It is somewhat remarkable that Jacob lost Joseph at the age of seventeen: and now the LORD grants the same number of years for them to be together. The intermediate space of Joseph's life, the LORD had other employment for him. read more
This day. When Moses wrote, and long after, as we learn from Josephus, Clement of Alexandria, Diodorus, &c. (Calmet) read more
13-26 Care being taken of Jacob and his family, which mercy was especially designed by Providence in Joseph's advancement, an account is given of the saving the kingdom of Egypt from ruin. There was no bread, and the people were ready to die. See how we depend upon God's providence. All our wealth would not keep us from starving, if rain were withheld for two or three years. See how much we are at God's mercy, and let us keep ourselves always in his love. Also see how much we smart by our own... read more
The Consequences of the Severe Famine. v. 11. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, he assigned them land where they might live, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, another name for Goshen, probably from its capital or chief city, as Pharaoh had commanded. Thus Joseph fulfilled all the obligations which his love for his father and for his brothers demanded of him, a shining example for our selfish age. v. 12. And... read more
EIGHTH SECTIONIsrael’s emigration with his family to Egypt. The settlement in the land of Goshen. Jacob and Pharaoh. Joseph’s political Economy. Jacob’s charge concerning his burial at Canaan.Genesis 46, 471And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said Jacob, Jacob. 3And he said, Here I am. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to... read more
Egyptians Saved in Famine Genesis 47:13-26 The slender stores of the Egyptians were soon exhausted, and had it not been for Joseph the streets would have been filled with the dying and dead. His Egyptian name means “the savior of the world;” and the confession of the Egyptians proved how true it was: “Thou hast saved our lives.” How closely the parallel holds! Joseph rose from the pit and the prison to save his brethren as well as the myriads of his adopted fellow-countrymen: Jesus rose from... read more
To watch Jacob is to see a man who alternated between faith and fear. Standing before Pharaoh, his faith in God and his consciousness of his own position in the divine economy were clearly apparent. The less is ever blessed of the greater, and when Jacob gave his blessing to Pharaoh it was undoubtedly with a consciousness of his own relation to a divine program. Joseph's policy in administering Egyptian affairs must be judged by the times in which he lived. It was a policy which ensured the... read more
‘And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Only the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.’ The writer summarises the position as it still is in his day. How long the fifth remained the standard we do not know. But when the Hyksos took over things would change. This would suggest he wrote before that time. But how does this tie in with what we know of conditions in Egypt? Certainly we know that in the period before... read more
Genesis 47:13-Ezekiel : . Joseph Takes Advantage of the Famine to Secure for the Crown the Money, the Cattle, and the Lands of the Egyptians.— If this belongs to one of the main documents, J is the most probable. But it may be an independent piece. It is an æ tiological story (p. 134). The system of land tenure in Egypt must have struck the Hebrews as strange; they accounted for it in this way. The system is not attested in the inscriptions, but there is confirmatory evidence, and it probably... read more
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The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Genesis 47:1-31
The Last Days of Jacob Genesis 47-49 We have seen Jacob a runaway, a stranger, a hireling, and a prince having power with God. His deceptions, his dreams, his prayers, his visions, are now closing; and the sunset is not without gorgeousness and solemnity. Every sunset should make us pray or sing; it should not pass without leaving some sacred impression upon the mind. The dying sun should be a teacher of some lesson, and mystery, and grace of providence. We shall now see Jacob as we have... read more