Genesis 47-50

New International Version

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan^(A) and are now in Goshen.”^(B) ²He chose five of his brothers and presented them^(C) before Pharaoh.

³Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”^(D)

“Your servants^(E) are shepherds,^(F)” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” ⁴They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,^(G) because the famine is severe in Canaan^(H) and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.^(I) So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”^(J)

⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶and the land of Egypt is before you; settle^(K) your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.^(L) Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,^(M) put them in charge of my own livestock.^(N)”

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him^(O) before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed^[a] Pharaoh,^(P) ⁸Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.^(Q) My years have been few and difficult,^(R) and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.^(S)” ¹⁰Then Jacob blessed^[b] Pharaoh^(T) and went out from his presence.

¹¹So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,^(U) the district of Rameses,^(V) as Pharaoh directed. ¹²Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.^(W)

Joseph and the Famine

¹³There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.^(X) ¹⁴Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,^(Y) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.^(Z) ¹⁵When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,^(AA) all Egypt came to Joseph^(AB) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?^(AC) Our money is all gone.”

¹⁶“Then bring your livestock,^(AD)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.^(AE)” ¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,^(AF) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.^(AG) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone^(AH) and our livestock belongs to you,^(AI) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹Why should we perish before your eyes^(AJ)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,^(AK) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.^(AL) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,^(AM) and that the land may not become desolate.”

²⁰So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe^(AN) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,^[c]^(AO) from one end of Egypt to the other. ²²However, he did not buy the land of the priests,^(AP) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment^(AQ) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

²³Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed^(AR) for you so you can plant the ground.^(AS) ²⁴But when the crop comes in, give a fifth^(AT) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

²⁵“You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;^(AU) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”^(AV)

²⁶So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth^(AW) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.^(AX)

²⁷Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.^(AY) They acquired property there^(AZ) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.^(BA)

²⁸Jacob lived in Egypt^(BB) seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.^(BC) ²⁹When the time drew near for Israel^(BD) to die,^(BE) he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(BF) put your hand under my thigh^(BG) and promise that you will show me kindness^(BH) and faithfulness.^(BI) Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰but when I rest with my fathers,^(BJ) carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”^(BK)

“I will do as you say,” he said.

³¹“Swear to me,”^(BL) he said. Then Joseph swore to him,^(BM) and Israel^(BN) worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.^[d]^(BO)

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim^(BP) along with him. ²When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel^(BQ) rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

³Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty^[e]^(BR) appeared to me at Luz^(BS) in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me^(BT) ⁴and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.^(BU) I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land^(BV) as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’^(BW)

⁵“Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt^(BX) before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,^(BY) just as Reuben^(BZ) and Simeon^(CA) are mine. ⁶Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. ⁷As I was returning from Paddan,^[f]^(CB) to my sorrow^(CC) Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).^(CD)

⁸When Israel^(CE) saw the sons of Joseph,^(CF) he asked, “Who are these?”

⁹“They are the sons God has given me here,”^(CG) Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless^(CH) them.”

¹⁰Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.^(CI) So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them^(CJ) and embraced them.^(CK)

¹¹Israel^(CL) said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,^(CM) and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”^(CN)

¹²Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees^(CO) and bowed down with his face to the ground.^(CP) ¹³And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,^(CQ) and brought them close to him. ¹⁴But Israel^(CR) reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,^(CS) though he was the younger,^(CT) and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.^(CU)

¹⁵Then he blessed^(CV) Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,^(CW)
the God who has been my shepherd^(CX)
    all my life to this day,
¹⁶the Angel^(CY) who has delivered me from all harm^(CZ)
    —may he bless^(DA) these boys.^(DB)
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,^(DC)
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.”^(DD)

¹⁷When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand^(DE) on Ephraim’s head^(DF) he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”^(DG)

¹⁹But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.^(DH) Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,^(DI) and his descendants will become a group of nations.^(DJ)” ²⁰He blessed^(DK) them that day^(DL) and said,

“In your^[g] name will Israel^(DM) pronounce this blessing:^(DN)
‘May God make you like Ephraim^(DO) and Manasseh.^(DP)’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you^[h]^(DQ) and take you^[i] back to the land of your^[j] fathers.^(DR) ²²And to you I give one more ridge of land^[k]^(DS) than to your brothers,^(DT) the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword^(DU) and my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons^(DV)

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.^(DW)

²“Assemble^(DX) and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.^(DY)

³“Reuben, you are my firstborn,^(DZ)
    my might, the first sign of my strength,^(EA)
    excelling in honor,^(EB) excelling in power.
⁴Turbulent as the waters,^(EC) you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.^(ED)

⁵“Simeon^(EE) and Levi^(EF) are brothers—
    their swords^[l] are weapons of violence.^(EG)
⁶Let me not enter their council,
    let me not join their assembly,^(EH)
for they have killed men in their anger^(EI)
    and hamstrung^(EJ) oxen as they pleased.
⁷Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
    and their fury,^(EK) so cruel!^(EL)
I will scatter them in Jacob
    and disperse them in Israel.^(EM)

⁸“Judah,^[m]^(EN) your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck^(EO) of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.^(EP)
⁹You are a lion’s^(EQ) cub,^(ER) Judah;^(ES)
    you return from the prey,^(ET) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah,^(EU)
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,^[n]
until he to whom it belongs^[o] shall come^(EV)
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.^(EW)
¹¹He will tether his donkey^(EX) to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;^(EY)
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.^(EZ)
¹²His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.^[p]^(FA)

¹³“Zebulun^(FB) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.^(FC)

¹⁴“Issachar^(FD) is a rawboned^[q] donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.^[r]^(FE)
¹⁵When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,^(FF)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden^(FG)
    and submit to forced labor.^(FH)

¹⁶“Dan^[s]^(FI) will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.^(FJ)
¹⁷Dan^(FK) will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,^(FL)
that bites the horse’s heels^(FM)
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

¹⁸“I look for your deliverance,^(FN) Lord.^(FO)

¹⁹“Gad^[t]^(FP) will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.^(FQ)

²⁰“Asher’s^(FR) food will be rich;^(FS)
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.^(FT)

²¹“Naphtali^(FU) is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.^[u]^(FV)

²²“Joseph^(FW) is a fruitful vine,^(FX)
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches^(FY) climb over a wall.^[v]
²³With bitterness archers attacked him;^(FZ)
    they shot at him with hostility.^(GA)
²⁴But his bow remained steady,^(GB)
    his strong arms^(GC) stayed^[w] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,^(GD)
    because of the Shepherd,^(GE) the Rock of Israel,^(GF)
²⁵because of your father’s God,^(GG) who helps^(GH) you,
    because of the Almighty,^[x]^(GI) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,^(GJ)
    blessings of the breast^(GK) and womb.^(GL)
²⁶Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than^[y] the bounty of the age-old hills.^(GM)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,^(GN)
    on the brow of the prince among^[z] his brothers.^(GO)

²⁷“Benjamin^(GP) is a ravenous wolf;^(GQ)
in the morning he devours the prey,^(GR)
in the evening he divides the plunder.”^(GS)

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,^(GT) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing^(GU) appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

²⁹Then he gave them these instructions:^(GV) “I am about to be gathered to my people.^(GW) Bury me with my fathers^(GX) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,^(GY) ³⁰the cave in the field of Machpelah,^(GZ) near Mamre^(HA) in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field^(HB) as a burial place^(HC) from Ephron the Hittite. ³¹There Abraham^(HD) and his wife Sarah^(HE) were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah^(HF) were buried, and there I buried Leah.^(HG) ³²The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.^[aa]^(HH)”

³³When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.^(HI)

50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.^(HJ) ²Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,^(HK) ³taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.^(HL)

⁴When the days of mourning^(HM) had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,^(HN) “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(HO) speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ⁵‘My father made me swear an oath^(HP) and said, “I am about to die;^(HQ) bury me in the tomb I dug for myself^(HR) in the land of Canaan.”^(HS) Now let me go up and bury my father;^(HT) then I will return.’”

⁶Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

⁷So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials^(HU) accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court^(HV) and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.^(HW) Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.^(HX) ⁹Chariots^(HY) and horsemen^[ab] also went up with him. It was a very large company.

¹⁰When they reached the threshing floor^(HZ) of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;^(IA) and there Joseph observed a seven-day period^(IB) of mourning^(IC) for his father.^(ID) ¹¹When the Canaanites^(IE) who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”^(IF) That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.^[ac]

¹²So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:^(IG) ¹³They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,^(IH) near Mamre,^(II) which Abraham had bought along with the field^(IJ) as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.^(IK) ¹⁴After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.^(IL)

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge^(IM) against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”^(IN) ¹⁶So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions^(IO) before he died: ¹⁷‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins^(IP) and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’^(IQ) Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.^(IR)” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.^(IS)

¹⁸His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.^(IT) “We are your slaves,”^(IU) they said.

¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?^(IV) ²⁰You intended to harm me,^(IW) but God intended^(IX) it for good^(IY) to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.^(IZ) ²¹So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.^(JA)” And he reassured them and spoke kindly^(JB) to them.

The Death of Joseph

²²Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years^(JC) ²³and saw the third generation^(JD) of Ephraim’s^(JE) children.^(JF) Also the children of Makir^(JG) son of Manasseh^(JH) were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.^[ad]^(JI)

²⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die.^(JJ) But God will surely come to your aid^(JK) and take you up out of this land to the land^(JL) he promised on oath to Abraham,^(JM) Isaac^(JN) and Jacob.”^(JO) ²⁵And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath^(JP) and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones^(JQ) up from this place.”^(JR)

²⁶So Joseph died^(JS) at the age of a hundred and ten.^(JT) And after they embalmed him,^(JU) he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Footnotes

Genesis 47:7 Or greeted
Genesis 47:10 Or said farewell to
Genesis 47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities
Genesis 47:31 Or Israel bowed down at the head of his bed
Genesis 48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
Genesis 48:7 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
Genesis 48:20 The Hebrew is singular.
Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
Genesis 48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem.
Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
Genesis 49:14 Or strong
Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
Genesis 49:32 Or the descendants of Heth
Genesis 50:9 Or charioteers
Genesis 50:11 Abel Mizraim means mourning of the Egyptians.
Genesis 50:23 That is, were counted as his