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Genesis 47:26
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24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”
25 So they said, “You have saved aour lives; let us find favor 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 to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, aexcept for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.  

Joseph’s Vow to Jacob

27 So Israel adwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and bgrew and multiplied exceedingly.  
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
<< Genesis 47:25   Genesis 47:27 >>


Genesis 47:26

And Joseph made it a law - That the people should hold their land from the king, and give him the fifth part of the produce as a yearly tax. Beyond this it appears the king had no farther demands. The whole of this conduct of Joseph has been as strongly censured by some as applauded by others. It is natural for men to run into extremes in attacking or defending any position. Sober and judicious men will consider what Joseph did by Divine appointment as a prophet of God, and what he did merely as a statesman from the circumstances of the case, the complexion of the times, and the character of the people over whom he presided. When this is dispassionately done, we shall see much reason to adore God, applaud the man, and perhaps in some cases censure the minister. Joseph is never held up to our view as an unerring prophet of God. He was an honored instrument in the hands of God of saving two nations from utter ruin, and especially of preserving that family from which the Messiah was to spring, and of perpetuating the true religion among them. In this character he is represented in the sacred pages. His conduct as the prime minister of Pharaoh was powerfully indicative of a deep and consummate politician, who had high notions of prerogative, which led him to use every prudent means to aggrandize his master, and at the same time to do what he judged best on the whole for the people he governed. See the conclusion at Genesis 50:26 (note).




Other Adam Clarke entries containing Genesis 47:26:

Genesis 47:23
Genesis 50:26

 

<< Genesis 47:25   Genesis 47:27 >>

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