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Genesis 47:4

CanaanPharaohCanaanGoshen
The stranger and outcast

2 And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

3 “What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”

Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”

5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you,

6 the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

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Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

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BSB
Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”
KJV
They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
WEB
They also said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
ASV
And they said unto Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for thy servants` flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
DARBY
And they said to Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for the sheep that thy servants have, for the famine is grievous in the land of Canaan; and now, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
BLB
And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land because [there is] no pasture for the sheep that your servants have, for the famine [is] severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
ÅB
Så sa de til Farao: Vi er kommet for å bo en tid her i landet; for dine tjenere hadde ikke beite for sin buskap, fordi det er en hård hungersnød i Kana'ans land; la derfor dine tjenere få bo i landet Gosen!
OTB
De fortsatte: “Vi har kommet for å bo her midlertidig, for hungersnøden i Kanaan er alvorlig, og det er ingen beite for våre flokker. Vennligst la dine tjenere bo i Gosen.”
B1930
Så sa de til Farao: Vi er kommet for å bo en tid her i landet; for dine tjenere hadde ikke beite for sin buskap, fordi det er en hård hungersnød i Kana'ans land; la derfor dine tjenere få bo i landet Gosen!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Genesis 46:34

    you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

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  • Deuteronomy 26:5

    and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous.

    Read in context

  • Genesis 15:13

    Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

    Read in context

  • Genesis 43:1

    Now the famine was still severe in the land.

    Read in context

  • Acts 7:11

    Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.

    Read in context

  • Psalms 105:23

    Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.

    Read in context

  • Acts 7:6

    God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

    Read in context

  • Genesis 12:10

    Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

    Read in context