Genesis 47:4

Genesis 47:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

Context of Genesis 47:4

2From among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh. 3Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.” Then they said to Pharaoh, “We came to dwell temporarily in the land, since there is no pasture for the flocks that belong to your servants, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” 5Pharaoh said to Joseph saying, “Your father and your brothers came to you. 6The land of Egypt is before you—settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, make them overseers of the livestock—over those that are mine.”

Genesis 47:4 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֗ה לָג֣וּר בָּאָרֶץ֮ בָּאנוּ֒ כִּי־אֵ֣ין מִרְעֶ֗ה לַצֹּאן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לַעֲבָדֶ֔יךָ כִּֽי־כָבֵ֥ד הָרָעָ֖ב בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וְעַתָּ֛ה יֵֽשְׁבוּ־נָ֥א עֲבָדֶ֖יךָ בְּאֶ֥רֶץ גֹּֽשֶׁן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• moreover unto Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• For to sojournגּוּרgûr · to sojournH1481
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• are we comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• for thy servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• have no pastureמִרְעֶהmir‛eh · pastureH4829
• for their flocksצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• for the famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• soreכָּבֵדkâbêd · heavyH3515
• of Canaanכְּנַ֫עַןkena‛an · CanaanH3667
• dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• of Goshenגֹּ֫שֶׁןgôshen · GoshenH1657

Cross-references for Genesis 47:4

• Genesis 12:10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live as an outsider there, because the famine was severe in the land.
• Genesis 15:13Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.
• Deuteronomy 26:5“Then you are to respond before Adonai your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and lived there as an outsider, few in number. But there he became a great nation—mighty and numerous.
• Psalms 105:23Then Israel came into Egypt, Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
• Isaiah 52:4For thus says Adonai Elohim: “At first My people went down to Egypt to reside there, then the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.
• Acts 7:6“But God spoke in this way, that his ‘descendants would be foreigners in a land belonging to others, and they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years.
• Genesis 43:1Now the famine was severe in the land.
• Acts 7:11“Famine and great suffering came over all Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could find no food.
• Genesis 46:34you must say, ‘Your servants have been men who handle livestock since the time of our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you can live in the land of Goshen, because every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians.”

Commentaries on Genesis 47:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-31Verses 1-31 - Jacob in Goshen 11. רעמסס ra‛mesês Rameses “son of the sun.” 31. מטה mı̂ṭṭāh “bed.” מטה maṭṭeh “staff.” Arrangements are now made for the settlement of Israel in Goshen. The administration of Joseph during the remaining years of the famine is then recorded. For the whole of this period his father and brothers are subject to him, as their political superior, according to the reading of his early dreams. We then approach to the death-bed…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6Pharaoh responded as Joseph hoped by giving Jacob’s family the best part of the land; he even gave some of the brothers oversight of his own livestock (47:6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. For to sojourn ... are we come--The royal conversation took the course which Joseph had anticipated (Ge 46:33), and they answered according to previous instructions--manifesting, however, in their determination to return to Canaan, a faith and piety which affords a hopeful symptom of their having become all, or most of them, religious men.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 47:4

• Israel
• Jacob
• Joseph

In the dictionaries

• Canaan
• Goshen
• Pharaoh
• Canaan; Canaanites
• Canaan, Canaanite
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• City
• Exchange
• Fail
• Nourish

Commentaries on Genesis 47

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings