Genesis 47:25

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, the word ‘slaves’ means people who are not free. A slave is a person who belongs to another person. That is a very evil thing. But slaves in ancient Egypt were different. They farmed the land and they lived in an ordinary way. But, because they were slaves, they did not manage their own affairs. *Pharaoh’s servants told the people what they should do. And they told the people when they should sow their seeds. *Pharaoh’s servants managed the farming in the whole country. This was an advantage for the people. The reason was that farming was difficult in Egypt. Egypt has a very dry climate. There is not enough rain for the crops. So people had to use water from the river Nile to water the crops. And they needed canals to bring the water from the river. *Pharaoh and his servants managed all this. And they stored grain in case there was a *famine. They could do these things better than the separate farmers could do them.