Genesis 47

1 So Joseph [the one Jehovah has added] went and told Pharaoh [the king of Egypt]: “My father [ancestor, patriarch] and my brothers [male siblings, relatives], with their flocks [sheep, goats] and herds [cattle, livestock] and all they own [possess], have come [arrived, migrated] from the land [region, territory] of Canaan [the promised land, Israel] and are now [behold, look!] in Goshen [a place of drawing near, Egypt].” word study 2 And he chose [selected, took] five [a quantity of five men] of his brothers [male siblings, relatives] and presented [set, introduced] them before [in the presence of, face to face with] Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader]. word study 3 “What [in what manner or condition] is your occupation [work or business]?” Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] asked Joseph’s brothers [male siblings or close relatives]. “Your servants [those who serve or attend] are shepherds [caretakers of sheep or flock],” they replied, “both we [us, as a collective group] and our fathers [ancestors or predecessors, in a figurative sense, having a familial relationship].” word study 4 Then they said to Pharaoh [the king of Egypt], “We have come to [sojourn, temporarily reside] live in the land [of Egypt, a foreign country] for a time, because there is no pasture [grazing land] for the flocks [sheep, goats, or other animals] of your servants [slaves, attendants], since the famine [severe hunger] in the land [region, territory] of Canaan [the promised land, Israel] has been severe [heavy, grievous]. So now [at this time, presently], please [we pray, humbly request] allow your servants [attendants, subjects] to settle [dwell, reside] in the land [region, territory] of Goshen [a fertile area in Egypt].” word study 5 Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] said to Joseph, “Now that your father [a male parent, ancestor, or one who provides care] and brothers [male siblings, close relatives, or friends] have come [approached, arrived, or entered] to you, word study 6 the land [country, territory] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] is before you [in your presence, at your disposal]; settle your father [parent, patriarch] and brothers [male siblings, relatives] in the best [most excellent, superior] part of the land [region, territory]. They may dwell [reside, live] in the land [region, area] of Goshen [a place of drawing near, a region in Egypt]. And if you know [are aware, recognize] of any talented [able, skilled] men [individuals, persons] among them, put them in charge [make them rulers, appoint them] of my own livestock [cattle, animals, possessions].” word study 7 Then Joseph [the son of Jacob and Rachel, Jehovah has added] brought in his father Jacob [the son of Isaac and Rebekah] and presented [set, introduced] him before Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader], and Jacob [having God’s blessing] blessed [praised, honored] Pharaoh [the ruler of Egypt]. word study 8 “How [in what manner] many years [days of life, periods of time] have you lived [been alive, experienced life]?” Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] asked [said to, spoke to]. word study 9 “My travels [journeys, wanderings] have lasted 130 years [a hundred and thirty, one hundred thirty],” Jacob [the supplanter, Israel] replied. “My years [days of my life] have been few [little, short] and hard [evil, bad], and they have not matched [attained to, reached] the years [days] of the travels [sojourning, pilgrimage] of my fathers [ancestors, forefathers].” word study 10 Then Jacob [the son of Isaac, a key figure in Israel’s history] blessed [praised, honored, or invoked God’s favor upon] Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] and departed [went out, came out, or left] from his presence [before him, in his sight, or from his face]. word study 11 So Joseph [the one God has added] settled his father [his earthly father, Jacob] and brothers [his relatives, kin] in the land [the territory, region] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] and gave them property [a possession, inheritance] in the best [most excellent, superior] part of the land [the soil, ground], the district [area, region] of Rameses [Raamses, a city in Egypt], as Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] had commanded [given orders, instructed]. word study 12 Joseph [Jehovah has added] also provided his father [the patriarch, head of the family] and brothers [male siblings, close relatives] and all his father’s household [entire family, including servants] with food [bread, nourishment, sustenance] for their families [according to the number of children, their needs]. word study 13 There was no [bread] food, however, in all [the entire region, every part] that region [land, territory], because the [severe, very sore] famine [hunger, lack of food] was so [heavy, grievous] severe; the lands [countries, territories] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] and Canaan [the land of the Canaanites, now modern-day Israel] had been [completely, utterly] exhausted [wasted, languishing] by the [devastating, oppressive] famine [famine or hunger]. word study 14 Joseph [the son of Jacob, a leader in Egypt] collected all the money [silver, wealth, payment] to be found in the land [territory, region] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] and the land [country, territory] of Canaan [the promised land, now modern-day Israel] in exchange for the grain [food, crops, provision] they were buying [purchasing, acquiring], and he brought it into Pharaoh’s [the king of Egypt, a powerful ruler] palace [house, treasury, place of authority]. word study 15 When the money [silver, wealth, or payment] from the lands [countries, territories, or regions] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] and Canaan [the land where the Canaanites lived, now modern-day Israel] was gone [completely spent, or finished], all [every single one] the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food [bread, grain, or sustenance]. Why should we die [perish, or come to an end] before your eyes [in your presence, or right in front of you]? For our funds [money, or wealth] have run out [failed, or come to an end]!” word study 16 “Then bring me your [domestic animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats] livestock,” said Joseph [Jehovah has added]. “Since the [silver, or payment] money is gone [has ended, ceased, or failed], I will sell you [provide or give] food in exchange for your [cattle, sheep, and goats] livestock.” word study 17 So they brought their [domestic animals, livestock] livestock to Joseph, and he gave them [bread, food] food in exchange for their horses [chariot horses], their flocks [and for the flocks, sheep and goats] and herds, and their [cattle, oxen] donkeys. Throughout that year [period of time] he provided them with [bread, grain] food in exchange for all their livestock [cattle]. word study 18 When that year [a period of time, a cycle of seasons] was over, they came to him the second [again, another] year and said, “We cannot hide [conceal, keep secret] from our lord [master, ruler] that our money [silver, wealth] is gone and all our livestock [cattle, animals] belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord [ruler, master] except our bodies [physical selves, persons] and our land [earth, ground]. word study 19 Why should we perish [die off] before your eyes [in your presence, before your face]—we [us, ourselves] and our land [earth, soil, ground] as well [also, too]? Purchase [buy, acquire] us and our land [property, territory] in exchange for food [bread, grain, sustenance]. Then we, along with our land [property, territory], will be slaves [servants, bondmen] to Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, the ruler]. Give us seed [grain, offspring] that we may live [have life, survive] and not die [perish, come to an end], and that the land [earth, ground] may not become desolate [waste, barren, unused].” word study 20 So Joseph [the one whom Jehovah has added] acquired for Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] all the land [the earth, the ground, the territory] in Egypt; the Egyptians [the people of Egypt, the inhabitants of the land], one and all, sold [to give up ownership, to exchange] their fields [the flat areas of land used for cultivation] because the famine [a severe lack of food, a time of hunger] was so severe [intensely difficult, strongly oppressive] upon them [on the people, affecting them directly]. The land [the earth, the ground, the territory] became Pharaoh’s [belonging to the king, under his control], word study 21 and Joseph reduced the people [made them slaves] to servitude from one end [border, edge] of Egypt [the land, a country in northeastern Africa] to the other [end, brink]. word study 22 However, he did not acquire [refuse to purchase, did not obtain] the priests’ [those who serve God, spiritual leaders] portion of the land [earth, soil, ground], for it had been given [assigned, allotted] to them by Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, the ruler]. They ate [devoured, consumed] the rations [food, provisions] that Pharaoh supplied [provided, gave]; so they did not sell [exchange, trade] their land [property, territory]. word study 23 Then Joseph [the son of Jacob, Jehovah has added] said to the people [the nation, a multitude], “Now that I have acquired [bought, redeemed] you and your land [the earth, soil, territory] for Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful ruler] this day [a period of time, an era], here is seed [for planting, offspring] for you to sow [plant, cultivate] in the land [the ground, the earth]. word study 24 At harvest time [when the grain is cut, during the ingatherings], you are to give a fifth [one-fifth, the fifth part] of it to Pharaoh [the king of Egypt], and four-fifths [four parts] will be yours as seed [for sowing, for the field’s fertility] for the field [the land, the ground] and food [sustenance, nourishment] for yourselves and your households [your families, those in your houses] and children [little ones, your infants].” word study 25 “You have saved [revived, given new life to] our lives,” they said. “We have found [attained, discovered] favor [graciousness, kindness] in our lord’s [master, ruler] eyes [sight, gaze], and we will be [exist as, become] Pharaoh’s [the king of Egypt, the ruler’s] servants [slaves, bondservants].” word study 26 So Joseph [the son of Jacob, a leader in Egypt] established a law [statute, decree] that a fifth [one-fifth, a tax of 20%] of the produce [crops, harvest] belongs to Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, the ruler], and it is in effect [still in force, valid] in the land [earth, soil] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] to this day [until now, currently]. Only [except, but] the priests’ [spiritual leaders, ministers] land [property, territory] does not belong to Pharaoh [is exempt, not owned by the king]. word study 27 Now the Israelites [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] settled [dwelt, remained, and abided] in the land [earth, territory, region] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa], in the region [country, territory] of Goshen [a place of drawing near, fertile land]. They acquired [gained, obtained, and possessed] property [possessions, land, and wealth] there and became [were, and grew to be] fruitful [productive, bearing spiritual and physical fruit] and increased [multiplied, grew, and became numerous] greatly [exceedingly, very much, and abundantly] in number [population, multitude, and abundance]. word study 28 And Jacob [the supplanter, deceiver] lived [resided, dwelt] in the land [earth, territory, region] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] seventeen [seven times, a week of years] years, and the length [whole duration, entire span] of his life [existence, being alive] was 147 [a hundred and forty-seven, a long and full life] years. word study 29 When the time drew near [drawing near, approaching] for Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants] to die, he called [summoned, invited] his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found [discovered, attained] favor [kindness, graciousness] in your eyes [sight, gaze], put your hand [strength, direction] under my thigh [side] and promise [vow, pledge] to show me kindness [mercy, pity] and faithfulness [truth, stability]. Do not [please do not, I pray] bury me in Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa, a place of bondage], word study 30 but when I [sleep with my fathers, lie down to rest] lie down with my fathers [ancestors, forefathers], carry me out of [the land of] Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] and bury me [lay me to rest, inter me] with them [in their tomb, burial place].” Joseph answered, “I [I myself, personally] will do [make, fulfill] as you have requested [said, commanded].” word study 31 “Swear [take an oath, make a solemn promise] to me,” Jacob [Israel, the father of the faithful] said. So Joseph [as a son showing respect] swore [pledged his loyalty, made a vow] to him, and Israel [in an act of worship and humility] bowed [prostrated himself, showed reverence] in worship [with gratitude and devotion] at the head [the top, the beginning] of his bed [couch, place of rest]. word study