Genesis 47:12

Joseph nourished his father, etc.

He supported them, during this time of famine, out of the royal granaries.

According to their families.

A better rendering is, "According to their little ones." That is, all were numbered, little ones also, and food was distributed according to their number.

PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE.

It is best that business should be done on business principles.. distinct understanding and. formal settlement of conditions usually saves trouble.

Gray hairs with righteousness are. crown of glory.

True greatness does not depend on station, but on usefulness to the race and the calling of God.

Kings, who in their time dazzle foolish eyes with the glitter of royalty, soon sink out of sight and are forgotten, while true greatness grows greater as the centuries pass.

The Lord makes place and time for any crisis he has appointed. If Egypt must be your country he will find for you. Goshen.

The scene depicted on the tomb of Chnoumhotep at Beni Hassan is strikingly illustrative of the arrival of the Israelites in Egypt. The date of the inscription is that of the twelfth dynasty, which is probably the dynasty under which Joseph lived:. number of strangers, with beards on, which the Egyptians never wore, but which in the sculptures indicate uncivilized foreigners, and with the dress and appearance of the Semitic nomads, appear before the governor, offering him gifts. They carry their goods with them on asses, have women and children, and are armed with bows and clubs. They are called Absha and his family, and the number thirty-seven is written over in hieroglyphics. The signs which accompany the picture indicate that they were either captives or tributaries. Sir G. Wilkinson, however, suggests that possibly this indication may result from the contemptuous way in which the Egyptians spoke of all foreigners, and the superiority they claimed over them. Moreover, they are armed, one is playing on. lyre, others bring presents, which things point to an immigration rather than to. captivity.

One thing appears certain from the Mosaic history, the patron of Joseph was one of the native sovereigns of Egypt, not, as Eusebius supposed, one of the foreign shepherd kings. The flourishing and peaceful state of the kingdom; the regularity of the government; the power of the priesthood who were persecuted and oppressed by the savage shepherds; the hatred of the pastoral race and occupation; all these circumstances strongly indicate the orderly and uncontested authority of the native princes.-- Milman.

POINTS FOR TEACHERS.

1. Impress the picture of the Israelites in Egypt, nomads, dwellers in tents like the Arabs, keepers of flocks, in an agricultural land of settled homes and. fixed civilization. 2. Draw out the incidents of the formal deputation of five men to Pharaoh, its object and what it settled. 3. Note that they only ask. temporary home and why. Point out the reason that during. sojourn of 400 years the Hebrews still looked to Canaan as their home. 4. Note the striking interview between Jacob and Pharaoh, the hoary shepherd patriarch, 130 years old, before the king as an equal or superior and why. 6. Show that while Pharaoh seemed the greater he was not. Show who is truly great. The Savior's test. 6. Show why Jacob called his days few and evil. 7. Bring out why he called his life. pilgrimage, and why every life is one. 8. Point out Jacob blessing the king and its signification. 9. Note Israel settled in Goshen,. charter for. home, and give. glance at their history till they ended their sojourn. 10. Show how their life was. type of ours, how the sinner is in Egypt, how he is under taskmaster, how his bondage is broken, and how he travels to Canaan.