Barashyt(Genesis) — 47

1 Then Ya'asaf went to see Phar'uh and told him, “My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Gushan.”

2 Ya'asaf took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Phar'uh. 

3 And Phar'uh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” They replied, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. 

4 We have come to live here in Mitzraym for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. So please, we request permission to live in the region of Gushan.”

5 Then Phar'uh said to Ya'asaf, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, 

6 choose any place in the entire land of Mitzraym for them to live. Give them the best land of Mitzraym. Let them live in the region of Gushan. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too.”

7 Then Ya'asaf brought in his father, Ya'aqub, and presented him to Phar'uh. And Ya'aqub Baraked Phar'uh.

8 “How old are you?” Phar'uh asked him.

9 Ya'aqub replied, “I have traveled this Arath for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my Fathers.” 

10 Then Ya'aqub Baraked Phar'uh again before leaving his court.

11 So Ya'asaf assigned the best land of Mitzraym, the region of Rameses to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Phar'uh had commanded.

12 And Ya'asaf provided food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.

Ya'asaf’s Leadership in the Famine

13 Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Mitzraym and Canaan. 

14 By selling grain to the people, Ya'asaf eventually collected all the money in Mitzraym and Canaan, and he put the money in Phar'uh’s treasury. 

15 When the people of Mitzraym and Canaan ran out of money, all the Mitzraym came to Ya'asaf. “Our money is gone!” they cried. “But please give us food, or we will die before your very eyes!”

16 Ya'asaf replied, “Since your money is gone, bring me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 

17 So they brought their livestock to Ya'asaf in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Ya'asaf provided them with food for another year.

18 But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We cannot hide the truth from you, my master. Our money is gone, and all our livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land. 

19 Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we offer our land and ourselves as slaves for Phar'uh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty and desolate.”

20 So Ya'asaf bought all the land of Mitzraym for Phar'uh. All the Mitzraym sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Phar'uh. 

21 As for the people, he made them all slaves, from one end of Mitzraym to the other. 

22 The only land he did not buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received an allotment of food directly from Phar'uh, so they didn’t need to sell their land.

23 Then Ya'asaf said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Phar'uh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. 

24 Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Phar'uh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your little ones.”

25 “You have saved our lives!” they exclaimed. “May it please you, my master, to let us be Phar'uh’s servants.” 

26 Ya'asaf then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Mitzraym, that Phar'uh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to Phar'uh.

27 Meanwhile, the people of YASHAR'AL settled in the region of Gushan in Mitzraym. There they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their population grew rapidly. 

28 Ya'aqub lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Mitzraym, so he lived 147 years in all.

29 As the time of his death drew near, Ya'aqub called for his son Ya'asaf and said to him, “Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request: Do not bury me in Mitzraym. 

30 When I die, please take my body out of Mitzraym and bury me with my Fathers.” So Ya'asaf promised, “I will do as you ask.”

31 “Swear that you will do it,” Ya'aqub insisted. So Ya'asaf gave his oath, and Ya'aqub bowed humbly at the head of his bed.