The big picture
Jacob's household settles in Goshen while famine deepens. Joseph's administration preserves food access but also concentrates money, livestock and land under Pharaoh. The chapter ends with Jacob asking to be buried in Canaan.
Scripture beside the summary
Genesis · King James Version · 31Genesis 47:1-12
A family before Pharaoh
Joseph presents relatives and then Jacob to Pharaoh. Jacob calls his years a pilgrimage and blesses the king. The family receives a place to live and provision. The elderly migrant is neither erased nor reduced to a passive recipient; his blessing frames the royal meeting.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 2 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all…” Naming Canaan and Goshen keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their…” Naming Canaan and Goshen keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” Naming Jacob and Pharaoh keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.” Naming Pharaoh and Jacob keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their…” Naming Joseph keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
The movement opens with “Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks…” By verse 3, the text has turned to “And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy…” It lands on “The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to…” The distance between those lines matters as much as any isolated phrase. The passage has a voice and pulse of its own, including 4 verses with a speech marker, 1 question. Those features reveal where the narrative slows down, speaks directly, or changes direction.
Genesis 47:1-12
King James Version1Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6The 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.
7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.
Genesis 47:13-26
The cost of surviving famine
As money and livestock are exhausted, Egyptians exchange land and service for food. Joseph supplies seed and establishes a fifth of produce for Pharaoh, while priestly lands remain exempt. The people express gratitude for survival, but the narrative also records a major concentration of royal power.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 2 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of…” Naming Canaan and Egypt keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.” Naming Give and Joseph keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
“Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their…” Naming Pharaoh and Only keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the…” Naming Pharaoh and Egypt keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
The movement opens with “And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of…” By verse 16, the text has turned to “And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.” It lands on “Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for…” The distance between those lines matters as much as any isolated phrase. The passage has a voice and pulse of its own, including 3 verses with a speech marker, 2 questions, 1 stated contrast. Those features reveal where the narrative slows down, speaks directly, or changes direction.
Genesis 47:13-26
King James Version13And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.
15And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
16And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
20And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.
21And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.
26And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.
Genesis 47:27-31
A burial promise
Israel's family grows in Egypt. After seventeen years there, Jacob makes Joseph swear not to bury him in Egypt but with his fathers. Material security in Goshen does not replace attachment to the ancestral promise and burial place.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and…” Naming Egypt and Goshen keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.” The number hundred makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
Genesis 47:27-31
King James Version27And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
29And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
30But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Genesis 47:1 begins with “Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land…”
Where the chapter turns
Genesis 47:15 forms a natural hinge: “And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die…”
The final note
Genesis 47:31 leaves the reader with “And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words land, Pharaoh, Joseph, Egypt, brethren, cattle help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
How does Jacob describe his life to Pharaoh?
As a pilgrimage, with years he calls few and difficult compared with his ancestors.
What tension does the famine policy create?
People survive, while land and economic dependence increasingly belong to Pharaoh.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Can we identify Joseph's Pharaoh?
Genesis names Joseph's Egyptian office, wife, father-in-law and age when he enters service, but it does not name the king or dynasty. Proposed identifications depend on larger chronological reconstructions and remain debated. Egyptian artifacts can illuminate practices without identifying the biblical participants.
Genesis 41:14,42-46 · Genesis 47:13-26