GOD’S ANCIENT PEOPLE
GENESIS
_ALUN OWEN_
CHAPTER 47
JACOB AND HIS SONS MEET *PHARAOH
V1 So Joseph went to *Pharaoh. He said to him, ‘My father and my
brothers have come from *Canaan. They have brought their sheep and
their cows and all their possessions. They are now in *Goshen.’ V2
Joseph had... [ Continue Reading ]
Perhaps Joseph took only 5 brothers because the other brothers were
looking after the animals. Or perhaps *Pharaoh did not allow more than
5 foreigners to visit him at one time.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Your servants keep animals.’ See Genesis 46:34 and the comment.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Please let your servants live in *Goshen.’ Joseph had already
said that they should live in *Goshen. And *Pharaoh had made Joseph
the ruler of all Egypt. Therefore, Joseph had the authority to make
that decision. But it was right that they should ask *Pharaoh to
agree.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Let them look after my cows.’ *Pharaoh offered employment to some
of Jacob’s family. *Pharaoh expected that they would mix with the
Egyptian people. But they did not mix. About 400 years after this
time, they were still separate. (See Exodus 1:8-9.)
V7 Then Joseph brought Jacob his father and he i... [ Continue Reading ]
Jacob changed *Pharaoh’s word ‘life’. (See verse 8.) Instead, he
said, ‘I have stayed on the earth’. He meant that it was a
temporary stay. Jacob knew that his stay on the earth was temporary.
After it, he would be with his fathers and with God.
Jacob called 130 years ‘few’. It was less than his fa... [ Continue Reading ]
When Jacob initially decided to go to Egypt, he expected to go for a
short time. He expected to stay in Egypt until the *famine was over.
He did not expect to own property in Egypt. But Joseph gave them land
as a possession. This was part of God’s plan. He intended to make
them a great nation. So th... [ Continue Reading ]
Joseph did not do this himself. He had appointed managers, who
organised the work. (See Genesis 41:34.) And the managers had many
servants, who helped them. The managers and their servants gathered
the money. And the people did not bring the animals to Joseph himself.
They brought them to the manage... [ Continue Reading ]
Perhaps some of the people came to Joseph himself. But usually they
went to the managers. The managers reported to Joseph and Joseph sent
instructions to the managers.... [ Continue Reading ]
The land became *Pharaoh’s property. The people became slaves and
they too belonged to *Pharaoh. So *Pharaoh became more powerful. But
the people continued to farm the land, as they had done before. Their
lives did not change when they became slaves.
V23 Then Joseph said to the people, ‘I have boug... [ Continue Reading ]
Joseph made big changes in Egypt. And the people realised that they
benefited from these changes. They benefited because they had enough
food during the *famine. And they realised that they would also have
enough food during future *famines. Therefore, they were willing to
become slaves.
Nowadays,... [ Continue Reading ]
The law still stood at the time when people wrote Genesis. Joseph’s
law remained after Joseph’s death. So there would still be a store
of food in case there was a *famine.
JOSEPH’S PROMISE TO JACOB
V27 Israel and his family lived in Egypt. They lived in the district
that is called *Goshen. They ga... [ Continue Reading ]
‘If you are pleased with me.’ This is not what the father of the
family would say to his son. The son should respect and obey his
father. But Joseph was not only Jacob’s son. Joseph was also the
ruler of the whole country where Jacob was staying. So Jacob gave
honour to Joseph. And Joseph gave honou... [ Continue Reading ]