Settling in Goshen
1Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” 2He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “just as our fathers were.” 4“We have come to stay here for a while,” they said, “because there is no pasture for our flocks, since the famine has been severe in Canaan. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.” 5Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6and the land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land — let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.” 7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” 9“The years of my journey through life,” Jacob said to Pharaoh, “have been a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and hard, and they do not equal the years of my fathers during their own journey through life.” 10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and withdrew from his presence. 11So Joseph settled his father and brothers, giving them property in the best part of Egypt, the region of Rameses, as Pharaoh had directed. 12Joseph also provided food for his father and brothers and all his father’s household, according to the number of their children.
Joseph and the Famine
13There was no food anywhere, for the famine was very severe. Both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of it. 14Joseph collected all the silver in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace. 15When the silver of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our silver is gone.” 16“Bring me your livestock,” Joseph said. “Since your silver is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. And he provided them with food that year 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 that our silver is gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19Why should we perish before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and so that the land will not become desolate.” 20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, since the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. So the land became Pharaoh’s, 21and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 22The only land he did not buy was that belonging to the priests, because they received a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance he gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. 23“Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh today,” Joseph said to the people, “here is seed for you to sow the land. 24But when the crop comes in, you must give a fifth 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 our lord’s eyes; we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26So Joseph established it as a law in Egypt, still in force today, that a fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land did not become Pharaoh’s. 27So Israel settled in Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.
Jacob’s Last Request
28Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness — do not bury me in Egypt. 30When I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” Joseph said. 31“Swear to me,” Israel said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed down at the head of his bed.
