JOSEPH'S STEWARDSHIP

Passage: Genesis 46:31-47:27

Key verse: 47:25a

NIV

31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan,(A) have come to me.(B) 32 The men are shepherds;(C) they tend livestock,(D) and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’(E) 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’(F) 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants(G) have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’(H) Then you will be allowed to settle(I) in the region of Goshen,(J) for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.(K)”

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan(L) and are now in Goshen.”(M) 2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them(N) before Pharaoh.

3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”(O)

“Your servants(P) are shepherds,(Q)” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” 4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,(R) because the famine is severe in Canaan(S) and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.(T) So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”(U)

5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle(V) your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.(W) Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,(X) put them in charge of my own livestock.(Y)”

7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him(Z) before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed[a] Pharaoh,(AA) 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.(AB) My years have been few and difficult,(AC) and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.(AD)” 10 Then Jacob blessed[b] Pharaoh(AE) and went out from his presence.

11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,(AF) the district of Rameses,(AG) as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.(AH)

Joseph and the Famine

13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.(AI) 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,(AJ) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.(AK) 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,(AL) all Egypt came to Joseph(AM) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?(AN) Our money is all gone.”

16 “Then bring your livestock,(AO)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.(AP)” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,(AQ) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.(AR) And he brought them through that year 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 the fact that since our money is gone(AS) and our livestock belongs to you,(AT) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes(AU)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,(AV) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.(AW) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,(AX) 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 too severe(AY) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,[c](AZ) from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests,(BA) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment(BB) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed(BC) for you so you can plant the ground.(BD) 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth(BE) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;(BF) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”(BG)

26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth(BH) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.(BI)

27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.(BJ) They acquired property there(BK) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.(BL)

Footnotes
  1. Genesis 47:7 Or greeted
  2. Genesis 47:10 Or said farewell to
  3. Genesis 47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, (A)“I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 (B)And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you and says, (C)‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you shall say, (D)‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock (E)from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell (F)in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is (G)an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen

47 So Joseph (H)went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in (I)the land of Goshen.” 2 And from among his brothers he took five men and (J)presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, (K)“What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, (L)“Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, (M)“We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell (N)in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers (O)in the best of the land. (P)Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any (Q)able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, (R)and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my (S)sojourning are 130 years. (T)Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and (U)they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their (V)sojourning.” 10 And Jacob (W)blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of (X)Rameses, (Y)as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph (Z)provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

Joseph and the Famine

13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 (AA)And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. (AB)Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? (AC)Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them[a] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 (AD)Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.

23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a (AE)fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; (AF)may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; (AG)the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.

27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, (AH)in the land of Goshen. (AI)And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

Footnotes
  1. Genesis 47:21 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew he removed them to the cities
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Jobs for Joseph's brothers (46:31-47:12)

Joseph did not have political ambitions for himself or for his family. He did not use his great power to enable his family to live easy lives. He provided for them, but he did not put them on government payroll. They were shepherds, an occupation despised by the Egyptians. So he arranged for them to settle in Goshen, where there was good pasture land. There they lived apart from the Egyptians and grew into a multitude, keeping their Israelite identity. Jacob's pilgrimage was coming to an end. He had grown from a man of struggle into a man of blessing.

2. Joseph saves many lives (47:13-27)

Joseph controlled all the food sources in the time of famine. He had the power of life and death over the people of Egypt. He used his power to save life. He fed the people, but he did not teach them a beggar's mentality or plant a spirit of rebellion. Because of Joseph's wisdom the people were thankful, and were loyal to Pharaoh.

Prayer: Lord, help me to live before you and be a wise steward.

One Word: Be a steward of God's grace