaoh who asked him his age. Jacob told him that he was 130 years old—a short time in comparison to the years of his forefathers.
I assume that Jacob’s blessing was recognized as an acceptable way of honoring Pharaoh in light of Jacob’s age.
Gen. 47:11 And 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.
Gen. 47:12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.
Joseph’s family was allowed to settle in Goshen, recognized as some of the best land in Egypt, located in the district of Ramses. Joseph also provided each family with food according to their need.
Gen. 47:13 And 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.
Gen. 47:14 And 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.
Gen. 47:15 And 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.
Gen. 47:16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
Gen. 47:17 And 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.
The famine became so severe that eventually the people ran out of money to buy food. Pharaoh had it all. So the people came to Joseph and asked him if he was just going to let them die since their money was gone. So Joseph agreed to sell them grain in exchange for livestock. By the next year they were out of livestock and approached Joseph again.
Gen. 47:18 When 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:
Gen. 47:19 Wherefore 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.
Gen. 47:20 And 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.
Gen. 47:21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
Gen. 47:22 Only 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.
This time they offered to sell themselves and their land to Pharaoh in exchange for food. Eventually, Pharaoh owned all of the land in Egypt except what belonged to the priests. All the people had become his servants.
Constable quoting the NET Bible: “The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh"s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine."
Gen. 47:23 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.
Gen. 47:24 And 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.
Gen. 47:25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.
Gen. 47:26 And 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.
Next Joseph gave seed to the people to plant. This seems to indicate that the years of famine were at an end. When their crops were ready to harvest, they were to give 1/5 of the produce to Pharaoh. The people were grateful to be alive and have the opportunity to serve.
I just keep thinking how we would probably respond today. I’m sure there would be much complaining and then an attitude of who does he think he is? Next would probably be an attempt to overthrow the government or something. We have a distinct idea that the world owes us in this day and age. These people were glad to have an opportunity to work for food. It’s hard to find those willing to put in an honest day’s work for a day’s pay nowadays.
Gen. 47:27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
Evidently, the Israelites in the land of Goshen were acquiring property and increasing in number—thanks to God’s provision for them through Joseph.
Smith: “So seventy came down to Egypt. Four hundred years later, two million of them marched out. So when it says multiplied exceedingly, you can see that yes, indeed, that is what happened.”
Gen. 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
Gen. 47:29 And 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:
Gen. 47:30 But 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.
Gen. 47:31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years to the age of 147. As he was dying, he called for Joseph and asked him to promise not to bury him in Egypt, to take him and bury him with his fathers. Joseph swore to do just that.
It seems that placing the hand under the thigh was a custom regarding a solemn promise. Abraham did the same with his servant before sending him to get a wife for Isaac.
Genesis 24:2–3 “And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell….”
“And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.” To me, this paints a word picture of a man leaning over his bed in prayer on his knees before his God. I imagine he reminded himself of the many blessings God had given him in life and how he had made provision for him and his family, especially in the hard times. Age and experience give us quite a different perspective as we look back over events in our lives vs. memories of how we felt at specific times.
This event is referenced in Hebrews 11:21: “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”
The Believer’s Bible Commentary explains the use of bed vs. staff. “….the same Hebrew consonants can be read bed or staff depending on which vowels are supplied.”
Gen. 48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Gen. 48:2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
Gen. 48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Gen. 48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
Gen. 48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
Gen. 48:6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
Sometime later Joseph was told that his father was failing, so he took his sons with him to see Jacob. When Jacob heard that Joseph had come, he summoned the strength to sit up in his bed. He told Joseph about “God Almighty” appearing to him and promising to bless him and increase his numbers and give the land of Canaan to his descendants “for an everlasting possession.” I think the name he used for God was to emphasize to Joseph that he was confident that God Almighty would bring this promise to pass. He told him that his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, would be counted as equal with his own sons—just like Reuben and Simeon—when the time came to make tribal allotments of the land. This basically amounted to giving Joseph the double portion that was part of the birthright that Reuben forfeited. There is no record in scripture of Joseph having any more sons.
Fruchtenbaum: “First Chronicles 5:1-2 points out that while Judah had the preeminence, Joseph had the birthright; and with this adoption, the two sons of Joseph became the legal sons of Jacob.”
1 Chronicles 5:1–2 “Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)….”
Gen. 48:7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
Gen. 48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?
Gen. 48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
Gen. 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
Gen. 48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
Gen. 48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
Gen. 48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.
Gen. 48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
The way the verses are worded, it’s like listening to an old man’s wandering mind. All of a sudden he remembered the death of Rachel and having to bury her along the road to Ephrath (Bethlehem). Then he saw Joseph’s sons but didn’t recognize them. (I remember visiting my great-grandmother in her last years. Sometimes she would know me and my mom, and sometimes she wouldn’t and thought we were someone else.) When Joseph told him that they were his sons, Jacob wanted them brought closer so he could bless them. He immediately kissed and hugged them. Israel’s eyes were really bad, and he could barely see. Jacob expressed his joy at being allowed not only to see Joseph again, but also Joseph’s children. These kids were 17+ years old. Joseph bowed before his father and placed his sons before Jacob so that his right hand was on Manasseh (the oldest) and his left hand was on Ephraim. But Israel crossed his arms and “wittingly” (he knew what he was doing) put his right hand on Ephraim and his left on Manasseh.
Gen. 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
Gen. 48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
Gen. 48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
Gen. 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
Gen. 48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
Gen. 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Gen. 48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
Gen. 48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
Jacob then proceeded to bless Joseph. He acknowledged the God of his fathers as his shepherd and the Angel of his deliverance from all harm. He asked that God bless these boys who were to be called by his name (as his sons) and make them increase greatly on the earth. When Joseph realized what Jacob had done with his hands, he tried to correct him to have his right hand on Manasseh. His father, however, refused to cooperate—he knew what he was doing. He declared that both become great nations—but Ephraim, the younger, would become the greatest. Then Israel told Joseph that he (Israel) would soon die, but that God would take them all back to the land of their fathers. Then he reiterated that he was giving Joseph an extra portion of land they were to inherit, since he was now the father of two tribes.
The right hand is indicative of strength and authority in scripture. Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God the Father.
Exodus 15:6 “Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.”
Psalm 20:6 “Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.”
Psalm 118:16 “The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.”
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
“which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword” – This sounds like Jacob had conquered the land of the Amorites. I don’t remember reading about this.
Constable: “The word for "portion" means ridge or shoulder (of land) and is the same as "Shechem." Shechem lay in Manasseh"s tribal territory. The Israelites later distributed the land among the tribes (Joshua 24:1) and buried Joseph at Shechem (Joshua 24:32)….Jacob spoke as though he had taken Shechem from the Amorites by force (Genesis 48:22). Probably Jacob viewed Simeon and Levi"s slaughter of the Shechemites as his own taking of the city ( Genesis 34:27-29). [Note: Waltke, Genesis , p601.] Another view is that Moses used the perfect tense in Hebrew, translated past tense in English ("took"), prophetically. In this usage, which is common in the Old Testament, the writer spoke of the future as past. The idea was that, since God predicted them by divine inspiration, events yet future are so certain of fulfillment that one could speak of them as already past. Here the thought is that Israel (Jacob) would take Canaan from the Amorites, the most powerful of the Canaanite tribes, not personally, but through his posterity (cf. Genesis 15:16). [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 1:385.]”