Genesis 47:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they said, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh."

NIV: "You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh."

NASB: So they said, 'You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.'

CSB: "You have saved our lives," they said. "We have found favor with our lord and will be Pharaoh’s slaves."

NLT: You have saved our lives!' they exclaimed. 'May it please you, my lord, to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: 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.”

As the right-hand man of Egypt's ruler, Joseph has traded food to the desperate citizens in exchange for everything they own and even their freedom (Genesis 47:13–22). In the previous verses, he announced the terms of this exchange. The people would receive food and seed for planting. Pharaoh would own their land and their lives. In effect, they were now a nation of servants to the Pharaoh. To continue to live, they must pay 20 percent of each year's harvest to Pharaoh from this point forward.

This type of servanthood is most accurately labeled "indentured servitude." This is not the "slavery" often associated with more modern times. In a world without stability, banking, or social welfare, people often traded service as a way of paying off debt or earning food and shelter. "Selling" oneself or family into this kind of servanthood was a normal, common practice in a world almost entirely made up of either "servants" or "masters." In practice, many of the conditions depicted here resemble modern concepts such as mortgage, rent, or income tax—albeit permanent ones (Genesis 47:26). The servanthood of the people of Egypt, as arranged by Joseph, is extremely different from the harsh slavery imposed on the Israelites by other Pharaohs over the coming centuries (Exodus 1:8–13).

That context helps a modern reader understand why the people seem grateful, instead of resentful. They give him credit for saving their lives in the famine and acknowledge their free choice to become servants to Pharaoh.

Genesis 47:13–26 describes how Joseph's plan for the famine made Egypt's king even more powerful and wealthy. In essence, Joseph sells grain taxed from the people back to them. When the people run out of money to pay for food from the storehouses, Joseph trades for their livestock, land, and even their freedom. Pharaoh comes to own nearly everything and everyone in Egypt, resulting in a standing 20 percent income tax on the people.

Genesis 47 begins with Pharaoh interviewing Joseph's brothers and father before granting their request to settle in the region of Goshen in Egypt. Just as Joseph had hoped, his family is secure. The rest of the people of Egypt and Canaan are not. Most run out of money and can no longer buy food from Joseph. On Pharaoh's behalf, Joseph trades food for their livestock and then their land and even their freedom. Nearly all people will be required to pay to Pharaoh 20 percent of their harvest each year from this time forward. After several years, Jacob asks Joseph to swear that he will bury Jacob's body with his fathers in Canaan.

After describing the family's journey from Canaan and their arrival in Egypt in chapter 46, this passage opens on a formal conversation between Pharaoh and Joseph's family. He officially grants their request to settle in Egypt. As the famine continues, citizens of Egypt and Canaan turn over their money, land, and livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. The final three chapters of Genesis explain Jacob's dying blessings, and the passing of both Jacob and Joseph.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.