[1] So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, with
their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land
of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen." [2] And from among his
brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. [3] Pharaoh said
to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your
servants are shepherds, as our fathers were." [4] They said to Pharaoh, "We
have come to sojourn in the land; for there is no pasture for your
servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan; and now,
we pray you, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen." [5] Then
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.
[6] The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers
in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen; and if you
know any able men among them, put them in charge of my cattle." [7] Then
Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob
blessed Pharaoh. [8] And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of
the years of your life?" [9] And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the
years of my sojourning are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have
been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the
days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their
sojourning." [10] And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence
of Pharaoh. [11] Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and gave
them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the
land of Ram'eses, as Pharaoh had commanded. [12] And Joseph provided his
father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according
to the number of their dependents. [13] Now there was no food in all the
land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the
land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. [14] And Joseph gathered
up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of
Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into
Pharaoh's house. [15] And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt
and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said,
"Give us food; why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone."
[16] And Joseph answered, "Give your cattle, and I will give you food in
exchange for your cattle, if your money is gone." [17] So they brought
their cattle to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the
horses, the flocks, the herds, and the asses: and he supplied them with
food in exchange for all their cattle that year. [18] And when that year
was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him, "We will
not hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle
are my lord's; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies
and our lands. [19] Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our
land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be slaves to
Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land
may not be desolate." [20] So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for
Pharaoh; for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was
severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh's; [21] and as for the people, he
made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the other. [22] Only the land
of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had a fixed allowance from
Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they
did not sell their land. [23] Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I
have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for
you, and you shall sow the land. [24] And at the harvests you shall give a
fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field
and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little
ones." [25] And they said, "You have saved our lives; may it please my
lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh." [26] So Joseph made it a statute
concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh
should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become
Pharaoh's. [27] Thus Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of
Goshen; and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied
exceedingly. [28] And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so
the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred and forty-seven
years. [29] And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his
son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, put
your hand under my thigh, and promise to deal loyally and truly with me. Do
not bury me in Egypt, [30] but let me lie with my fathers; carry me out of
Egypt and bury me in their burying place." He answered, "I will do as you
have said." [31] And he said, "Swear to me"; and he swore to him. Then
Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.
