Genesis 47:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

NIV: Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you,

NASB: Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you.

CSB: Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now that your father and brothers have come to you,

NLT: Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Now that your father and brothers have joined you here,

KJV: And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:

NKJV: Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

Egypt's ruler, known by the title Pharaoh, has concluded his official interview of Joseph's family. They are represented by the five brothers Joseph selected to stand at court. They have described themselves as shepherds with large herds and flocks to support, and formally requested to be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen. This was likely in the Nile Delta.

Now Pharaoh begins to answer their request by addressing Joseph. It's possible that the brothers have even been dismissed. This likely follows the protocol of the Pharaoh's court, announcing his formal decisions to officers to be recorded and carried out. However, Pharaoh will make it clear he is granting the brothers' request for Joseph's sake. In the following verse, Pharaoh will announce that he is giving Joseph the authority to grant their request. This reflects a wise step by Pharaoh, keeping Joseph's authority among his family intact despite their recent interaction with the only higher power in the land (Genesis 41:44).

Genesis 47:1–12 describes how Joseph's family officially arrived as landowners in Egypt. They are given the fertile region of Goshen. At court, Joseph's brothers formally request permission to settle there, and Jacob blesses Pharaoh twice. Pharaoh gives Joseph the authority to give his family enough land in Goshen to accommodate their herds and growing families. Joseph also begins to distribute a regular allotment of food to each member of his extended family.

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.

Accessed 5/2/2024 1:00:53 AM