Genesis 47:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

NIV: Why should we perish before your eyes--we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.'

NASB: Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.'

CSB: Why should we die here in front of you--both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh's slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won't become desolate."

NLT: Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we offer our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty and desolate.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: 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.”

Before the famine began, Joseph stockpiled grain using taxes (Genesis 41:33–36). He then sold the reserves to people in Egypt and Canaan when the land stopped producing (Genesis 41:55–57). Over time, the people of the region gave all their money to Egypt's ruler in exchange for food. They then traded or mortgaged their animals (Genesis 47:13–17). As the famine persisted, the people had nothing left to offer other than their lands and their own lives.

The people's growing desperation is seen in their pleas. At first, they asked Pharaoh what to do, and he referred them to Joseph, who arranged for sale of grain (Genesis 41:55). Then, they came directly to Joseph to beg for food (Genesis 47:15) and agreed to his terms. Now, they seem to come to Joseph with an immediate offer: their lands and servitude in exchange for food.

The people's remark about the land dying is key to understanding how serious the situation had become. Unless the people can continue to receive grain from Joseph, they will not be able to cultivate anything from the land. Clearly, there is already so little that it cannot sustain the people (Genesis 47:13). If the people die, or leave, the land itself would revert entirely to wilderness. This time, Joseph did not have to suggest any bargains. The people came with the idea themselves, literally offering themselves and their land in exchange for grain and seed to plant on the land to keep it from becoming completely desolate.

If Joseph accepts this proposal, Pharaoh will become the owner of all the money, livestock, land, and people in the region.

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.