Genesis 47:21
in Genesis 47and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
KJV
And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
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This verse in Genesis 47
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd as for the people, he removed them to cities - It is very likely that Joseph was influenced by no political motive in removing the people to the cities, but merely by a motive of humanity and prudence. As the corn was laid up in the cities he found it more convenient to bring them to the place where they might be conveniently fed; each being within the reach of an easy distribution.
This site's exposition
The land became Pharaoh's
on Genesis 47:20-21
Joseph acquires for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt, and the Egyptians sell their fields to eat. The people themselves are reduced to servitude across the whole country. The Hebrew as pointed reads that he moved them into the cities, and the Samaritan and Greek copies read servitude. Joseph buys a country for his king, while the sons promised Canaan hold one field and one burial cave.
This site's exposition
reduced the people to servitude
Egypt becomes a land where every farmer serves the king. Exodus 20:2 calls it the house of slavery, and Israel will learn that name from inside it. Leviticus 25:23 answers with a law that no field in Israel is sold for ever, for the land belongs to the LORD.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
According to the trustworthiness of Scripture, no Egyptian was free. For "Pharaoh reduced the people to slavery to himself," nor did he leave anyone free within the borders of the Egyptians, but freedom was taken away in all the land of Egypt. And perhaps for this reason it is written, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Egypt, therefore, became the house of bondage and, what is more unfortunate, of voluntary bondage.For although it is related of the Hebrews that they were reduced to bondage and that, freedom having been snatched away, they bore the yoke of tyranny, nevertheless they are said to have been brought to this state "violently." For it is written, "The Egyptians abhorred the children of Israel, and with might the Egyptians violently oppressed the sons of Israel and afflicted their life with hard works in mud and brick, and with all the works which were in the plains, in all of which they reduced them to bondage by force." Notice carefully, therefore, how the Hebrews are recorded to have been reduced to bondage "violently." There was a natural freedom in them which was not wrenched away from them easily or by some deception but by force.
If, therefore, we understand these words spiritually concerning the bondage of the Egyptians, we recognize that to serve the Egyptians is nothing other than to become submissive to carnal vices and to be subjected to demons. At any rate, no necessity coming from without forces anyone into this state. Rather, the sluggishness of the soul and the lust and pleasure of the body overcome each one. The soul, by its own carelessness, subjects itself to this.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And as for the people, he removed them,....
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶ֨ת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הֶעֱבִ֥יר | heevir | he brought in | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לֶעָרִ֑ים | learim | to the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִקְצֵ֥ה | miktzeh | from [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| גְבוּל־ | gevul- | [the] territory of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| קָצֵֽהוּ׃ | katzehu | end its | H7097 → | 97 times |
וְאֶ֨ת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הֶעֱבִ֥ירhe brought in
heevirH5674 →556 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
לֶעָרִ֑יםto the cities
learimH5892 →1090 times
מִקְצֵ֥הfrom [the] end of
miktzehH7097 →97 times
גְבוּל־[the] territory of
gevul-H1366 →240 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְעַד־and to
vead-H5704 →1261 times
קָצֵֽהוּ׃end its
katzehuH7097 →97 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
1 stopEach 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 41:48During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it.
it leads to
- Genesis 41:34–36
Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
- Genesis 41:34–36
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 16.1 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 16.2.