Genesis 47

Genesis 47 continues the account of Jacob's family settling in Egypt during the severe famine.

Joseph presented five of his brothers and his father Jacob to Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asked the brothers about their occupation, they identified themselves as shepherds and requested permission to settle in the land of Goshen, explaining that the famine had devastated their homeland of Canaan. Pharaoh welcomed them warmly and instructed Joseph to settle his family in the best part of Egypt (specifically in the region of Rameses) and to put any capable men among them in charge of Pharaoh's own livestock.

Joseph then brought his father Jacob before Pharaoh for a formal introduction. The elderly patriarch blessed Pharaoh when meeting him and when leaving. When Pharaoh asked about Jacob's age, Jacob responded that he had lived 130 years, describing his life as a pilgrimage of few and difficult years that hadn't matched the lifespan of his ancestors.

As the famine deepened and people exhausted their money to buy grain, Joseph accepted their livestock as payment. When their animals were gone, the people offered their land and themselves as servants to Pharaoh in exchange for food and seed. Through this process, Joseph centralized almost all of Egypt's land ownership under Pharaoh — with the notable exception of the priests' land, which Pharaoh had decreed should remain in their possession.

Joseph established a new economic system in which the people became tenant farmers on what was formerly their own land, paying one-fifth of their harvest to Pharaoh while keeping four-fifths for themselves. The people expressed gratitude for this arrangement, recognizing that Joseph had saved their lives. Meanwhile, the Israelites prospered in Goshen — acquiring property, becoming fruitful, and multiplying greatly — in stark contrast to the economic hardship experienced by the broader Egyptian population.

Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years, reaching the age of 147. As his death approached, he called Joseph to him and made him swear an oath. Jacob told Joseph not to bury him in Egypt but instead carry his body back to the burial place of his fathers in Canaan. Joseph agreed to this, and Jacob bowed in worship at the head of his bed.