Genesis 47–48

Jacob Settles in Goshen

47So Joseph went and reported to Pharaoh. And he said, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds, and all that they have, have come from the land of Canaan. Now they are here in the land of Goshen.” ²And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh. ³And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds,^a both we and also our ancestors.”^{b 4}And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” ⁵Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen, and if you know there are among them men of ability, then appoint them overseers of my own livestock.” ⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”^{c 9}And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty years. Few and hard have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my ancestors^d in the days of their sojourning.” ¹⁰And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and he went out from the presence of Pharaoh. ¹¹And Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them property in the land of Egypt in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed. ¹²And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all the household of his father with food, according to the number of their children.

The Famine in Egypt Continues

¹³Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. And the land of Egypt languished, with the land of Canaan, on account of the famine. ¹⁴And Joseph collected all the money found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain that they were buying. And Joseph brought the money into the house of Pharaoh. ¹⁵And when the money was spent in the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan, all of Egypt came to Joseph, saying, “Give us food! Why should we die before you? For the money is used up.” ¹⁶And Joseph said, “Give your livestock and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock if your money is used up.” ¹⁷So they brought their herds to Joseph, and Joseph gave food to them in exchange for horses, their flocks, and their cattle and donkeys. And he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. ¹⁸When that year ended, they came to him in the following year and said to him, “We cannot hide from my lord that our money and livestock belong to my lord. Nothing remains before my lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹Why should we die in front of you, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, then we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Then give us seed and we shall live and not die, and the land will not become desolate.” ²⁰So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for each Egyptian sold his field, for the famine was severe upon them. And the land became Pharaoh’s. ²¹As for the people, he transferred them to the cities, from one end of the territory of Egypt to the other. ²²Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for there was an allotment for the priests from Pharaoh, and they lived on^e the allotment that Pharaoh gave to them. Therefore they did not sell their land. ²³And Joseph said to the people, “Look, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you so you can sow the land. ²⁴And it shall happen that at the harvest, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and four-fifths shall be yours, as seed for the field and for your food and for those who are in your households, and as food for your little ones.” ²⁵And they said, “You have saved our lives. If we have found favor in the eyes of my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” ²⁶So Joseph made it a statute unto this day concerning the land of Egypt: one fifth to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests alone did not belong to Pharaoh. ²⁷So Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they acquired possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. ²⁸And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. And the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven years. ²⁹When the time of Israel’s death drew near,^f he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might vow to deal kindly^g and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰but let me lie with my ancestors.^h Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial site.” And he said, “I will do according to your word.” ³¹Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48And it happened that after these things, it was said to Joseph, “Behold, your father is ill.” And he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim. ²And it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel strengthened himself and he sat up in the bed. ³Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El-Shaddai^a appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, ⁴and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and make you numerous, and will make you a company of nations. And I will give this land to your offspring after you as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶And your children whom you father after them shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they shall be called, with respect to their inheritance. ⁷As for me, when I came from Paddan-Aram, Rachel died to my sorrow^b in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” ⁸When Israel saw the sons of Joseph he said, “Who are these?” ⁹Then Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Please bring them to me that I may bless them.” ¹⁰Now the eyes of Israel were dim^c on account of old age; he was not able to see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, “I did not expect to see your face and behold, God has also shown me your offspring.” ¹²Then Joseph removed them from his knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. ¹³And Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim at his right to the left of Israel, and Manasseh at his left to the right of Israel. And he brought them near to him. ¹⁴And Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim (now he was the younger), and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked,

The God who shepherded me all my life^d unto this day,

¹⁶The angel who redeemed me from all evil,

may he bless the boys.

And through them let my name be perpetuated,^e

and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac.

And let them multiply into many in the midst of the earth.

¹⁷When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, he was displeased. And he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from the head of Ephraim over to the head of Manasseh. ¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father; because this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head.” ¹⁹But his father refused and said, “I know, my son; I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great, but his younger brother shall be greater than him, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” ²⁰So he blessed them that day, saying,

Through you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying,

‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’ ”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors.^{f 22}And I have given to you one slope of land rather than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and with my bow.”