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Genesis 47:6
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
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- CondensedParallel Translations
The land of Mitzrayim is before you. Make your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my cattle."
The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
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 there is among them men of ability, then appoint them overseers of my own livestock."
and you may choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land; let them live in the land of Goshen. And if any of them are skilled shepherds, put them in charge of my sheep and cattle."
The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."
"The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."
The lande of Egypt is before thee: in the best place of the land make thy father & thy brethren dwel: let the dwel in the land of Goshen: & if thou knowest that there be men of actiuitie among them, make them rulers ouer my cattell.
The land of Egypt is at your disposal; have your father and your brothers settle in the best of the land, let them settle in the land of Goshen; and if you know any excellent men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."
I will let them live anywhere they choose in the land of Egypt, but I suggest that they settle in Goshen, the best part of our land. I would also like for your finest shepherds to watch after my own sheep and goats."
and the land of Egypt lies before you. Have your father and brothers live on the best property in the country — let them live in the land of Goshen. Moreover, if you know that some of them are particularly competent, put them in charge of my livestock."
The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land settle thy father and thy brethren: let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if thou knowest men of activity among them, then set them as overseers of cattle over what I have.
You can choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if they are skilled shepherds, they can also care for my cattle."
The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."
The land of Egypt is before you settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen; and if you know of any able men among them make them overseers over all my cattle.
the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. And if there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock."
the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
The land of Egypt is before you; cause your father and your brothers to live in the best of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen. And if you know men of ability among them,make them chiefs of livestock over what
the lande of Egipte is open before the, let them dwell in the best place of the lande, & se yt they dwell euen in the lande of Gosen. And yf thou knowest that there be men of actiuyte amoge the, make the rulers of my catell.
the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
And Jacob and his sons came to Joseph in Egypt, and when word of it came to the ears of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, he said to Joseph, Your father and brothers have come to you; all the land of Egypt is before you; let your father and your brothers have the best of the land for their resting-place.
The lande of Egypt is before thee: In the best place of the lande make both thy father and thy brethren dwell, eue in the land of Gosen let them dwel. Moreouer, if thou knowest any man of actiuitie amongest them, make them rulers ouer my [cattell].
the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell. And if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.'
The land of Egypt is before thee: in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell, in the lande of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any man of actiuitie amongst them, then make them rulers ouer my cattell.
Behold, the land of Egypt is before thee; settle thy father and thy brethren in the best land.
the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock."
the lond of Egipt is in thi siyt, make thou hem to dwelle in the beste place, and yyue thou to hem the lond of Gessen; that if thou woost that witti men ben in hem, ordeyne thou hem maystris of my beestis.
the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land cause thy father and thy brethren to dwell -- they dwell in the land of Goshen, and if thou hast known, and there are among them men of ability, then thou hast set them heads over the cattle I have.'
Look, the land of Egypt is before you. You may settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land.
The land of Egypt [is] before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest [any] men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
The land of Egypt is before you. Make your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my cattle."
The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock."
choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too."
The land of Egypt is in front of you. Have your father and your brothers live in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if you know any able men among them, put my cattle in their care."
The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."
The land of Egypt, is, before thee, in the best of the land, cause thou thy father and thy brethren to dwell, - let them dwell in the land of Goshen, And if thou knowest that there are among them men of ability, then shalt thou set them as chieftains of cattle over mine.
The land of Egypt is before thee: and make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.
The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen; and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my cattle."
"The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
is: Genesis 47:11, Genesis 13:9, Genesis 20:15, Genesis 34:10, Genesis 45:18-20, Proverbs 21:1, John 17:2
Goshen: Genesis 47:4, Genesis 47:11
men of activity: Anshey chayil, men of strength, power, ability, or prowess. It implies both fitness of mind and body; and so valour, prudence, diligence, and virtue.
rulers: Exodus 18:21, 1 Samuel 21:7, 1 Chronicles 27:29-31, 2 Chronicles 26:10, Proverbs 22:29
cattle: Mikneh, from kanah, to posses, signifies property or possession of any kind, though it frequently is used for cattle, because in ancient times they constituted the principal part of a man's possessions. Genesis 47:16, Exodus 9:3-6, Exodus 9:10, Exodus 9:21
Reciprocal: Genesis 45:11 - General Deuteronomy 23:7 - because thou 1 Chronicles 27:30 - the Ishmaelite Psalms 105:23 - Jacob
Cross-References
"Is not the entire land before you? Please separate [yourself] from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left."
So Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please."
"In this way you shall live with us; the country will be open to you; live and do business in it and acquire property and possessions in it."
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]."
Moreover, 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."
"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."
So Joseph settled his father and brothers and gave them a possession in Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses (Goshen), as Pharaoh commanded.
Joseph said, "Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since the money is gone."
When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord [the fact] that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh's.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The land of Egypt [is] before thee,.... To choose what part of it he should judge most suitable and agreeable to his father and brethren:
in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell, in the land of Goshen let them dwell; as is requested; and which was, as Pharaoh here suggests, the best part of the land, the most fertile and fruitful, and the fittest for cattle, being full of pastures through the river Nile and the canals of it, and Goshen being the most fertile portion in the land of Rameses, as in Genesis 47:11; this, Dr. Shaw observes k, could be no other than what lay within two or three leagues at the most from the Nile, because the rest of the Egyptian Arabia, which reaches beyond the influence of this river to the eastward, is a barren inhospitable wilderness:
and if thou knowest [any] man of activity among them; strong in body, and of great parts, and endowments of mind, and of great skill, and diligence, and industry in the management of flocks and herds:
then make them rulers over my cattle; or "rulers of cattle over those that are mine" l: that is, over his shepherds, to take care that they do their work well and faithfully: from whence it appears that Pharaoh had flocks and herds and shepherds; and therefore it cannot be thought that the Egyptians in those times abstained from eating of animals, or that all shepherds, without exception, were an abomination to them, only foreign ones that lived on spoil and plunder, and made excursions into their country for such purposes: the office he assigned to men of skill and industry was like that which Doeg the Edomite was in, who was the chief of the herdsmen of Saul, 1 Samuel 21:7.
k Travels, p. 306. l ×©×¨× ××§× × ×¢× ×שר ×× "magistros pecuariae super illos, qui sunt mihi", Junius Tremellius, Piscator so Schmidt and Answorth.
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 47:6. In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell] So it appears that the land of Goshen was the best of the land of Egypt.
Men of activity — ×× ×©× ××× anshey chayil, stout or robust men - such as were capable of bearing fatigue, and of rendering their authority respectable.
Rulers over my cattle. — ××§× × mikneh signifies not only cattle, but possessions or property of any kind; though most usually cattle are intended, because in ancient times they constituted the principal part of a man's property. The word may be taken here in a more extensive sense, and the circumstances of the case seem obviously to require it. If every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians, however we may understand or qualify the expression, is it to be supposed that Pharaoh should desire that the brethren of his prime minister, of his chief favourite, should be employed in some of the very meanest offices in the land? We may therefore safely understand Pharaoh as expressing his will, that the brethren of Joseph should be appointed as overseers or superintendents of his domestic concerns, while Joseph superintended those of the state.
