Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen

1Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.” 2And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.” 4They also said to Pharaoh, “We have come to reside in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” 5Then Pharaoh said to [a]Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6The land of Egypt is [b]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 [c]put them in charge of my livestock.”

7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and [d]presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many [e]years have you lived?” 9So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The [f]years of my living abroad are [g]130; few and [h]unpleasant have been the [i]years of my life, nor have they [j]attained the [k]years [l]that my fathers lived during the days of their living abroad.” 10So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from [m]his presence. 11Now Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 12Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with [n]food, according to the [o]number of their little ones.

13Now there was no [p]food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14And Joseph collected 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. 15When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, “Give us [q]food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is [r]gone.” 16Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money is [s]gone.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them [t]food in exchange for the horses and the [u]flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he [v]fed them with [w]food in exchange for all their livestock [x]that year. 18But when that year ended, they came to him the [y]next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord the fact that our money is all spent, and the [z]livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left [aa]for my lord except our bodies and our lands. 19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for [ab]food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

Result of the Famine

20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for [ac]every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21As for the people, he relocated them to the cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. 22Only the land of the priests he did not buy, because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they [ad]lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, today I have purchased you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. 24[ae]At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and [af]four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food, and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 25So they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26Joseph 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 [ag]did not become Pharaoh’s.

27Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in [ah]Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years; so the [ai]length of Jacob’s life was 147 years.

29When [aj]the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh now and deal with me in kindness and [ak]faithfulness: please do not bury me in Egypt, 30but when I [al]lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31And he said, “Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.

[a] 5 Lit Joseph, saying
[b] 6 Lit before you
[c] 6 Lit appoint them rulers
[d] 7 Lit set him before
[e] 8 Lit are the days of the years of your life
[f] 9 Lit days of the years
[g] 9 Lit 130 years
[h] 9 Lit evil
[i] 9 Lit days of the years
[j] 9 Lit reached
[k] 9 Lit days of the years
[l] 9 Lit of the life of my fathers
[m] 10 Lit Pharaoh’s
[n] 12 Or bread
[o] 12 Lit mouth
[p] 13 Or bread
[q] 15 Or bread
[r] 15 Lit at an end
[s] 16 Lit at an end
[t] 17 Or bread
[u] 17 Lit livestock of the flocks and livestock of the herds
[v] 17 Lit led them as a shepherd
[w] 17 Or bread
[x] 17 Lit in that year
[y] 18 Lit second
[z] 18 Lit livestock of the cattle
[aa] 18 Lit in the presence of
[ab] 19 Or bread
[ac] 20 Lit Egypt, every man
[ad] 22 Lit ate their allotment
[ae] 24 Lit It shall come about...that you shall
[af] 24 Lit four parts
[ag] 26 Lit alone did
[ah] 27 Lit the land of Goshen
[ai] 28 Lit days of Jacob, the years of his life
[aj] 29 Lit the days of Israel
[ak] 29 Lit truth
[al] 30 I.e., die