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Genesis 47:1

in Genesis 47

So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

KJV

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

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This verse in Genesis 47

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

So Joseph went and told Pharaoh

on Genesis 47:1-4

Joseph brings five of his brothers before Pharaoh, and they ask leave to stay in the land for a time. The Hebrew behind it is the word Abraham used of himself at Genesis 23:4, a man living among people who own the ground. They name their trade as shepherds, as Joseph told them to at Genesis 46:34, where every shepherd is detestable to the Egyptians. That contempt keeps Israel in Goshen and apart.

The record, by era

The Reformation1 voice

A commentator

John Calvin

1509–1564

Commentaries (1554)

proposed

That Joseph "brought five from the extreme limits of his brethren," is commonly thus explained, that they who were of least stature were brought into the presence of the king: because it was to be feared lest he might take the stronger into his army.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Christ, our Joseph, disposes of his followers in his kingdom as it is prepared of his Father, saying, It is not mine to give, Matt. xx. The respect which Joseph, as a brother, showed to his brethren, notwithstanding all the unkindness he had formerly received from them.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Joseph . . . told Pharaoh, My father and my brethren--Joseph furnishes a beautiful example of a man who could bear equally well the extremes of prosperity and adversity. High as he was, he did not forget that he had a superior.
- Jacob in Goshen 11. רעמסס ra‛mesês, Ra‘meses “son of the sun.” 31. מטה mı̂ṭṭāh, “bed.” מטה maṭṭeh “staff.” Arrangements are now made for the settlement of Israel in Goshen. The administration of Joseph during the remaining years of the famine is then recorded. For the whole of this period his father and brothers are subject to him, as their political superior, according to the reading of his early dreams. We then approach to the death-bed of Jacob, and hear him binding Joseph by an oath to bury him in the grave of his fathers.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

The land of Goshen refers to the entire land, the land of Rameses (v. 11) to an area within it.
Ibn Ezra: Spain, 1089–1167 · Ibn Ezra on Genesis 47:1:1, via Sefaria, Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיָּבֹ֣אand he went

    vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times

  • יוֹסֵף֮Joseph

    yosefH3130 →213 times

  • וַיַּגֵּ֣דand he told

    vaiyagedH5046 →370 times

  • לְפַרְעֹה֒to Pharaoh

    lefarohH6547 →274 times

  • וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • אָבִ֨יfather my

    ʾaviH1 →1212 times

  • וְאַחַ֜יand brothers my

    veachaiH251 →630 times

  • וְצֹאנָ֤םand flock[s] their

    vetzonamH6629 →274 times

  • וּבְקָרָם֙and herd[s] their

    uvekaramH1241 →183 times

  • וְכָל־and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רthat

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • לָהֶ֔ם[belongs] to them

    lahem

  • בָּ֖אוּthey have come

    bauH935 →2568 times

  • מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom [the] land of

    meeretzH776 →2504 times

  • כְּנָ֑עַןCanaan

    kenaanH3667 →94 times

  • וְהִנָּ֖םand there they

    vehinamH2005 →316 times

  • בְּאֶ֥רֶץ[are] in [the] land of

    beeretzH776 →2504 times

  • גֹּֽשֶׁן׃Goshen

    goshenH1657 →15 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 46:31Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh: ‘My brothers and my father’s household from the land of Canaan have come to me.4 worksGenesis 45:10You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.4 worksGenesis 46:28Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen,3 worksGenesis 46:34you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”2 worksGenesis 45:16When the news reached Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.2 worksExodus 8:22But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Exodus 9:26The only place where it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.2 worksHebrews 2:11For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.2 worksGenesis 47:12Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Genesis 46:28

    Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen,

    it leads to

    • Genesis 45:10

      You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Genesis 31:21

      So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

  • Through

    Genesis 45:10

    You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 46:34

      you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Exodus 8:22

      But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I,…

    • Exodus 9:26

      The only place where it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

    • Genesis 46:28–29

      Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen,

  • Through

    Genesis 46:34

    you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 8:26

      But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable…

    • Genesis 43:32

      They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.

About Genesis

The Garden of Eden, Thomas Cole, 1828, Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Public domain.
The Garden of Eden, Thomas Cole, 1828, Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 47 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 47 →