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Genesis 47:2

in Genesis 47

And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

KJV

And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

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This verse in Genesis 47

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

He took some of his brethren - There is something very strange in the original; literally translated it signifies “from the end or extremity (מקצה miktseh) of his brethren he took five men.” This has been understood six different ways. 1. Joseph took five of his brethren that came first to hand - at random, without design or choice. 2. Joseph took five of the meanest-looking of his brethren to present before Pharaoh, fearing if he had taken the sightliest that Pharaoh would detain them for his service, whereby their religion and morals might be corrupted.

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.

This site's exposition

he chose five of his brothers

The text leaves the five unnamed. Joseph brings a few of the eleven, enough to answer for the family before the throne. The number five runs through his dealings, five sets of clothes for Benjamin at 45:22 and a fifth of the harvest at 41:34.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And he took some of his brethren,....

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

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

8 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.

  • וּמִקְצֵ֣הand from [the] end of

    umiktzehH7097 →97 times

  • אֶחָ֔יוbrothers his

    ʾechavH251 →630 times

  • לָקַ֖חhe took

    lakachH3947 →966 times

  • חֲמִשָּׁ֣הfive

    chamishahH2568 →343 times

  • אֲנָשִׁ֑יםmen

    ʾanashimH582 →566 times

  • וַיַּצִּגֵ֖םand he presented them

    vaiyatzigemH3322 →16 times

  • לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • פַרְעֹֽה׃Pharaoh

    farohH6547 →274 times

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

Related verses

4 in all, six open

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

    Jude 1:24

    Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

    it leads to

    • 2 Timothy 4:18

      And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

    • Ephesians 3:20

      Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,

    • Colossians 1:22

      But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

    • John 10:29–30

      My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

    • Hebrews 13:20–21

      Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

  • Through

    Colossians 1:28

    We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 5:27

      and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

    • Jeremiah 3:15

      Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

    • Ephesians 4:11–13

      And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 47 →