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Genesis 47:3

in Genesis 47

“What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

KJV

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

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This verse in Genesis 47

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Calvin

1509–1564

Commentaries (1554)

Thy servants are shepherds. This confession was humiliating to the sons of Jacob, and especially to Joseph himself, whose high, and almost regal dignity, was thus marked with a spot of disgrace: for among the Egyptians (as we have said) this kind of life was disgraceful and infamous.

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

both we and our fathers

The brothers call themselves your servants before Pharaoh, the title Judah used before Joseph at 44:18. Their answer sets the trade in the line of Abraham, whose wealth at 13:2 was counted first in livestock. Shepherding is their inheritance.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Those that need not work for their bread must yet have something to do, to keep them from idleness. Again, Magistrates should enquire into the occupation of their subjects, as those that have the care of the public welfare; for idle people are as drones in the hive, unprofitable burdens of the commonwealth.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

What is your occupation? - Pharaoh takes it for granted they had something to do. All that have a place in the world should have an employment in it according to their capacity, some occupation or other.
And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, what is your occupation?....

The words behind it

16 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.

  • וַיֹּ֧אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • פַּרְעֹ֛הPharaoh

    parohH6547 →274 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אֶחָ֖יוbrothers his

    ʾechavH251 →630 times

  • מַה־what?

    mah-H4100 →752 times

  • מַּעֲשֵׂיכֶ֑ם[are] work<s> your

    maaseikhemH4639 →236 times

  • וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said

    vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • פַּרְעֹ֗הPharaoh

    parohH6547 →274 times

  • רֹעֵ֥ה[are] herder[s] of

    roehH7462 →177 times

  • צֹאן֙sheep

    tzonH6629 →274 times

  • עֲבָדֶ֔יךָservants your

    ʾavadeikhaH5650 →799 times

  • גַּם־both

    gam-H1571 →769 times

  • אֲנַ֖חְנוּwe

    ʾanachnuH587 →120 times

  • גַּם־as well as

    gam-H1571 →769 times

  • אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ׃fathers our

    ʾavoteinuH1 →1212 times

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

Related verses

6 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.

Jonah 1:8“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”10 worksGenesis 46:33–34When Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’4 worksGenesis 4:2Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.3 worksGenesis 46:32The men are shepherds; they raise livestock, and they have brought their flocks and herds and all that they own.’3 worksAmos 7:14–15“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.2 works2 Thessalonians 3:10For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”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

    2 Thessalonians 3:10

    For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”

    it leads to

    • Genesis 3:19

      By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

    • 1 Thessalonians 4:11

      and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

    • Proverbs 13:4

      The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

    • Proverbs 20:4

      The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

    • Proverbs 21:25

      The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.

  • Through

    Jonah 1:8

    “Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 30:13

      Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I…

    • Joshua 7:19

      So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not…

    • James 5:16

      Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

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

Read on in Genesis 47 →