Genesis 47:26
New International Version
So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.

New Living Translation
Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh.

English Standard Version
So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.

Berean Standard Bible
So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

King James Bible
And 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.

New King James Version
And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

New American Standard Bible
Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, valid to this day, that Pharaoh was to have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

NASB 1995
Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

NASB 1977
And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

Amplified Bible
And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt—valid to this day—that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

Christian Standard Bible
So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

American Standard Version
And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's.

Contemporary English Version
Then Joseph made a law that one fifth of the harvest would always belong to the king. Only the priests did not lose their land.

English Revised Version
And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Joseph made a law concerning the land in Egypt which is still in force today: One-fifth [of the produce] belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests didn't belong to Pharaoh.

Good News Translation
So Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the king's property.

International Standard Version
So Joseph crafted a statute concerning Egypt that remains valid to this day that Pharaoh should own a fifth of the produce, excluding the land belonging to the priests, which remained outside of Pharaoh's control.

Majority Standard Bible
So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

NET Bible
So Joseph made it a statute, which is in effect to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.

New Heart English Bible
So Joseph made it a statute still in effect for the land of Egypt, that a fifth must go to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh?s.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.

World English Bible
Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Only the land of the priests alone didn’t become Pharaoh’s.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and Joseph sets it for a statute to this day, concerning the ground of Egypt, [that] Pharaoh has a fifth; only the ground of the priests alone has not become Pharaoh’s.

Young's Literal Translation
and Joseph setteth it for a statute unto this day, concerning the ground of Egypt, that Pharaoh hath a fifth; only the ground of the priests alone hath not become Pharaoh's.

Smith's Literal Translation
And Joseph set it for an ordinance to this day, of the land of Egypt, for a fifth to Pharaoh; only the land of the priests alone was not to Pharaoh.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the king, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.

Catholic Public Domain Version
From that time, even to the present day, in the entire land of Egypt, the fifth part is turned over to the kings, and it has become like a law, except in the land of the priests, which was free from this condition.

New American Bible
Thus Joseph made it a statute for the land of Egypt, which is still in force, that a fifth of its produce should go to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not pass over to Pharaoh.

New Revised Standard Version
So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, for it did not belong to Pharaoh.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Yoseph set it a law until today over the land of Egypt: one fifth is Pharaoh’s; only the land of the Priests was not Pharaoh’s.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Joseph appointed it to them for an ordinance until this day; to reserve a fifth part for Pharao, on the land of Egypt, except only the land of the priests, that was not Pharao's.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Joseph's Leadership During the Famine
25“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

Cross References
Exodus 1:11
So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

Exodus 5:6-9
That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen: / “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw. / But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ...

Leviticus 25:23-28
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me. / Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land. / If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold. ...

Deuteronomy 15:1-6
At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. / This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the LORD’s time of release has been proclaimed. / You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you. ...

Deuteronomy 26:12
When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.

1 Samuel 8:10-18
So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. / He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses, and to run in front of his chariots. / He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ...

1 Kings 4:7
Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,

2 Kings 23:35
So Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh Neco, but to meet Pharaoh’s demand he taxed the land and exacted the silver and the gold from the people, each according to his wealth.

Nehemiah 5:3-5
Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.” / Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. / We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

Isaiah 5:8
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.

Isaiah 10:1-2
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees, / to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.

Ezekiel 45:13-16
This is the contribution you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley. / The prescribed portion of oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath from each cor (a cor consists of ten baths or one homer, since ten baths are equivalent to a homer). / And one sheep shall be given from each flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement for the people, declares the Lord GOD. ...

Matthew 22:17-21
So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” / But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me? / Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. ...

Matthew 25:14-30
For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. / To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey. / The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more. ...

Mark 12:14-17
“Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?” / But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.” / So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered. ...


Treasury of Scripture

And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.

made it a law.

Genesis 47:22,26
Only 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…

Genesis 47:11
And 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.

Genesis 47:19,20
Wherefore 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…

except.

Genesis 47:22
Only 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.

Ezekiel 7:24
Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.

priests.

Genesis 47:30
But 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.

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Genesis 47
1. Joseph presents his father, and five of his brothers before Pharaoh.
11. He gives them habitation and maintenance.
13. He gets the Egyptian's money;
16. their cattle;
18. and their lands, except the priests', to Pharaoh.
23. He restores the land for a fifth.
28. Jacob's age.
29. He swears Joseph to bury him with his fathers.














So to this day it stands
This phrase indicates the enduring nature of the statute established by Joseph. The Hebrew word for "stands" (עָמַד, 'amad) conveys a sense of permanence and stability. Historically, this suggests that the policy Joseph implemented had a lasting impact on Egyptian society, reflecting his wisdom and administrative skill. It underscores the idea that godly wisdom can lead to long-lasting positive outcomes.

a statute in the land of Egypt
The term "statute" (חֹק, choq) refers to a decree or law that is established. In the context of ancient Egypt, this statute was significant because it formalized the economic policy that Joseph, under divine guidance, instituted during the years of famine. This highlights the integration of divine providence with human governance, showing how God's plans can manifest through societal structures.

that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh
The allocation of a fifth (20%) of the produce to Pharaoh was a strategic economic policy. The Hebrew word for "fifth" (חֹמֶשׁ, chomes) indicates a portion that was substantial yet sustainable for the people. This policy ensured that Pharaoh's storehouses were filled, providing security and stability during the famine. It reflects Joseph's foresight and the biblical principle of stewardship, where resources are managed wisely for the benefit of all.

Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s
This exemption for the priests' land is significant. The Hebrew word for "priests" (כֹּהֵן, kohen) denotes those who served in religious capacities. In ancient Egypt, priests held a special status, and their exemption from this statute suggests a respect for religious institutions. This mirrors the biblical theme of honoring those who serve God and the importance of maintaining spiritual integrity even within secular governance.

Verse 26. - And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day (i.e. the day of the narrator), that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's. The account here given of the land tenure in Egypt, viz.,

(1) that after the time of Joseph the kings of Egypt became lords paramount of the soil,

(2) that the only free landholders in the country were the members of the priestly caste, and

(3) that the population generally occupied their farms at the uniform fixed rent of one fifth of their yearly produce, is abundantly corroborated by the statements of Herodotus (2. 109), that Sesostris divided the soil of Egypt among the inhabitants, "assigning square plots of equal size to all, and obtaining his chief revenue from the rent which the holders were required to pay him year by year; of Diodorus Siculus (1. 73), that the land in Egypt belonged either to the priests, to the king, or to the military order; and of Strabo (17. 787), that the peasants were not landowners, but occupiers of ratable land; as also by the monuments, which represent the king, priests, and warriors alone as having landed property (Wilkinson, Ken). Dr. Robinson quotes a modern parallel to this act of Joseph's, which both illustrates its nature and by way of contrast exhibits its clemency. Up to the middle of the present century the people of Egypt had been the owners as well as tillers of the soil. "By a single decree the Pasha (Mohammed Ali) declared himself to be the sole owner of all lands in Egypt; and the people of course became at once-only his tenants at will, or rather his slaves." "The modern Pharaoh made no exceptions, and stripped the mosques and other religious and charitable institutions of their landed endowments as mercilessly as the rest. Joseph gave the people seed to sow, and required for the king only a fifth of the produce, leaving four-fifths to them as their own; but now, though seed is in like manner given out, yet every village is compelled to cultivate two-thirds of its lands with corn and other articles for the Pasha, and also to render back to him, in the form of taxes and exactions in kind, a large proportion of the produce remaining after" ('Biblical Researches,' 1:42).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So Joseph
יוֹסֵ֡ף (yō·w·sêp̄)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3130: Joseph -- 'he increases', a son of Jacob, also the name of several Israelites

established
וַיָּ֣שֶׂם (way·yā·śem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

a law
לְחֹק֩ (lə·ḥōq)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2706: Something prescribed or owed, a statute

that a fifth
לַחֹ֑מֶשׁ (la·ḥō·meš)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2569: A fifth tax

of the produce belongs to Pharaoh,
לְפַרְעֹ֖ה (lə·p̄ar·‘ōh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6547: Pharaoh -- a title of Egypt kings

and it is in effect
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

in
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the land
אַדְמַ֥ת (’aḏ·maṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 127: Ground, land

of Egypt
מִצְרַ֛יִם (miṣ·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

to this
הַזֶּ֜ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

day.
הַיּ֨וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

Only
רַ֞ק (raq)
Adverb
Strong's 7535: But, even, except, howbeit howsoever, at the least, nevertheless

the priests’
הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ (hak·kō·hă·nîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3548: Priest

land
אַדְמַ֤ת (’aḏ·maṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 127: Ground, land

does not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

belong to
הָיְתָ֖ה (hā·yə·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

Pharaoh.
לְפַרְעֹֽה׃ (lə·p̄ar·‘ōh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6547: Pharaoh -- a title of Egypt kings


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OT Law: Genesis 47:26 Joseph made it a statute concerning (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 47:25
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