Joseph and the Famine. And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For our money is gone.”
Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since the money is gone.” Gen 47:15-16
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. GOD AND THE CHOSEN FAMILY, Genesis 12-50
3. The History of Jacob’s Sons, Joseph and His Brothers
(4) Jacob Goes to Egypt. He and Joseph Die There, Genesis 46-
85. How did Joseph serve Pharaoh and save the nation alive?
JOSEPH AND THE FAMINE
Now [in the course of time] there was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan languished [in destitution and starvation] because of the famine.
Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan [in payment] for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.
And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For our money is gone.”
Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since the money is gone.”
So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.
When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord [the fact] that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.
Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.
And as for the people, he relocated them [temporarily] to cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other.
Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived on the amount which Pharaoh gave them, so they did not sell their 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.
At harvest time [when you reap the increase] you shall give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you and those of your households and 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 servants.”
And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt–valid to this day–that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
EGYPTIANS SAVED IN FAMINE
The slender stores of the Egyptians were soon exhausted, and had it not been for Joseph the streets would have been filled with the dying and dead. His Egyptian name means “the savior of the world;” and the confession of the Egyptians proved how true it was: “Thou hast saved our lives.” How closely the parallel holds! Joseph rose from the pit and the prison to save his brethren as well as the myriads of his adopted fellow-countrymen: Jesus rose from the grave to be a Prince and a Savior. Joseph’s bread cost him nothing, while Jesus gave us that which cost him Calvary. Joseph sold his corn for money; our Lord gave himself without money or price. You may go to Him without reluctance, though your sack is empty and you have no money in your hand; but He will give and give again, without stint.
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 47:13-26
II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)
D. Joseph (37:1–50:26)
9. Joseph’s Family in Egypt (Chap. 47)
47:13-26 When the people of Egypt and Canaan had spent all their money for food, Joseph accepted their livestock in payment. Then later he bought all the land, except that belonging to the Egyptian priests, gave the people seed with which to plant crops, and charged them one-fifth of the crop for land rental, a very fair arrangement.
DONATIONS FOR BIBLE DISTRUBUTION — Quovadisworld
On MeWe join our group at Friends in Jesus
We also have a Page about Creation Ministries International.
See also Young Earth Creationists
You can also find us on Parler.
On Facebook;
Join our closed group at : Quo Vadis Christian Community Group to read and partake in the Bible study to learn to know Jesus Christ. To know Him is to Love Him.
We also have an open Page at Quo Vadis Christian Community you might want to know more about.
Please ad yourself to our Messenger group to receive notification and chat to other members of the group.
You may however wish to disable notification and look at post when you have the time.
Join our messenger group at Friends in Jesus.
If you want a Bible please contact: Please let me have a Bible.
If you want a Bible in Pakistan.
You may also want to join Creation Ministries International.
Find more Study topics at Quo Vadis World
DONATIONS FOR BIBLE DISTRUBUTION — Quovadisworld
We give thanks and acknowledgement to Rick Meyers from e-Sword.
P.O. Box 1626
Franklin, TN 37065
United States of America
www.e-sword.net
