the Second Week after Easter
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Updated Bible Version
Genesis 47:23
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Then Yosef said to the people, "Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Par`oh. Behold, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
And Joseph said to the people, "Look, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you so you can sow the land.
Joseph said to the people, "Now I have bought you and your land for the king, so I will give you seed and you can plant your fields.
Joseph said to the people, "Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you shall plant the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, today I have purchased you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land.
Then Ioseph sayd vnto the people, Behold, I haue bought you this daye, and your lande for Pharaoh: lo, here is seede for you: sowe therefore the grounde.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, "You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant,
Then Yosef said to the people, "As of today I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you to sow the land.
And Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and sow the land.
Joseph said to the people, "Now I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. So I will give you seed, and you can plant your fields.
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.
Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your lands for Pharaoh; 1o, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Joseph said to the people, "You see, I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields.
Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land.
And Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you and your land today. Behold! Here is seed for you; and you sow the land.
Then sayde Ioseph vnto the people: Beholde, I haue taken possession of you and youre lande this daye for Pharao, Beholde, there haue ye sede, sowe the londe,
Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, I have made you and your land this day the property of Pharaoh; here is seed for you to put in your fields.
Then Ioseph sayde vnto the folke: beholde, I haue bought you this daye and your lande for Pharao: Lo, here is seede for you, & ye shall sowe the land.
Then Joseph said unto the people: 'Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
Then Ioseph said vnto the people, Behold, I haue bought you this day, and your land for Pharaoh: Loe, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
And Joseph said to all the Egyptians, Behold, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharao; take seed for you, and sow the land.
Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land.
Therfor Joseph seide to the puplis, Lo! as ye seen, Farao weldith bothe you and youre lond; take ye seedis, and `sowe ye feeldis,
And Joseph saith unto the people, `Lo, I have bought you to-day and your ground for Pharaoh; lo, seed for you, and ye have sown the ground,
Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, [here is] seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields.
Then Joseph said to the people, "See, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you to plant in the fields.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land.
And Joseph said unto the people, Lo! I have bought you this day, and your ground for Pharaoh, - see, here is seed for you, so shall ye sow the ground;
Then Joseph said to the people: Behold, as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao; take seed and sow the fields,
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.
Joseph then announced to the people: "Here's how things stand: I've bought you and your land for Pharaoh. In exchange I'm giving you seed so you can plant the ground. When the crops are harvested, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and keep four-fifths for yourselves, for seed for yourselves and your families—you're going to be able to feed your children!"
Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
bought: Genesis 47:19
here is seed: Genesis 41:27, Genesis 45:6, Psalms 41:1, Psalms 107:36, Psalms 107:37, Psalms 112:5, Proverbs 11:26, Proverbs 12:11, Proverbs 13:23, Ecclesiastes 11:6, Isaiah 28:24, Isaiah 28:25, Isaiah 55:10, Matthew 24:45, 2 Corinthians 9:10
Cross-References
And the seven lean and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven thin ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine.
For these two years has the famine been in the land: and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest.
And it shall come to pass at the ingatherings, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
And they said, You have saved our lives: let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considers the poor: Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
It is well with the man that deals graciously and lends; He shall maintain his cause in judgment.
He that withholds grain, the people shall curse him; But blessing shall be on the head of him that sells it.
He that tills his land shall have plenty of bread; But he that follows after vanities is void of understanding.
Much food [is in] the tillage of the poor; But there is that which is destroyed by reason of injustice.
In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don't withhold your hand; for you don't know which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Then Joseph said unto the people,.... After he had bought their land, and before the removal of them to distant parts:
behold, I have bought you this day, and your land, for Pharaoh: which he observes to them, that they might take notice of it, and confirm it, or object if they had anything to say to the contrary:
lo, [here is] seed for you, and ye shall sow the land: by which it should seem that they were not removed from the spot where they lived, but retained their own land under Pharaoh, and had seed given them to sow it with, which may seem contrary to Genesis 47:21; wherefore that must be understood of a purpose and proposal to remove them, and not that it was actually done; or, as Musculus gives the sense, Joseph by a public edict called all the people from the extreme parts of Egypt to the cities nearest to them, and there proclaimed the subjection of them, and their lands to Pharaoh, but continued them to them as tenants of his; unless it should be said, that in those distant parts to which they were sent, land was put into their hands to till and manure for the king, and have seed given them to sow it with; but this seems to be said to them at the same time the bargain was made.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacob in Goshen
11. רע×סס raâmeseÌs, Raâmeses âson of the sun.â
31. ××× mıÌtÌ£tÌ£aÌh, âbed.â ××× matÌ£tÌ£eh âstaff.â
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.
Genesis 47:1-12
Joseph announces to Pharaoh the arrival of his kindred. âOf the whole of his brethren,â more exactly from the end of his brethren. Five men, a favorite number in Egypt. Shepherds, owners and feeders of sheep and other cattle. âPasture.â Hence, it appears that the drought had made the grazing extremely scanty. Men of ability, competent to take the oversight of others. âJacob his father,â he presents before Pharaoh, after he has disposed of all business matters. âJacob blessed Pharaoh.â This is the patriarchâs grateful return for Pharaohâs great kindness and generosity toward him and his house. He is conscious of even a higher dignity than that of Pharaoh, as he is a prince of God; and as such he bestows his precious benediction. Pharaoh was struck with his venerable appearance, and inquired what was his age. âPilgrimageâ - sojourning, wandering without any constant abode or fixed holding.
Such was the life of the patriarchs in the land of promise Hebrews 11:13. âFew and evil.â Jacobâs years at this time were far short of those of Abraham and Isaac, not to speak of more ancient men. Much bitterness also had been mingled in his cup from the time that he beguiled his brother of the birthright and the blessing, which would have come to him in a lawful way if he had only waited in patience. Obliged to flee for his life from his fatherâs house, serving seven years for a beloved wife, and balked in his expected recompense by a deceitful father-in-law, serving seven long years more for the object of his affections, having his wages changed ten times during the six years of his further toil for a maintenance, afflicted by the dishonor of his only daughter, the reckless revenge taken by Simon and Levi, the death of his beloved wife in childbed, the disgraceful incest of Reuben, the loss of Joseph himself for twenty-two years, and the present famine with all its anxieties - Jacob, it must be confessed, has become acquainted with no small share of the ills of life. âBlessed Pharaoh.â It is possible that this blessing is the same as that already mentioned, now reiterated in its proper place in the narrative. âAccording to the little ones.â This means either in proportion to the number in each household, or with all the tenderness with which a parent provides for his infant offspring.
Genesis 47:13-26
Joseph introduces remarkable changes into the relation of the sovereign and the people of Egypt. âThere was no bread in all the land.â The private stores of the wealthy were probably exhausted. âAnd Joseph gathered up all the silver.â The old stores of grain and the money, which had flowed into the country during the years of plenty, seem to have lasted for five years. âAnd Joseph brought the silver into Pharaohâs house.â He was merely the steward of Pharaoh in this matter, and made a full return of all the payments that came into his hands. âThe silver was spent.â The famishing people have no more money; but they must have bread. Joseph is fertile in expedients. He proposes to take their cattle. This was really a relief to the people, as they had no means of providing them with fodder. The value of commodities is wholly altered by a change of circumstances. Pearls will not purchase a cup of water in a vast and dreary wilderness. Cattle become worthless when food becomes scarce, and the means of procuring it are exhausted. For their cattle Joseph supplies them with food during the sixth year.
Genesis 47:18-20
The seventh year is now come. The silver and cattle are now gone. Nothing remains but their lands, and with these themselves as the serfs of the soil. Accordingly they make this offer to Joseph, which he cannot refuse. Hence, it is evident that Pharaoh had as yet no legal claim to the soil. In primeval times the first entrants into an unoccupied country became, by a natural custom, the owners of the grounds they held and cultivated. The mere nomad, who roamed over a wide range of country, where his flocks merely cropped the spontaneous herbage, did not soon arrive at the notion of private property in land. But the husbandman, who settled on a promising spot, broke up the soil, and sowed the seed, felt he had acquired by his labor a title to the acres he had cultivated and permanently occupied, and this right was instinctively acknowledged by others. Hence, each cultivator grew into the absolute owner of his own farm. Hence, the lands of Egypt belonged to the peasantry of the country, and were at their disposal. These lands had now become valueless to those who had neither provisions for themselves nor seed for their ground. They willingly part with them, therefore, for a yearâs provision and a supply of seed. In this way the lands of Egypt fell into the hands of the crown by a free purchase. âAnd the people he removed into the cities.â This is not an act of arbitrary caprice, but a wise and kind measure for the more convenient nourishment of the people until the new arrangements for the cultivation of the soil should be completed. The priestly class were sustained by a state allowance, and therefore, were not obliged to alienate their lands. Hence, they became by this social revolution a privileged order. The military class were also exempted most probably from the surrender of their patrimonial rights, as they were maintained on the crown lands.
Genesis 47:23-26
I have bought you. - He had bought their lands, and so they might be regarded, in some sort, as the servants of Pharaoh, or the serfs of the soil. âIn the increase ye shall give the fifth to Pharaoh.â This explains at once the extent of their liability, and the security of their liberty and property. They do not become Pharaohâs bondmen. They own their land under him by a new tenure. They are no longer subject to arbitrary exactions. They have a stated annual rent, bearing a fixed ratio to the amount of their crop. This is an equitable adjustment of their dues, and places them under the protection of a statute law. The people are accordingly well pleased with the enactment of Joseph, which becomes henceforth the law of Egypt.
Genesis 47:27-31
And they were possessed thereof. - They become owners or tenants of the soil in Goshen. The Israelites were recognized as subjects with the full rights of freemen. âThey grew and multiplied exceedingly.â They are now placed in a definite territory, where they are free from the contamination which arises from promiscuous intermarriage with an idolatrous race; and hence, the Lord bestows the blessing of fruitfulness and multiplication, so that in a generation or two more they can intermarry among themselves. It is a remarkable circumstance that until now we read of only two daughters in the family of Jacob. The brothers could not marry their sisters, and it was not desirable that the females should form affinity with the pagan, as they had in general to follow the faith of their husbands. Here the twelfth section of the Pentateuch terminates.
Genesis 47:28-31
Jacob lives seventeen years in Egypt, and so survives the famine twelve years. âHe called his son Joseph.â Joseph retained his power and place near Pharaoh after the fourteen years of special service were completed; hence, Jacob looks to him for the accomplishment of his wishes concerning the place of his burial. âPut thy hand under my thighâ Genesis 24:2. He binds Joseph by a solemn asseveration to carry his mortal remains to the land of promise. âAnd Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.â On receiving the solemn promise of Joseph, he turns toward the head of the bed, and assumes the posture of adoration, rendering, no doubt, thanks to God for all the mercies of his past life, and for this closing token of filial duty and affection. The Septuagint has the rendering: εÌÏÎ¹Ì ÏÎ¿Ì Î±ÌÌκÏον ÏηÍÏÏÌαÌβδον Î±Ï ÌÏÎ¿Ï Í epi to aÌkron akron teÌs rabdou autou âon the top of his staff,â which is given in the Epistle to the Hebrews Hebrews 11:21. This is obtained by a mere change in the vowel pointing of the last word.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 47:23. I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh — It fully appears that the kingdom of Egypt was previously to the time of Joseph a very limited monarchy. The king had his estates; the priests had their lands; and the common people their patrimony independently of both. The land of Rameses or Goshen appears to have been the king's land, Genesis 47:11. The priests had their lands, which they did not sell to Joseph, Genesis 47:22; Genesis 47:26; and that the people had lands independent of the crown, is evident from the purchases Joseph made, Genesis 47:19; Genesis 47:20; and we may conclude from those purchases that Pharaoh had no power to levy taxes upon his subjects to increase his own revenue until he had bought the original right which each individual had in his possessions. And when Joseph bought this for the king he raised the crown an ample revenue, though he restored the lands, by obliging each to pay one fifth of the product to the king, Genesis 47:24. And it is worthy of remark that the people of Egypt well understood the distinction between subjects and servants; for when they came to sell their land, they offered to sell themselves also, and said: Buy us and our land, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh, Genesis 47:19.
Diodorus Siculus, lib. i., gives the same account of the ancient constitution of Egypt. "The land," says he, "was divided into three parts:
1. One belonged to the PRIESTS, with which they provided all sacrifices, and maintained all the ministers of religion.
2. A second part was the KING'S, to support his court and family, and to supply expenses for wars if they should happen. Hence there were no taxes, the king having so ample an estate.
3. The remainder of the land belonged to the SUBJECTS, who appear (from the account of Diodorus) to have been all soldiers, a kind of standing militia, liable, at the king's expense, to serve in all wars for the preservation of the state."
This was a constitution something like the British; the government appears to have been mixed, and the monarchy properly limited, till Joseph, by buying the land of the people, made the king in some sort despotic. But it does not appear that any improper use was made of this, as in much later times we find it still a comparatively limited monarchy.
