Genesis 47:3 NIV

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 47:3

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, what is your occupation ?.... Which is the question he had told his brethren beforehand would be asked them, and prepared them to give an answer to it, Genesis 46:33 ; which was perhaps an usual question Pharaoh asked of persons that came to settle in his dominions, that he might have no idle vagrants there, and that he might know of what advantage they were like to be of in his kingdom, and might dispose of them accordingly: and they said unto... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 47:3

Verse 3 3.Thy servants are shepherds. This confession was humiliating to the sons of Jacob, and especially to Joseph himself, whose high, and almost regal dignity, was thus marked with a spot of disgrace: for among the Egyptians (as we have said) this kind of life was disgraceful and infamous. Why, then, did not Joseph adopt the course, which he might easily have done, of describing his brethren as persons engaged in agriculture, or any other honest and creditable method of living? They were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 47:1-10

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 47:1-10

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 47:3

And Pharaoh said unto his ( i.e. Joseph's) brethren , What is your occupation? ( vide Genesis 46:33 ). And they said unto Pharaoh ,—as directed ( Genesis 46:34 )— Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 47:1-31

- 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

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 47:3

Genesis 47:3. What is your occupation? Pharaoh takes it for granted they had something to do. All that have a place in the world should have an employment in it according to their capacity, some occupation or other. Those that need not work for their bread, yet must have something to do to keep them from idleness. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 47:1-12

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

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 47:1-4

"Then Joseph went in 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. And from his brethren, he took five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers. And they said unto Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land we are come; for... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 47:1-12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 47:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 47:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 47:1-10

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 47:1-10

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 47:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 47:1-31

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 47:3

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 47:1-12

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 47:1-4

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