Egypt

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,

and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.

So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

So Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev—he and his wife and all his possessions—and Lot was with him.

And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—

And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.

And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.

So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The LORD’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field.

Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.

both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.

In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

After them, seven other cows—sickly, ugly, and thin—came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!

Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,

but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land.

Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.

Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.”

Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt.”

He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.

And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”

Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.

Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it.

When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end,

the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt.

When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

“Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

So when Jacob’s sons had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

So the men took these gifts, along with double the amount of silver, and Benjamin as well. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!

Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Now return quickly to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay.

Tell my father about all my splendor in Egypt and everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’

You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back.

But pay no regard to your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

And he sent to his father the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father’s journey.

So the brothers went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.

“Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

“I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely bring you back. And Joseph’s own hands will close your eyes.”

They also took the livestock and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.

Jacob took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

All those belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt—his direct descendants, besides the wives of Jacob’s sons—numbered sixty-six persons.

And with the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt were seventy in all.

the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine.

Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace.

When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!”

So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other.

So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number.

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.

When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,

but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”

And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.

Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt—

When the Canaanites of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn ceremony of mourning by the Egyptians.” Thus the place across the Jordan is called Abel-mizraim.

After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.

Now Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt, and Joseph lived to the age of 110.

So Joseph died at the age of 110. And they embalmed his body and placed it in a coffin in Egypt.