BibleTools
Genesis 47:18
Compare all
16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.”
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he1 fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.  
18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.
19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may alive and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”  
20 Then Joseph abought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.  
21 And as for the people, he1 moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.  
22 aOnly the land of the bpriests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.  
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< Genesis 47:17   Genesis 47:19 >>

What Does Genesis 47:18 Mean?



Genesis 47:18-20

Many people conceive of ancient Egypt as having a small ruling aristocracy, a priestly caste, and a military class, and then millions and millions of slaves. Yet, that is not how it was at all—at least not before this tribulation. What we witness in the story of the seven years of famine is instead a picture of a free people who became slaves, selling their livelihoods, their land, and finally themselves to the government. The tribulation of that day was so great that the Egyptians literally "sold the farm" to Pharaoh.

Charles Whitaker
The Other Great Tribulation

Related Topics: "sold the farm" to Pharaoh | Famine | Israel's Slavery | Other Great Tribulation | Selling oneself into slavery | Seven years of Famine | Slavery | Welfare System | Welfare Mentality


 
<< Genesis 47:17   Genesis 47:19 >>

Join 137,316+ readers

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning

Consistent Bible study is hard to start.

The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.

Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.

Close
E-mail This Page