Genesis 47:13 - Meaning and Application

With Jacob and his family now cared for, the story turns to how Egypt itself was rescued from ruin. That preservation was also part of God’s purpose in Joseph’s rise, for God is King over nations as well as over his people, and he provides food for all living things. Joseph now returned to the work Pharaoh had placed in his hands. He would gladly have lived with his father and brothers in Goshen, the fertile district in Egypt where they settled, but his duty did not allow it. Once he had seen his father and knew he was safely settled, he gave himself again to the work of his office.

Even natural affection must yield to necessary work. Parents and children must sometimes stay apart when the service of God, or the good of their generation, requires it. In Joseph’s dealings with the Egyptians, we first see the great distress Egypt and the surrounding land were brought to by the famine. There was no bread, and they fainted (Genesis 47:13). They were close to death (Genesis 47:15, 19). This shows how dependent we are on God’s care. If his usual kindness is held back for only a short time, we die and perish. All our wealth could not keep us alive if heaven withheld rain for two or three years.

We also see how much we suffer from our own lack of foresight. If the Egyptians had prepared during the seven years of plenty as Joseph did for Pharaoh, they would not have been in such trouble now. But they ignored the warning of the coming famine. They lived as if tomorrow would always be like today, and next year would bring even more abundance. Since a person does not know his time for gathering, his misery becomes great when the time for spending comes (Ecclesiastes 8:6, 7). Yet we also see how early God made a difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites, just as he later did in the plagues (Exodus 8:22; 9:4, 26; 10:23). Jacob and his family, though they were strangers, were fed freely and richly, while the Egyptians were dying for lack of food. As Scripture says, “My servants will eat, but you will be hungry” (Isaiah 65:13). Happy is Israel, because those who belong to God will not want for what he chooses to provide (Psalm 34:10).

Next, we see what price the people paid for food in such desperate times. First they gave all the money they had stored up (Genesis 47:14). Gold and silver could not feed them, only grain could. In this way all the money of the kingdom was brought into Pharaoh’s treasury. When the money was gone, they gave up all their livestock, both the animals used for work, like horses and donkeys, and those used for food, like flocks and herds (Genesis 47:17). This suggests that bread without meat is easier to live on than meat without bread. They may have parted with their animals more willingly because there was little or no grass left for them. Pharaoh now saw in real life what he had seen in a dream before: nothing but lean cattle.

When they had sold their animals and could not live from their land, it was easy to persuade them to sell the land too. What good was land without seed to plant it or animals to work it? So they sold their land for more grain. When even the land was gone, and they had nothing left to live on, they had to sell themselves so they could live by their labor and hold their land under the crown. Hard necessity can drive people to give up liberty and property, which are among the dearest things they have, for the sake of life itself. Life is sweet, and many would choose slavery over starvation, though they might not choose death by the sword in a burst of feeling. Some might die bravely in anger, yet could not face death by famine, which is often worse (Lamentations 4:9).

It was still a mercy to the Egyptians that they could get grain at any price. If they had all died of hunger, their lands might have passed to the crown because there would have been no heirs. So they chose the best outcome possible in a terrible situation. Joseph then found a way to settle matters between the king and the people so that Pharaoh received what was due, and the people were not ruined. For their land, he did not need to bargain while the famine lasted. But when the famine ended, for God does not stay angry forever, he made an agreement that both sides accepted. The people would keep and farm the land as Joseph assigned it, and Pharaoh would supply seed from his stores. In return, they would give one-fifth of the yearly produce as a fixed rent to the crown. This became a standing law (Genesis 47:26).

It was a good arrangement, since they received food for their land when otherwise they and their families would have starved, and then they got their land back on fair terms. Those who serve in public office deserve special honor when they keep a just balance between ruler and people, so that royal power does not crush personal liberty and property, and liberty and property do not weaken rightful authority. There is safety in many wise advisers. If the Egyptians later felt the tax was heavy, they should remember how just and kind the first law was. They might gladly pay a fifth when everything else had come through mercy. Joseph also proved faithful to the one who appointed him. He did not keep the money for himself or use the land to build up his own family. He turned both fully to Pharaoh’s use, and so we do not read that his descendants left Egypt richer than the rest of their poor brothers. Anyone in public trust who grows rich must be careful that it is not at the cost of a clear conscience, which is far more valuable.

For the people themselves, Joseph moved them into the cities (Genesis 47:21). He transplanted them to show Pharaoh’s power over them, and also so they would gradually forget their claim to their old lands and more easily accept their new condition of dependence. The Jewish writers say he did this because they had mocked his brothers as foreigners, and by this act they were all made, in effect, foreigners together. This shows how much change a short time can bring to a people, and how quickly God can pour them from one vessel into another after they had grown settled in their own comfort. Though this seemed hard, the people at the time saw it as a great kindness and were thankful it was no worse. “You have saved our lives” (Genesis 47:25). There is good reason, then, that the one who saves our lives should also be the master of our lives.

“You have saved us. Do what you will with us.”

He also made an exception for the priests. They were supported at the king’s expense, so they did not need to sell their land (Genesis 47:22). In the same way, people should act in loyalty to their God by being kind to those who serve in public worship and care for them in sacred things. We should honor God in the same way, by holding his ministers in high regard because of their work.