And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph ,.... Who was present at the conversation that passed between him and his brethren: saying, thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee ; which is observed, not for Joseph's information, but to lead on to what he had to say further. read more
Verse 5 5.And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph. It is to be ascribed to the favor of God that Pharaoh was not offended when they desired that a separate dwelling-place might be granted to them; for we know that nothing is more indignantly borne by kings, than that their favors should be rejected. Pharaoh offers them a perpetual home, but they rather wish to depart from him. Should any one ascribe this to modesty, on the ground that it would have been proud to ask for the right of citizenship, in order... read more
Jacob and his sons before Pharaoh. I. JOSEPH 'S BRETHREN BEFORE PHARAOH ( Genesis 47:1-6 ). 1. Their arrival announced ( Genesis 47:1 ). "My father and brethren are come out of the land of Canaan, and behold they are in the land of Goshen." 2. Their persons presented ( Genesis 47:2 ). "He took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them to Pharaoh. The import of this selection of five is explained in the exposition. 3. Their occupations declared ... read more
The presentation to Pharaoh. I. TESTIMONY TO POWER OF CHARACTER . Joseph's influence. The five brethren selected perhaps with a view to their appearance, and in the number five, which was regarded as a significant number among the Egyptians. The monarch's reception of the strangers due to Joseph's influence. Generally diffused. There is much graciousness in the heathen monarch, although partly to be ascribed to national characteristics, for the Egyptians were a very... read more
And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee (cf. Genesis 20:15 ); in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell. Wilkinson thinks it possible that Jacob's sons "may have asked and obtained a grant of land from the Egyptian monarch on condition of certain services being performed by themselves and their descendants". In the land of Goshen let them dwell. Robinson ( Genesis 1:1-31 :78, 79)... read more
- Jacob in Goshen11. רעמסס ra‛mesês, Ra‘meses “son of the sun.”31. מטה mı̂ṭṭāh, “bed.” מטה maṭṭeh “staff.”Arrangements are now made for the settlement of Israel in Goshen. The administration of Joseph during the remaining years of the famine is then recorded. For the whole of this period his father and brothers are subject to him, as their political superior, according to the reading of his early dreams. We then approach to the death-bed of Jacob, and hear him binding Joseph by an oath to... read more
The migration to Egypt (46:1-47:12)As they were leaving Canaan for Egypt, Jacob and his family stopped to worship God at Beersheba, the last town in Canaan. Here God told Jacob that, though he would die in Egypt, his descendants would one day return and possess the land (46:1-4). Jacob’s family, at the time of the move to Egypt, numbered about seventy people (5-27).Knowing that Egyptians did not like to live alongside people who kept sheep or cattle, Joseph told his brothers to tell Pharaoh... read more
"And Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle."Leupold paraphrased Pharaoh's first statement here, as "So I see your father and brothers have arrived."[6] This is also an acknowledgment of the fact that they were there upon Pharaoh's... read more
Jacob’s blessing of Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7; Genesis 47:10) is unusual since it implies that in one sense (i.e., as one of God’s elect) Jacob was superior to Pharaoh. Pharaoh was a man of immense worldly power and influence. "The lesser is blessed by the greater" (Hebrews 7:7)."The least and most faltering of God’s children has the superiority . . . in the presence of the most elevated men of the world." [Note: Darby, 1:78.] Jacob seems to have described his life as a sojourn (Genesis 47:9)... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 47:1-12
Here is, I. The respect which Joseph, as a subject, showed to his prince. Though he was his favourite, and prime-minister of state, and had had particular orders from him to send for his father down to Egypt, yet he would not suffer him to settle till he had given notice of it to Pharaoh, Gen. 47:1. Christ, our Joseph, disposes of his followers in his kingdom as it is prepared of his Father, saying, It is not mine to give, Matt. 20:23. II. The respect which Joseph, as a brother, showed to his... read more