Genesis 47

1Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen.

2Five men also the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:

3And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: We thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

4We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.

5The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.

6The land of Egypt is before thee: make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.

7After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented him before him: and he blessed him.

8And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy life?

9He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.

10And blessing the king, he went out.

11But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded.

12And he nourished them, and all his father’s house, allowing food to every one.

13For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land: more especially of Egypt and Chanaan.

14Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it into the king’s treasure.

15And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now no money.

16And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, and for them I will give you food, if you have no money.

17And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.

18And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.

19Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thine, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king’s servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.

20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao’s hands:

21And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof,

22Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions.

23Then Joseph said to the people: Behold as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao: take seed and sow the fields,

24That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king: the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children.

25And they answered: Our life is in thy hand: only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.

26From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the king, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.

27So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it: and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.

28And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.

29And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt:

30But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.

31And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed’s head.

1Ingressus ergo Joseph nuntiavit Pharaoni, dicens: Pater meus et fratres, oves eorum et armenta, et cuncta quæ possident, venerunt de terra Chanaan: et ecce consistunt in terra Gessen.

2Extremos quoque fratrum suorum quinque viros constituit coram rege:

3quos ille interrogavit: Quid habetis operis? Responderunt: Pastores ovium sumus servi tui, et nos et patres nostri.

4Ad peregrinandum in terra tua venimus: quoniam non est herba gregibus servorum tuorum, ingravescente fame in terra Chanaan: petimusque ut esse nos jubeas servos tuos in terra Gessen.

5Dixit itaque rex ad Joseph: Pater tuus et fratres tui venerunt ad te.

6Terra Ægypti in conspectu tuo est: in optimo loco fac eos habitare, et trade eis terram Gessen. Quod si nosti in eis esse viros industrios, constitue illos magistros pecorum meorum.

7Post hæc introduxit Joseph patrem suum ad regem, et statuit eum coram eo: qui benedicens illi,

8et interrogatus ab eo: Quot sunt dies annorum vitæ tuæ?

9respondit: Dies peregrinationis meæ centum triginta annorum sunt, parvi et mali, et non pervenerunt usque ad dies patrum meorum quibus peregrinati sunt.

10Et benedicto rege, egressus est foras.

11Joseph vero patri et fratribus suis dedit possessionem in Ægypto in optimo terræ loco, Ramesses, ut præceperat Pharao.

12Et alebat eos, omnemque domum patris sui, præbens cibaria singulis.

13In toto enim orbe panis deerat, et oppresserat fames terram, maxime Ægypti et Chanaan.

14E quibus omnem pecuniam congregavit pro venditione frumenti, et intulit eam in ærarium regis.

15Cumque defecisset emptoribus pretium, venit cuncta Ægyptus ad Joseph, dicens: Da nobis panes: quare morimur coram te, deficiente pecunia?

16Quibus ille respondit: Adducite pecora vestra, et dabo vobis pro eis cibos, si pretium non habetis.

17Quæ cum adduxissent, dedit eis alimenta pro equis, et ovibus, et bobus, et asinis: sustentavitque eos illo anno pro commutatione pecorum.

18Venerunt quoque anno secundo, et dixerunt ei: Non celabimus dominum nostrum quod deficiente pecunia, pecora simul defecerunt: nec clam te est, quod absque corporibus et terra nihil habeamus.

19Cur ergo moriemur te vidente? et nos et terra nostra tui erimus: eme nos in servitutem regiam, et præbe semina, ne pereunte cultore redigatur terra in solitudinem.

20Emit igitur Joseph omnem terram Ægypti, vendentibus singulis possessiones suas præ magnitudine famis. Subjecitque eam Pharaoni,

21et cunctos populos ejus a novissimis terminis Ægypti usque ad extremos fines ejus,

22præter terram sacerdotum, quæ a rege tradita fuerat eis: quibus et statuta cibaria ex horreis publicis præbebantur, et idcirco non sunt compulsi vendere possessiones suas.

23Dixit ergo Joseph ad populos: En ut cernitis, et vos et terram vestram Pharao possidet: accipite semina, et serite agros,

24ut fruges habere possitis. Quintam partem regi dabitis: quatuor reliquas permitto vobis in sementem, et in cibum familiis et liberis vestris.

25Qui responderunt: Salus nostra in manu tua est: respiciat nos tantum dominus noster, et læti serviemus regi.

26Ex eo tempore usque in præsentem diem, in universa terra Ægypti regibus quinta pars solvitur, et factum est quasi in legem, absque terra sacerdotali, quæ libera ab hac conditione fuit.

27Habitavit ergo Israël in Ægypto, id est, in terra Gessen, et possedit eam: auctusque est, et multiplicatus nimis.

28Et vixit in ea decem et septem annis: factique sunt omnes dies vitæ illius, centum quadraginta septem annorum.

29Cumque appropinquare cerneret diem mortis suæ, vocavit filium suum Joseph, et dixit ad eum: Si inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, pone manum tuam sub femore meo: et facies mihi misericordiam et veritatem, ut non sepelias me in Ægypto:

30sed dormiam cum patribus meis, et auferas me de terra hac, condasque in sepulchro majorum meorum. Cui respondit Joseph: Ego faciam quod jussisti.

31Et ille: Jura ergo, inquit, mihi. Quo jurante, adoravit Israël Deum, conversus ad lectuli caput.

1And so Joseph entered and reported to Pharaoh, saying: “My father and brothers, their sheep and herds, and everything that they possess, have arrived from the land of Canaan. And behold, they stand together in the land of Goshen.”

2Likewise, he stood in the sight of the king five men, the last of his brothers.

3And he questioned them, “What do you have for work?” They responded: “Your servants are pastors of sheep, both we and our fathers.

4We came to sojourn in your land, because there is no grass for the flocks of your servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Canaan. And we petition you that you may order us, your servants, to be in the land of Goshen.”

5And so the king said to Joseph: “Your father and brothers have come to you.

6The land of Egypt is in your sight. Cause them to live in the best place, and deliver to them the land of Goshen. And if you know there to be industrious men among them, appoint these as foremen over my cattle.”

7After this, Joseph brought in his father to the king, and he stood him in his sight. He blessed him,

8and he questioned him: “How many are the days of the years of your life?”

9He responded, “The days of my sojourn are one hundred and thirty years, few and unworthy, and they do not reach even to the days of the sojourning of my fathers.”

10And blessing the king, he went outside.

11Truly, Joseph gave his father and brothers a possession in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed.

12And he fed them, along with all his father’s house, providing portions of food to each one.

13For in the whole world there was a lack of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land, most of all Egypt and Canaan,

14from which he gathered together all the money for the grain that they bought, and he took it into the treasury of the king.

15And when the buyers had run out of money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: “Give us bread. Why should we die in your sight, lacking money?”

16And he responded to them: “Bring me your cattle, and I will give food to you in exchange for them, if you do not have money.”

17And when they had brought them, he gave them food for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and donkeys. And he sustained them in that year in exchange for their cattle.

18Likewise, they came the second year, and they said to him: “We will not conceal from our lord that our money is gone; likewise our cattle are gone. Neither are you unaware that we have nothing left but our bodies and our land.

19Therefore, why should you watch us die? Both we and our land will be yours. Buy us into royal servitude, but provide seed, lest by the dying off of cultivators the land be reduced to a wilderness.”

20Therefore, Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, each one selling his possessions because of the magnitude of the famine. And he subjected it to Pharaoh,

21along with all of its people, from the newest borders of Egypt, even to its furthest limits,

22except the land of the priests, which had been delivered to them by the king. To these also a portion of food was supplied out of the public storehouses, and, for this reason, they were not compelled to sell their possessions.

23Therefore, Joseph said to the people: “So, as you discern, both you and your lands are possessed by Pharaoh; take seed and sow the fields,

24so that you may be able to have grain. One fifth part you will give to the king; the remaining four I permit to you, as seed and as food for your families and children.

25And they responded: “Our health is in your hand; only let our lord look kindly upon us, and we will serve the king with gladness.”

26From that time, even to the present day, in the entire land of Egypt, the fifth part is turned over to the kings, and it has become like a law, except in the land of the priests, which was free from this condition.

27And so, Israel lived in Egypt, that is, in the land of Goshen, and he possessed it. And he increased and was multiplied exceedingly.

28And he lived in it seventeen years. And all the days of his life that passed were one hundred and forty-seven years.

29And when he discerned that the day of his death was approaching, he called his son Joseph, and he said to him: “If I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh. And you shall show me mercy and truth, not to bury me in Egypt.

30But I shall sleep with my fathers, and you will carry me from this land and bury me in the sepulcher of my ancestors.” And Joseph answered him, “I will do what you have ordered.”

31And he said, “Then swear it to me.” And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the head of his resting place.