45:16–47:12
This section marks a transition as the family moved from Canaan to Goshen, where they would live for the next 400years.
Study notes
Genesis 47
45:16–50:26 Section
Before leaving Canaan, Jacob worshipped God at Beersheba. God appeared to him in a vision. God spoke parts of the covenant again. God promised to bring Jacob’s family back to the land of Canaan.
Abraham’s family line had grown very large. Joseph used his authority to provide land for Jacob’s family. They could continue their work as shepherds in Goshen. Joseph also used his authority to provide food for the Egyptians and people from other lands. The way he did this made Pharaoh richer and more powerful. Later this would cause problems for Abraham’s family line. God had warned Abraham about these problems in Genesis 15:13.
Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh as his own. After speaking the father’s blessing to his sons, Jacob died. After Jacob’s death the brothers were afraid that Joseph would finally harm them. But Joseph had fully forgiven his brothers. Though he had suffered a lot, God had saved many lives through him. This was one way that Abraham’s family line was a blessing to others.
It was very important both to Jacob and to Joseph to be buried in Canaan. They trusted God’s promise to give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s family line.
47:1
Ancient Egyptian texts do not mention Goshen (see study note on 45:10). Later Egyptian writings called it "the district of Rameses" (47:11; see Exodus 1:11). It was fertile and near Joseph's court. This suggests it was on the eastern side of the Nile delta.
47:1–6
Pharaoh responded as Joseph hoped by giving Jacob’s family the best part of the land; he even gave some of the brothers oversight of his own livestock (47:6).
47:7–10
When Jacob entered and left Pharaoh’s court, he blessed Pharaoh. This showed Jacob's role as God's representative (see Hebrews 7:7). God promised to bless those who blessed Abraham’s family (Genesis 12:2–3), so Jacob blessed Pharaoh and Egypt.
47:13–26
The Lord blessed Pharaoh because Pharaoh was blessing Abraham’s descendants (12:3). Through Joseph’s smart management in Egypt, the Lord saved the people from hunger and helped Pharaoh prosper. During the famine, Joseph sold food to the Egyptians, accepting money, livestock, and eventually land as payment. Then Pharaoh owned almost all of Egypt. Meanwhile, God gave Israel some of the best land in Egypt where they could live, work, and multiply.
47:21
reduced the people to servitude: In Hebrew script, the words for slaves (Hebrew ‘abadim) and towns (Hebrew ‘arim) look very similar. Moving the people into the towns does not fit the context well, so most translations choose slaves as the reading that makes the most sense (compare 47:20).
47:27
47:29–31
bury me with them: Compare 49:29–33. Jacob wanted to be buried with Abraham and Isaac in the cave of Machpelah (see study note on 49:29–33; see 23:1–20; 25:7–10; 35:27–29).
put your hand under my thigh: This custom was a serious oath to continue the covenant (compare with 24:1–9 and study note on 24:2). The covenant's main promise was descendants in the promised land that would be too many to count.
47:31
After taking the oath, Jacob bowed in worship and thanked the Lord for making sure he would be buried with his ancestors in the promised land (compare 1 Kings 1:47).
Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources