Genesis

47 So then Joseph went in, and told Pharaoh and said—My father and my brethren and their flocks and their herds and all that they have are come in from the land of Canaan,—and here they are in the land of Goshen.

2 Moreover, out of the whole number of his brethren, he took with him five men,—and set them before Pharaoh.

3 And Pharaoh said unto the brethren of Joseph—What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh—Feeders of flocks are thy servants, both we and our fathers.

4 And they said unto Pharaoh—To sojourn in the land are we come in, for there is no pasture for the flocks which pertain to thy servants, for severe is the famine in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, let thy servants dwell, we pray thee, in the land of Goshen.

5 Then spake Pharaoh unto Joseph, saying,—Thy father and thy brethren are come in unto thee.

6 The land of Egypt is before thee, in the best of the land, cause thou thy father and thy brethren to dwell,—let them dwell in the land of Goshen, And if thou knowest that there are among them men of ability, then shalt thou set them as chieftains of cattle over mine.

7 So Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and caused him to stand before Pharaoh,—and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob: About how many have been the days of the years of thy life?

9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojournings have been a hundred and thirty years,—Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, neither have they attained unto the days of the years of the lives of my fathers, in the days of their sojournings.

10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh,—and came forth from the presence of Pharaoh.

11 So then Joseph fixed the dwelling of his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses,—as Pharaoh had commanded.

12 And Joseph nourished his father and his brethren, and all his father’s house,—with bread, according to the need of their little ones.

13 But bread was there none in all the land,—for the famine was very severe,—so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

14 So Joseph gathered up all the silver that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they were buying,—and Joseph brought the silver into the house of Pharaoh.

15 And the silver was spent out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Canaan, so all the Egyptians came in unto Joseph, saying—Do give us bread, for why should we die before thee, although silver hath failed?

16 Then said Joseph: Give your cattle, and I will give you for your cattle,—if silver hath failed.

17 So they brought in their cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the cattle of the flock, and for the cattle of the herd, and for the asses,—and he provided them with bread, for all their cattle, throughout that year.

18 When that year was ended, then came they unto him in the second year and said to him—We will not hide from my lord, how that the silver and the herds of beasts for my lord are come to an end,—there is nothing left before my lord, save only our bodies and our ground:

19 Wherefore should we die before thine eyes, both we and our ground? Buy thou us and our ground for bread,—and we and our ground will become servants to Pharaoh, and give seed, that we may live and not die, and the ground not lie waste.

20 So Joseph bought all the ground of the Egyptians for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine had laid fast hold upon them,—so the land became Pharaoh’s.

21 And as for the people, he brought them into bondage as servants,—from one end of the boundary of Egypt unto the other end thereof.

22 Only the ground of the priests bought he not,—for the priests had a statutory-portion from Pharaoh and they had been eating their statutory-portion which Pharaoh had given them, for which cause they had not sold their ground.

23 And Joseph said unto the people, Lo! I have bought you this day and your ground for Pharaoh,—see, here is seed for you, so shall ye sow the ground;

24 and it shall come to pass that, of the yield, ye shall give a fifth to Pharaoh,—but the four parts shall be your own—for seed for the field and for your food and for them who are in your households and for food for your little ones.

25 And they said—Thou hast saved our lives! let us find favour in the eyes of my lord, so will we become Pharaoh’s servants.

26 And Joseph appointed it for a statute—until this day regarding the ground of Egypt, that Pharaoh should take a fifth,—only the ground of the priests was theirs alone, it had not become Pharaoh’s.

27 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen,—and gained possessions therein, and became fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.

28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years,—so it came to pass that the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred and forty-seven years.

29 And the days of Israel drew near that he must die, so he called for his son, for Joseph, and said to him—If, I pray thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, place, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh,—so shalt thou deal with me in lovingkindness and faithfulness—Do not, I pray thee, bury me in Egypt.

30 When I shall lie down with my fathers, then shalt thou carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said: I will do according to thy word.

31 Then he said: Come, swear to me! And he sware to him. Then did Israel bow himself down on the head of the couch.