Genesis 47:4

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 47:4

They said moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land are we come ,.... Not to obtain possessions and inheritances, as if natives, and to abide there always, but to continue for a little time; for they kept in mind that the land of Canaan was given to them as an inheritance, and would be possessed by then, in due time, and therefore had no thought for the present of continuing here long: for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is sore in the land of... 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 47:4

They said moreover (literally, and they said ) unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come ;—an unconscious fulfillment of an ancient prophecy ( Genesis 15:13 )— for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks (it was solely the extreme drought that had caused them for a season to vacate their own land); for the famine is sore (literally, heavy ) in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell (literally, and now might thy servants... 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 47:4

Genesis 47:4. To sojourn in the land are we come Not to settle there for ever; only to sojourn, while the famine prevailed so in Canaan, which lay high, that it was not habitable for shepherds, the grass being burned up much more than in Egypt, which lay low, and where the corn chiefly failed, but there was tolerably good pasture. But although Jacob and his sons intended only to sojourn in Goshen or Egypt till the famine should be over, yet first the kindness they received encouraged... 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

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 47:4

4. For to sojourn . . . are we come—The royal conversation took the course which Joseph had anticipated (Genesis 46:33), and they answered according to previous instructions—manifesting, however, in their determination to return to Canaan, a faith and piety which affords a hopeful symptom of their having become all, or most of them, religious men. read more

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