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Genesis 47:2
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From among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Par`oh.
And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.
Joseph chose five of his brothers to introduce to the king.
He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.
And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
And Ioseph tooke part of his brethren, euen fiue men, and presented them vnto Pharaoh.
And he took five men from among his brothers and set them before Pharaoh.
He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
And he took from the whole number of his brethren, five men, and set them before Pharaoh.
Joseph chose five of his brothers to be with him before the Pharaoh.
And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.
And he took from among his brothers five men and presented them to Pharaoh.
He then presented his brothers to the king.
He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
And, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took five men from among his brothers and set them before Pharaoh.
& beholde, they are in the lande of Gesen. And he toke fyue of his brethren, & presented them vnto Pharao.
And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
And he took five of his brothers to Pharaoh.
And Ioseph toke of the company of his brethren [euen] fiue men, and presented them vnto Pharao.
And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
And hee tooke some of his brethren, euen fiue men, & presented them vnto Pharaoh.
And he took of his brethren five men, and set them before Pharao.
And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
And he ordeynede fyue, the laste men of hise britheren, bifore the kyng,
And out of his brethren he hath taken five men, and setteth them before Pharaoh;
And from among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
And he took some of his brethren, [even] five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
From among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh.
He took five men from among his brothers, and brought them to Pharaoh.
From among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.
Moreover out of the whole number of his brethren, he took with him five men, - and set them before Pharaoh.
Five men also, the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:
And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.
He had taken five of his brothers with him and introduced them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked them, "What kind of work do you do?" "Your servants are shepherds, the same as our fathers were. We have come to this country to find a new place to live. There is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine has been very bad there. Please, would you let your servants settle in the region of Goshen?" Pharaoh looked at Joseph. "So, your father and brothers have arrived—a reunion! Egypt welcomes them. Settle your father and brothers on the choicest land—yes, give them Goshen. And if you know any among them that are especially good at their work, put them in charge of my own livestock." Next Joseph brought his father Jacob in and introduced him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked Jacob, "How old are you?" Jacob answered Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are 130—a short and hard life and not nearly as long as my ancestors were given." Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left. Joseph settled his father and brothers in Egypt, made them proud owners of choice land—it was the region of Rameses (that is, Goshen)—just as Pharaoh had ordered. Joseph took good care of them—his father and brothers and all his father's family, right down to the smallest baby. He made sure they had plenty of everything. The time eventually came when there was no food anywhere. The famine was very bad. Egypt and Canaan alike were devastated by the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan to pay for the distribution of food. He banked the money in Pharaoh's palace. When the money from Egypt and Canaan had run out, the Egyptians came to Joseph. "Food! Give us food! Are you going to watch us die right in front of you? The money is all gone." Joseph said, "Bring your livestock. I'll trade you food for livestock since your money's run out." So they brought Joseph their livestock. He traded them food for their horses, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. He got them through that year in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was over, the next year rolled around and they were back, saying, "Master, it's no secret to you that we're broke: our money's gone and we've traded you all our livestock. We've nothing left to barter with but our bodies and our farms. What use are our bodies and our land if we stand here and starve to death right in front of you? Trade us food for our bodies and our land. We'll be slaves to Pharaoh and give up our land—all we ask is seed for survival, just enough to live on and keep the farms alive." So Joseph bought up all the farms in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his land—the famine was that bad. That's how Pharaoh ended up owning all the land and the people ended up slaves; Joseph reduced the people to slavery from one end of Egypt to the other. Joseph made an exception for the priests. He didn't buy their land because they received a fixed salary from Pharaoh and were able to live off of that salary. So they didn't need to sell their land. Joseph then announced to the people: "Here's how things stand: I've bought you and your land for Pharaoh. In exchange I'm giving you seed so you can plant the ground. When the crops are harvested, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and keep four-fifths for yourselves, for seed for yourselves and your families—you're going to be able to feed your children!" They said, "You've saved our lives! Master, we're grateful and glad to be slaves to Pharaoh." Joseph decreed a land law in Egypt that is still in effect, A Fifth Goes to Pharaoh. Only the priests' lands were not owned by Pharaoh. And so Israel settled down in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property and flourished. They became a large company of people. Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years. In all, he lived 147 years. When the time came for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said, "Do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh, a sign that you're loyal and true to me to the end. Don't bury me in Egypt. When I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me alongside them." "I will," he said. "I'll do what you've asked." Israel said, "Promise me." Joseph promised. Israel bowed his head in submission and gratitude from his bed.
He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
presented: Acts 7:13, 2 Corinthians 4:14, Colossians 1:28, Jude 1:24
Reciprocal: Genesis 46:33 - What is
Cross-References
"And on the second visit Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Joseph's family and background were revealed to Pharaoh.
knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us [along] with you in His presence.
We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom [that is, with comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God], so that we may present every person complete in Christ [mature, fully trained, and perfect in Him—the Anointed].
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling or falling into sin, and to present you unblemished [blameless and faultless] in the presence of His glory with triumphant joy and unspeakable delight,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he took some of his brethren,.... Along with him, when he left his father in Goshen; the word for "some" signifies the extremity of a thing: hence some have fancied that he took some of the meanest and most abject, so Jarchi, lest if they had appeared to Pharaoh strong and robust, he should have made soldiers of them; others on the contrary think he took those that excelled most in strength of body, and endowments of mind, to make the better figure; others, that he took of both sorts, or some at both ends, the first and last, elder and younger; but it may be, he made no choice at all, but took some that offered next:
[even] five men: whom the Targum of Jonathan names as follow, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher; but Jarchi will have them to be Reuben, Simeon and Levi, Issachar and Benjamin; but on these accounts no dependence is to be had:
and presented them, unto Pharaoh; introduced them into his presence, that he might converse with them, and ask them what questions he thought fit.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacob in Goshen
11. רע×סס raâmeseÌs, Raâmeses âson of the sun.â
31. ××× mıÌtÌ£tÌ£aÌh, âbed.â ××× matÌ£tÌ£eh âstaff.â
Arrangements are now made for the settlement of Israel in Goshen. The administration of Joseph during the remaining years of the famine is then recorded. For the whole of this period his father and brothers are subject to him, as their political superior, according to the reading of his early dreams. We then approach to the death-bed of Jacob, and hear him binding Joseph by an oath to bury him in the grave of his fathers.
Genesis 47:1-12
Joseph announces to Pharaoh the arrival of his kindred. âOf the whole of his brethren,â more exactly from the end of his brethren. Five men, a favorite number in Egypt. Shepherds, owners and feeders of sheep and other cattle. âPasture.â Hence, it appears that the drought had made the grazing extremely scanty. Men of ability, competent to take the oversight of others. âJacob his father,â he presents before Pharaoh, after he has disposed of all business matters. âJacob blessed Pharaoh.â This is the patriarchâs grateful return for Pharaohâs great kindness and generosity toward him and his house. He is conscious of even a higher dignity than that of Pharaoh, as he is a prince of God; and as such he bestows his precious benediction. Pharaoh was struck with his venerable appearance, and inquired what was his age. âPilgrimageâ - sojourning, wandering without any constant abode or fixed holding.
Such was the life of the patriarchs in the land of promise Hebrews 11:13. âFew and evil.â Jacobâs years at this time were far short of those of Abraham and Isaac, not to speak of more ancient men. Much bitterness also had been mingled in his cup from the time that he beguiled his brother of the birthright and the blessing, which would have come to him in a lawful way if he had only waited in patience. Obliged to flee for his life from his fatherâs house, serving seven years for a beloved wife, and balked in his expected recompense by a deceitful father-in-law, serving seven long years more for the object of his affections, having his wages changed ten times during the six years of his further toil for a maintenance, afflicted by the dishonor of his only daughter, the reckless revenge taken by Simon and Levi, the death of his beloved wife in childbed, the disgraceful incest of Reuben, the loss of Joseph himself for twenty-two years, and the present famine with all its anxieties - Jacob, it must be confessed, has become acquainted with no small share of the ills of life. âBlessed Pharaoh.â It is possible that this blessing is the same as that already mentioned, now reiterated in its proper place in the narrative. âAccording to the little ones.â This means either in proportion to the number in each household, or with all the tenderness with which a parent provides for his infant offspring.
Genesis 47:13-26
Joseph introduces remarkable changes into the relation of the sovereign and the people of Egypt. âThere was no bread in all the land.â The private stores of the wealthy were probably exhausted. âAnd Joseph gathered up all the silver.â The old stores of grain and the money, which had flowed into the country during the years of plenty, seem to have lasted for five years. âAnd Joseph brought the silver into Pharaohâs house.â He was merely the steward of Pharaoh in this matter, and made a full return of all the payments that came into his hands. âThe silver was spent.â The famishing people have no more money; but they must have bread. Joseph is fertile in expedients. He proposes to take their cattle. This was really a relief to the people, as they had no means of providing them with fodder. The value of commodities is wholly altered by a change of circumstances. Pearls will not purchase a cup of water in a vast and dreary wilderness. Cattle become worthless when food becomes scarce, and the means of procuring it are exhausted. For their cattle Joseph supplies them with food during the sixth year.
Genesis 47:18-20
The seventh year is now come. The silver and cattle are now gone. Nothing remains but their lands, and with these themselves as the serfs of the soil. Accordingly they make this offer to Joseph, which he cannot refuse. Hence, it is evident that Pharaoh had as yet no legal claim to the soil. In primeval times the first entrants into an unoccupied country became, by a natural custom, the owners of the grounds they held and cultivated. The mere nomad, who roamed over a wide range of country, where his flocks merely cropped the spontaneous herbage, did not soon arrive at the notion of private property in land. But the husbandman, who settled on a promising spot, broke up the soil, and sowed the seed, felt he had acquired by his labor a title to the acres he had cultivated and permanently occupied, and this right was instinctively acknowledged by others. Hence, each cultivator grew into the absolute owner of his own farm. Hence, the lands of Egypt belonged to the peasantry of the country, and were at their disposal. These lands had now become valueless to those who had neither provisions for themselves nor seed for their ground. They willingly part with them, therefore, for a yearâs provision and a supply of seed. In this way the lands of Egypt fell into the hands of the crown by a free purchase. âAnd the people he removed into the cities.â This is not an act of arbitrary caprice, but a wise and kind measure for the more convenient nourishment of the people until the new arrangements for the cultivation of the soil should be completed. The priestly class were sustained by a state allowance, and therefore, were not obliged to alienate their lands. Hence, they became by this social revolution a privileged order. The military class were also exempted most probably from the surrender of their patrimonial rights, as they were maintained on the crown lands.
Genesis 47:23-26
I have bought you. - He had bought their lands, and so they might be regarded, in some sort, as the servants of Pharaoh, or the serfs of the soil. âIn the increase ye shall give the fifth to Pharaoh.â This explains at once the extent of their liability, and the security of their liberty and property. They do not become Pharaohâs bondmen. They own their land under him by a new tenure. They are no longer subject to arbitrary exactions. They have a stated annual rent, bearing a fixed ratio to the amount of their crop. This is an equitable adjustment of their dues, and places them under the protection of a statute law. The people are accordingly well pleased with the enactment of Joseph, which becomes henceforth the law of Egypt.
Genesis 47:27-31
And they were possessed thereof. - They become owners or tenants of the soil in Goshen. The Israelites were recognized as subjects with the full rights of freemen. âThey grew and multiplied exceedingly.â They are now placed in a definite territory, where they are free from the contamination which arises from promiscuous intermarriage with an idolatrous race; and hence, the Lord bestows the blessing of fruitfulness and multiplication, so that in a generation or two more they can intermarry among themselves. It is a remarkable circumstance that until now we read of only two daughters in the family of Jacob. The brothers could not marry their sisters, and it was not desirable that the females should form affinity with the pagan, as they had in general to follow the faith of their husbands. Here the twelfth section of the Pentateuch terminates.
Genesis 47:28-31
Jacob lives seventeen years in Egypt, and so survives the famine twelve years. âHe called his son Joseph.â Joseph retained his power and place near Pharaoh after the fourteen years of special service were completed; hence, Jacob looks to him for the accomplishment of his wishes concerning the place of his burial. âPut thy hand under my thighâ Genesis 24:2. He binds Joseph by a solemn asseveration to carry his mortal remains to the land of promise. âAnd Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.â On receiving the solemn promise of Joseph, he turns toward the head of the bed, and assumes the posture of adoration, rendering, no doubt, thanks to God for all the mercies of his past life, and for this closing token of filial duty and affection. The Septuagint has the rendering: εÌÏÎ¹Ì ÏÎ¿Ì Î±ÌÌκÏον ÏηÍÏÏÌαÌβδον Î±Ï ÌÏÎ¿Ï Í epi to aÌkron akron teÌs rabdou autou âon the top of his staff,â which is given in the Epistle to the Hebrews Hebrews 11:21. This is obtained by a mere change in the vowel pointing of the last word.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 47:2. He took some of his brethren — There is something very strange in the original; literally translated it signifies "from the end or extremity (××§×¦× miktseh) of his brethren he took five men." This has been understood six different ways.
1. Joseph took five of his brethren that came first to hand - at random, without design or choice.
2. Joseph took five of the meanest-looking of his brethren to present before Pharaoh, fearing if he had taken the sightliest that Pharaoh would detain them for his service, whereby their religion and morals might be corrupted.
3. Joseph took five of the best made and finest-looking of his brethren, and presented them before Pharaoh, wishing to impress his mind with a favourable opinion of the family which he had just now brought into Egypt, and to do himself honour.
4. Joseph took five of the youngest of his brethren.
5. He took five of the eldest of his brethren.
6. He took five from the extremity or end of his brethren, i. e., some of the eldest and some of the youngest, viz., Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Benjamin. - Rab. Solomon.
It is certain that in Judges 18:2, the word may be understood as implying dignity, valour, excellence, and pre-eminence: And the children of Dan sent of their family FIVE men ×קצ××ª× miktsotham, not from their coasts, but of the most eminent or excellent they had; and it is probable they might have had their eye on what Joseph did here when they made their choice, choosing the same number, five, and of their principal men, as did Joseph, because the mission was important, to go and search out the land. But the word may be understood simply as signifying some; out of the whole of his brethren he took only five men, &c.
