Genesis 47:22
And Joseph said to the people, “Listen. Today I gave you mob to Pharaoh, to work for him. And I gave him your land as well. Now I will give you seeds to plant in the ground, so that you can grow food plants. Every time you take food from those plants, you have to split up that food into 5 piles, and give one pile to Pharaoh. You can keep the rest of that food for yourselves. Then you and your families and your little kids, and all the people that live in your homes, you will all have food to eat. And you can take some of the seeds from those food plants, and you can plant those seeds in the ground, so that you can keep growing more food plants.” Then the Egypt people said to Joseph, “Sir, you saved our lives. Thank you for being good to us. We will be Pharaoh’s workers, just like you said.” So Joseph made a new law for Egypt country. That law said that every time the Egypt people got food from their food plants, they had to split up that food into 5 piles, and give one pile to Pharaoh. And you know, that law is still there in Egypt country. After that time, Pharaoh owned all the land in Egypt country. Only the ceremony men still owned their own land. You see, Pharaoh always paid those ceremony men, so they didn’t need to sell him their land to get food. So their land still belonged to them, it didn’t belong to Pharaoh.
Plain English Version
In The King James Version
In Context
21And Joseph got all the Egypt people to work for Pharaoh.
Cross References
Genesis 41:45Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a name in the Egypt language. That name was Zafenath-Pania. Pharaoh also gave Joseph a woman to marry. That woman’s name was Asenath, and her father’s name was Potifera. He was a ceremony leader for the Egypt people, at the town called Onn. That’s the story about how Joseph became Pharaoh’s most important worker, and he started to be in charge of Egypt country. At that time, Joseph was 30 years old. Then Joseph left Pharaoh’s house, and he went all around Egypt country.
Galatians 6:6By the way, remember this too. If somebody teaches you God’s word, you have to share your money, and food, and other good things with that teacher.
Matthew Henry on Genesis 47:14-27
Distressed Occasioned by the Famine. ( b. c. 1706.) 13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. 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,… Read the whole commentary →