Genesis 47:3

Amplified Bible

And Pharaoh said to his brothers [as Joseph expected], "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers [before us]."

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Par`oh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Par`oh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."

King James Version
And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

Lexham English Bible
And Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are keepers of sheep, both we and also our ancestors."

New Century Version
The king said to the brothers, "What work do you do?" And they said to him, "We, your servants, are shepherds, just as our ancestors were."

New English Translation
Pharaoh said to Joseph's brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did."

New American Standard Bible
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Pharaoh said vnto his brethren, What is your trade? And they answered Pharaoh, Thy seruants are shepheards, both we and our fathers.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers."

Contemporary English Version
who asked them, "What do you do for a living?" "Sir, we are shepherds," was their answer. "Our families have always raised sheep.

Complete Jewish Bible
Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They answered Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our ancestors,"

Darby Translation
And Pharaoh said to his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.

Easy-to-Read Version
Pharaoh said to the brothers, "What work do you do?" The brothers said to Pharaoh, "Sir, we are shepherds, just as our ancestors were shepherds before us."

English Standard Version
Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were."

George Lamsa Translation
And Pharaoh said to Josephs brothers, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers, from our youth.

Good News Translation
The king asked them, "What is your occupation?" "We are shepherds, sir, just as our ancestors were," they answered.

Christian Standard Bible®
And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

Literal Translation
And Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds of flocks, both we and our fathers.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde Pharao vnto his brethren: What is youre occupacion? They answered: Thy seruauntes are kepers of catell, we and oure fathers also.

American Standard Version
And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

Bible in Basic English
And Pharaoh said to them, What is your business? And they said, Your servants are keepers of sheep, as our fathers were before us.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Pharao sayd vnto his brethren: what is your occupation? And they aunswered Pharao: thy seruauntes are kepers of cattell, both we, and also our fathers.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Pharaoh said unto his brethren: 'What is your occupation?' And they said unto Pharaoh: 'Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.'

King James Version (1611)
And Pharaoh said vnto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said vnto Pharaoh, Thy seruants are shepheards, both wee and also our fathers.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Pharao said to the brethren of Joseph, What is your occupation? and they said to Pharao, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our father.

English Revised Version
And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

Berean Standard Bible
"What is your occupation?" Pharaoh asked Joseph's brothers. "Your servants are shepherds," they replied, "both we and our fathers."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
whiche he axide, What werk han ye? Thei answeriden, We thi seruauntis ben kepers of scheep, bothe we and oure faderis;

Young's Literal Translation
and Pharaoh saith unto his brethren, `What [are] your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thy servants [are] feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;'

Update Bible Version
And Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Your slaves are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Pharaoh said to his brethren, What [is] your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Thy servants [are] shepherds, both we, [and] also our fathers.

World English Bible
Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."

New King James Version
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers."

New Living Translation
And Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?" They replied, "We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors.

New Life Bible
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your work?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers."

New Revised Standard
Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Pharaoh said unto the brethren of Joseph - What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh - Feeders of flocks, are thy servants, both we and our fathers.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: We, thy servants, are shepherds, both we and our fathers.

Revised Standard Version
Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers."

Contextual Overview

¹Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan, and they are in the land of Goshen." ²He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. ³And Pharaoh said to his brothers [as Joseph expected], "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers [before us]."⁴Moreover, they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live temporarily (sojourn) in the land [of Egypt], for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants [in our land], for the famine is very severe in Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." ⁵Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶"The 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 of any men of ability among them, put them in charge of my livestock." ⁷Then Joseph brought Jacob (Israel) his father and presented him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸And Pharaoh asked Jacob, "How old are you?" ⁹Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, and they have not reached the years that my fathers lived during the days of their pilgrimage." ¹⁰And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and departed from his presence.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What is: Genesis 46:33, Genesis 46:34, Amos 7:14, Amos 7:15, Jonah 1:8, 2 Thessalonians 3:10

shepherds: Genesis 4:2

Reciprocal: Genesis 46:32 - shepherds

Cross-References

Genesis 4:2
And [later] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept the flocks [of sheep and goats], but Cain cultivated the ground.

Genesis 47:14
Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan [in payment] for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.

Genesis 47:15
And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For our money is gone."

Jonah 1:8
Then they said to him, "Now tell us! Who is to blame for this disaster? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country?"

2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even while we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, what [is] your occupation?.... Which is the question he had told his brethren beforehand would be asked them, and prepared them to give an answer to it, Genesis 46:33; which was perhaps an usual question Pharaoh asked of persons that came to settle in his dominions, that he might have no idle vagrants there, and that he might know of what advantage they were like to be of in his kingdom, and might dispose of them accordingly:

and they said unto Pharaoh, thy servants [are] shepherds, both we [and] also our fathers; see Genesis 46:34.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob in Goshen

11. רעמסס ra‛m^esês, Ra‘meses “son of the sun.”

31. מטה mı̂ṭṭāh, “bed.” מטה maṭṭeh “staff.”

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. “Of the whole of his brethren,” more exactly from the end of his brethren. Five men, a favorite number in Egypt. Shepherds, owners and feeders of sheep and other cattle. “Pasture.” Hence, it appears that the drought had made the grazing extremely scanty. Men of ability, competent to take the oversight of others. “Jacob his father,” he presents before Pharaoh, after he has disposed of all business matters. “Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” This is the patriarch’s grateful return for Pharaoh’s 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. “Pilgrimage” - sojourning, wandering without any constant abode or fixed holding.

Such was the life of the patriarchs in the land of promise Hebrews 11:13. “Few and evil.” Jacob’s 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 father’s 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. “Blessed Pharaoh.” It is possible that this blessing is the same as that already mentioned, now reiterated in its proper place in the narrative. “According to the little ones.” 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. “There was no bread in all the land.” The private stores of the wealthy were probably exhausted. “And Joseph gathered up all the silver.” 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. “And Joseph brought the silver into Pharaoh’s house.” He was merely the steward of Pharaoh in this matter, and made a full return of all the payments that came into his hands. “The silver was spent.” 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 year’s provision and a supply of seed. In this way the lands of Egypt fell into the hands of the crown by a free purchase. “And the people he removed into the cities.” 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. “In the increase ye shall give the fifth to Pharaoh.” This explains at once the extent of their liability, and the security of their liberty and property. They do not become Pharaoh’s 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. “They grew and multiplied exceedingly.” 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. “He called his son Joseph.” 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. “Put thy hand under my thigh” Genesis 24:2. He binds Joseph by a solemn asseveration to carry his mortal remains to the land of promise. “And Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.” 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: ἐπί τὸ ἄκρον τῆσῥάβδον αὐτοῦ epi to ākron akron tēs rabdou autou “on the top of his staff,” 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.