Jacob Settles in Goshen
1. So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”
2. And he took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
3. Then Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”
“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”
4. And they also said to Pharaoh, “We have come to reside in this land for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan, and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”
5. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and brothers have come to you,
6. and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
7. Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8. “How old are you?” Pharaoh asked Jacob.
9. Jacob answered, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.”
10. So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.
11. Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food for their little ones.
The Famine Continues
13. But there was no food in the whole region because the famine was so severe; both Egypt and Canaan languished under the famine.
14. Joseph collected all the money to be found in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for the grain they were purchasing, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.
15. And when all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is gone!”
16. “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.”
17. So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18. When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.
19. Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
20. So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s,
21. and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.
22. However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they had a fixed allotment from Pharaoh and lived off the allotment he had given them. Therefore they did not sell their land.
23. Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you to sow the land.
24. And when you harvest the crops, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the remaining four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”
25. “You have saved our lives!” they exclaimed. “We have found favor in the sight of our lord and will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
26. 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.
The Israelites Prosper in Goshen
27. Meanwhile, the Israelites settled in the land of Goshen, where they acquired property and flourished; they numbered about seventy in all.
28. Now Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so that the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred and forty-seven.
29. When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
30. but when I rest with my fathers, carry me away from Egypt and bury me with them.”
“I will do as you have requested,” Joseph replied.
31. “Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.