Genesis 47:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

NIV: Joseph said to the people, 'Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground.

NASB: Then Joseph said to the people, 'Behold, today I have purchased you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land.

CSB: Joseph said to the people, "Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land.

NLT: Then Joseph said to the people, 'Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: 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.

Every time Joseph is given power by his master, he greatly increases that master's success. This was the case with Potiphar (Genesis 39:5), and with the Egyptian prison manager (Genesis 39:22–23). It has been even more so the case with the king of Egypt, known by the title Pharaoh.

Representing Pharaoh, Joseph taxed the people during seven years of abundance, stockpiling massive amounts of grain (Genesis 41:33–36). When the famine struck, he then sold that food to the people of Egypt and Canaan (Genesis 41:55–57). Ultimately, this meant the people exchanged all their cash, livestock, land, and even their freedom. All but the priests are now servants of Pharaoh—everything of value is effectively mortgaged to the king of Egypt (Genesis 47:13–22).

Joseph now announces the completion of this agreement with the people. In essence, being "owned" by Pharaoh will help the people in the short term. They no longer need to come up with something to trade for food from year to year. Pharaoh will provide them with both food and seed to use for planting to keep the land from wasting away. Even in a famine, the people know they need to keep cultivating land, so it won't completely revert into wilderness (Genesis 47:19).

In fact, the famine is nearing its conclusion. Soon, regular planting and harvest will begin again in Egypt and the surrounding regions. To prepare for this, Joseph's plan includes a transition that will both restore normal harvesting and ensure the wealth of Pharaoh. This, again, involves taxing the people (Genesis 47:24).

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.