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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 47:1 - 47:10
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Jacob and Five of his Sons Presented to Pharaoh
v. 1. Then Joseph came, and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. This was the formal and official notification of their arrival in Pharaoh's domain.
v. 2. And he took some of his brethren, out of their total number, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
v. 3. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers. As Joseph had foreseen the question of Pharaoh, so his instruction to his brothers had just covered the case.
v. 4. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land, to live here only a while as strangers, are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
v. 5. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee;
v. 6. the land of Egypt is before thee, in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; he might give them places to live in whatsoever part he considered most excellent for their purposes, in the land of Goshen let them dwell. It is a fine bit of tact on the part of Pharaoh in yielding to Joseph the right and the decision as to the settlement in Goshen. And if thou knowest any men of activity among them, able, energetic men, then make them rulers over my cattle, they were to be given positions as chief herdsmen.
v. 7. And Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, after the first part of the audience had terminated so successfully,and set him before Pharaoh, presented him to the king;and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. It was not an ordinary, humble greeting, but a true priestly blessing.
v. 8. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? an inquiry of courtesy.
v. 9. And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. The expression is purposely chosen to indicate extension, duration. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. The complaint of Moses is here anticipated: "Yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away," Psa_90:10. The age of Jacob, although he did not die as soon as he expected, did indeed fall much short of that of Abraham and Isaac, and in addition, his shorter life had brought him much grief and sorrow. The believers have no guarantee of immunity against the troubles of this earth, but, on the contrary, very often are obliged to carry an unusual measure, and they bear them willingly in the fear of God.
v. 10. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. If the princes of the world grant to the believers a place where they may live and worship in peace and security, they will receive the blessings of the Lord in return.