Joseph meeteth Jacob. Before CHRIST 1706. + Heb. thigh. CHAP. XLVI. He prepareth his brethren to meet Pharaoh. Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six; 27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. 28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. assures Jacob, that he should die before his son Joseph, and that he should die in peace, with his children about Bp. Patrick. him. 27. -- all the souls which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.] There is a remarkable difference between this verse and the foregoing: there those only are numbered who came with Jacob into Egypt, amounting to no more than threescore and six: but here are numbered all that came into Egypt, first and last, comprehending Jacob, Joseph and his two sons, and making up threescore and ten. Bp. Patrick. The whole account of Jacob's sons and grandsons, who went along with him into Egypt, stands thus: by Leah, thirty-two; by Zilpah, sixteen; by Rachel, eleven; by Bilhah, seven in all sixty-six, exclusive of Jacob himself, and of Joseph and his two sons, which make up the seventy and it was necessary that these genealogies should be exactly registered, not only to distinguish each tribe, and thereby discover the Messiah, when He came; but (as it is in the case before us) to make it apparent, that the increase of Israel, even under oppression, should bear a fair proportion to the promise made to Abraham, concerning the multiplication of his seed. Stackhouse. 28. And he sent Judah before him] Who seems by the whole story to have been the most eminent among Jacob's children, when Joseph was gone; and to have given good proof, a little before, how much he was concerned for his father. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. to direct his face unto Goshen ;] To give Joseph notice of his coming, and to receive directions in what part of Goshen he should remain. Bp. Patrick. ye 34. ye shall say, Thy servants' trade &c. - that may dwell in the land of Goshen ;] There must have been shepherds in those parts before; otherwise Joseph could not have foreseen, that, on telling their occupation, the land would be necessarily given to his brethren. And when they are presented before the king, he at once determines this place of residence for them, chap. xlvii. 5, 6. They were most probably the Arabian or Cuthite shepherds, who had been previously in possession of this land, from whence they had been lately ejected. The whole kingdom had been in subjection to their kings. But they were obliged to retire, being ex 31 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; Before CHRIST 1706. are men of 32 And the men are shepherds, for +their trade hath been to feed cattle; + Heb. they and they have brought their flocks, cattle. and their herds, and all that they have. 33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? 34 That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. pelled by the natives. The other parts of the kingdom were immediately occupied. But pasturage being contrary to the taste of the Egyptians, this particular region lay, in a great measure, neglected. Hence we have a satisfactory reason for the Israelites finding such easy access into the country, so as not only to dwell in it, but to have the land of Goshen given them for a possession, even the best of the land of Egypt. Bryant. -for every shepherd is an abomination &c.] See note on chap. xlii. 9. The promise which God had made to Abraham, to give his posterity the land of Canaan, could not be performed till Abraham's family was grown strong enough to take and keep possession of it. In the mean time therefore they were necessitated to reside among idolaters, and to reside unmixed; but whoever examines their history, will see, that the Israelites ever had a violent propensity to join themselves to Gentile nations, and to practise their manners. God therefore, in his infinite wisdom, brought them into Egypt, and kept them there during this period, the only place where they could remain for so long a time safe, and unconfounded with the natives: the ancient Egyptians being, by numerous institutions, forbidden all fellowship with strangers, and bearing besides a particular aversion to the profession of the Israelites, who were shepherds. Thus from the Israelites going into Egypt arises a new occasion to adore the footsteps of Eternal Wisdom, in his dispensations to his chosen people. Bp. Warburton. is an abomination unto the Egyptians.] It was an instance of Joseph's great modesty and love of truth, that he was not ashamed of an employment, so vile in the sight of the Egyptians. He might have instructed his brethren to conceal their way of life: or he might have told them to lay before Pharaoh the dignity of their descent, and the wonderful history of their forefathers; men, great in their generations, and honoured with revelations from God Himself. But by this open declaration his object seems to have been, to render as conspicuous as possible the wonderful chain of the Divine counsels, in raising him from so humble a condition to an elevation of such dignity and power. house. Stack GENESIS. and his father, before Pharaoh 5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6 The land of Egypt is before 7 And Joseph brought in Jacob a Before CHRIST 1706. + Heb. How many are the days of years of THEN Joseph came and told 3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. 4 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. Chap. XLVII. ver. 4. to sojourn in the land] Not to settle in it; and therefore they desire Goshen as near to Canaan. Bp. Kidder. the famine is sore in the land of Canaan:] Canaan was an high country, when compared with Egypt: and the grass sooner burnt up there than in Goshen, which being very low, they found in it pasture for their flocks. We are told on the authority of those who knew the country, that there was grass in the marshes and fenny parts of Egypt, when the Nile did not overflow enough to make plenty of corn. Bp. Patrick. 6. — make them rulers over my cattle.] As Doeg was to Saul, 1 Sam. xxi. 7, and those great officers, mentioned 1 Chron. xxvii. 29, were to king David. The Eastern kings raised part of their revenue from cattle; as the Egyptians also did : having some principal officers to superintend the lower sort of shepherds. Bp. Pa trick. 9. — pilgrimage] So good men are wont to call their life, though they never stir from their native soil: looking upon it as a passage, not a settlement. But Jacob had reason to call his life so, more literally: having been tossed from place to place, ever since he went from his father's house to Mesopotamia, and returned from thence into Canaan: where he dwelt some time at Succoth; then at Shechem: and after that removed to Beth-el; and so to Hebron, unto his father Isaac; whence he was now come into Egypt. Bp. Patrick. If we look into the story of those friends and favourites of Heaven, the ancestors of the Israelitish nation, we find them sojourning in a land that was not their's; 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11 ¶ And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his 9, 13. dwelling only in tents, soon pitched, and as soon removed again; having no ground of their own to set their foot on, save only a possession of a buryingplace, and that purchased of the inhabitants; where they might rest from their travels, till they shall pass, at the resurrection of the just, to their durable inheritance in the kingdom of God. Such was Jacob's notion of human life, expressed in his answer to the Egyptian monarch, who had enquired his age. Bp. Horne. few and evil have the days &c.] They had been few, in comparison with his forefathers; and evil, because full of labour and care, grief and sorrow, on many occasions. Bp. Patrick. Though Jacob in some respects was a prosperous man, yet he met with many evils. He fled from Esau, and served Laban twenty years; he was defeated in his hope of Rachel, and she was barren also; he fled from Laban, and feared Esau; he was afflicted in Dinah, in Simeon and Levi, and in Reuben, and upon the score of Joseph; in the sons of Judah, and in Tamar; besides the death of Rachel and the sending away of Benjamin. Bp. Kidder. have not attained unto the days &c.] Though Jacob lived seventeen years after this, he did not attain to "". the days of the years of the life of his fathers :" since his father Isaac lived 180 years, and his grandfather Abraham 175. Biblioth. Bibl. 11. in the land of Rameses,] So called perhaps by anticipation: the Israelites built a city of that name for Pharaoh in the land of Goshen, and the same name was given to the country. Bps. Patrick and Kidder, 1702. + Heb. led them. 1701. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. 16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. 17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he + fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. 18 When that year was ended, 14. — into Pharaoh's house.] Into the treasury. Bp. Patrick. 18.-second year,] That is, the next year after the sale of their cattle: this was the last year of the famine. Bp. Patrick. 19. Wherefore shall we die-we and our land?] The land is said to die, when it lies untilled and desolate. Bp. Patrick. we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh :] We, that are free, will become the king's bondmen; and our land, which was our own, we will hold of him. Bp. Patrick. give us seed,] They desired corn, not merely for food, but also to sow, in hopes of a crop the next year. For Joseph had told them there should be but seven years of famine. Bp. Patrick. 21. he removed them to cities &c.] The people of Egypt were, before this time, almost entirely scattered over the country; by which means, having fewer opportunities of conversing together, they were not only, upon many occasions, left destitute of friendly help and assistance, but were also rude and unpolished; and unacquainted with the arts, necessary to improve life. To persuade men to combine together, and to unite several dispersed families, is a most difficult point: and those who have succeeded in such attempts, have been few. But Joseph, having gained the absolute power of the country, employed it to promote this useful end. Bp. Conybeare. - from one end of the borders of Egypt &c.] Joseph did not, as some persons have imagined, transplant the people to cities remote from their residence; but consulting their convenience, only to the cities adjacent: the people round about each store-city he brought into XLVII. and all the land of Egypt. 19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. 20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed.over them so the land became Pharaoh's. 21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Before CHRIST 1701. 22 Only the land of the priests Or, princes. bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands. 23 Then Joseph said unto the peo that city; and this he did throughout the whole extent of the country. The lands, thus voluntarily sold by the people, he farmed to the occupiers again, at the moderate and fixed crown rent of a fifth part of the produce. Thus did he provide for the liberty and independence of the people, while he strengthened the authority of the king, by rendering him sole proprietor of the lands. And to secure the people from further exaction, "Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should have only the fifth part;" which law subsisted to the time of Moses, ver. 26. By this wise regulation, the people had four-fifths of the produce of the lands for their own use, and were exempted from any further taxes; the king being bound to support his civil and military establishment out of the crown rents. Dr. Hales. 22. Only the land of the priests bought he not;] The Egyptian priests were obliged to provide all sacrifices, and to bear all the charges of the national religion; and religion was in those days a matter of very great expense to them, who were to supply what was requisite for the performance of the offices of it. The numerous sacrifices that were appointed to be offered in these times, could not be provided, nor the preparations and ceremonies in offering them performed, but at a very great charge. The priests of Egypt were the whole body of the nobility of the land: they were the king's counsellors, and assistants: they were the professors and cultivators of astronomy, without which, even agriculture itself could not have proceeded: they were the keepers of the publick registers, memoirs, and chronicles of the kingdom: in a word, under the king, they were the magistrates; and filled all the prime offices. If we consider them in some or other of these views, Pharaoh 24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your housholds, and for food for your little ones. 25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants. 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part ; Joseph with his sons visiteth Jacob. 30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. c Before CHRIST 1689. 31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel c Hebr. 11. bowed himself upon the bed's head. CHAP. XLVIII. 1 Joseph with his sons visiteth his sick father. 2 Jacob strengtheneth himself to bless them. 3 He repeateth the promise. 5 He taketh Ephraim and Manasseh as his own. 7 He telleth Joseph of his mother's grave. 9 He blesseth Ephraim and Manasseh. 17 He preferreth the younger before the elder. 21 He prophesieth their return to Canaan. || Or, princes. except the land of the || priests only, ND it came to pass after these 1689. + Heb. the days of the years of his life. which became not Pharaoh's. 27¶ And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole of Jacob was an hundred age forty and seven years. 29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, b Chap. 24. 2. put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: b might think, that they had not too much to support the stations they were to act in, and for that reason he ordered, that no tax should be laid upon them. Shuckford. 23. - Behold, I have bought you this day] The bargain could not be denied; but he would not be so rigid as to insist upon it strictly. He requires only a fifth part of the increase of their ground for the king; and tells them the rest shall be their own. Herein he shewed himself both a good man, and a wise statesman; in taking away all matter of complaint from the people. Ep. Patrick. 29.- If now I have found grace in thy sight,] If thou lovest me. Bp. Patrick. - put, thy hand under my thigh, &c.] Swear to me, that thou wilt shew me true kindness, in promising and performing what I desire. Bp. Patrick. See note on chap. xxiv. ver. 2. 30.I will lie with my fathers, &c.] Besides the desire, natural to men, of being buried with their forefathers, Jacob had this peculiar reason for his request; namely, his belief, that the country, where their bodies lay, was his in reversion; and that God, in his due time, would put his children into possession of it: for which time they would long more earnestly, because the bodies of their ancestors were there buried. Jacob requires an oath of Joseph, not because he doubted of Joseph's inclination, but to make it an argument for : things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 21. 1689. 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at a Luz in the land of Canaan, and a Chap 28. blessed me, 4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 13. & 35. 6. Pharaoh's compliance with a proceeding, to which Joseph would lie under so sacred an obligation. Bp. Patrick. 31.-Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.] Raised up his head from his pillow, and bowed, either to Joseph, in thankfulness for his promise; or to God, for the assurance he had received, that he should be buried with his pious forefathers. Bp. Patrick. Or it may be, he laid himself down upon his pillow, as weak men are accustomed to do, after they have set up some time, for the dispatch of business. Stackhouse. Chap. XLVIII. ver. 1.—one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick:] On receiving this intelligence, Joseph delayed not, we find, to leave the court of Pharaoh, the cares and greatness of his station in it, in order to pay the last visit to his dying parent, and to place before him the hopes of his house and family, in the persons of his two sons. Nothing can well be more solemn or interesting than this interview; more honourable or consoling to old age, or more expressive of the dignified piety of the best of sons and the greatest of men. Archdeacon Paley. 2.- Israel strengthened himself,] He exerted his strength and possibly, when he had raised himself, he supported himself by bearing on his staff, Heb. xi. 21. Bp. Kidder. Jacob blesseth Ephraim and Manasseh, CHAP. XLVIII. 5.-thy two sons,- —are mine;] They shall be reckoned as if I had begotten them; and accordingly shall have, each of them, an inheritance, equal with the rest of my sons, and be distinct tribes. Thus he gives Joseph the right of primogeniture, who was indeed the firstborn of his intended wife; and bestows a double portion on him, by making his two sons equal to the rest of Jacob's children. Bp. Patrick. 6. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, &c.] But as to whatever sons you shall hereafter have, I give them no such privilege as this. They shall not be the heads of tribes, but shall be sorted and comprehended in those of Ephraim and Manasseh. Pyle. 7.-Rachel died by me] He intimates, that in memory of his most beloved wife Rachel, and to testify his affection for her, he adopted her grandsons to be, as it were, his sons by her; that so three of the tribes of his family might be descended and denominated from her offspring. Dr. Wells. 8. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons,] But could not see distinctly who they were, on account of the dimness of his sight. Bp. Patrick. 12. his knees,] That is, Jacob's. When Jacob had ceased caressing them, Joseph, fearing his two sons might press too long or too hard on their grandfather by reason of his feebleness, took his sons from between his father's legs, and in the most reverent manner thanked him for the kindness he had expressed to his children. Pyle, Dr. Wells. 13.- toward Israel's right hand,] Joseph so placed them, that his father might lay his right hand on Manasseh the eldest. The right hand being esteemed a token of the greater honour, 1 Kings ii. 19; Matt. xxv. 33. Bp. Kidder. 14. laid it upon Ephraim's head,] Laying hands on the head of any person was always used in this nation in and their father. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. Before CHRIST 1689. 21. 15¶ And he blessed Joseph, and d Hebr. 11. said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Heb. as Isaac; and let them grow into tree. increase. giving blessings, and appointing men to any office, and in the consecration of publick and solemn sacrifices. This is the first time we find it mentioned; but in aftertimes it occurs often: particularly when Moses constituted Joshua his successor, God orders him to do it, by laying his hands on him, Numb. xxvii. 18. 23; Deut. xxxiv. 9. Thus children were brought to our blessed Saviour, that He might lay his hands on them, and bless them; which He did, Matt. xix. 13. 15. Bp. Patrick. who was the younger,] God chose from the beginning in several instances to prefer the younger before the elder; as Abel before Cain; Shem before Japheth; Isaac before Ishmael; Jacob before Esau; Judah and Joseph before Reuben; and here Ephraim before Manasseh; and afterwards, Moses before Aaron; and David, the youngest of all, before his elder brethren: to shew that the Divine benefits were not limited to the order of nature, but dispensed freely according to God's most wise goodness. Bp. Patrick. ·guiding his hands wittingly;] He did it of choice, not by chance. Bp. Kidder. -for] Or, although, as the Hebrew particle signifies. Bp. Kidder. 15. he blessed Joseph,] In the blessing he bestowed on his children. Bp. Patrick. 16. The Angel which redeemed &c.] That is, Christ, the Angel of the covenant, Mal. iii. 1, who led the Israelites, and whom they tempted, Exod. xiv. 19; and xxiii. 20; and 1 Cor. x. 9. To whom the title of Redeemer belongs, Isai. lix. 20. Who is called "the Angel of God," chap. xxxi. 11; and the "God of Beth-el," chap. xxxi. 13. Bp. Kidder. let my name be named on them,] Here he plainly adopts them for his children, as he before said he would, For to be called by one's name, which is the same as |