Genesis 47:23

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 47:23 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
Genesis 47:23 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 47

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
23Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Then Joseph said unto the people, etc.] After he had bought their land, and before the removal of them to distant parts: behold, I have bought you this day, and your land, for Pharaoh: which he observes to them, that they might take notice of it, and confirm it, or object if they had anything to say to the contrary: lo, [here is] seed for you, and ye shall sow the land: by which it should seem that they were not removed from the spot where they lived, but retained their own land under Pharaoh, and had seed given them to sow it with, which may seem contrary to (<014721>Genesis 47:21); wherefore that must be understood of a purpose and proposal to remove them, and not that it was actually…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Joseph said, Behold, &c.--The lands being sold to the government (Gen 47:19-20), seed would be distributed for the first crop after the famine; and the people would occupy them as tenants-at-will on the payment of a produce rent, almost the same rule as obtains in Egypt in the present day.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Jacob in Goshen 11. רעמסס ra‛mesês, Ra‘meses “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 of Jacob, and hear him binding Joseph by an oath to bury him in the grave of his fathers. Genesis 47:1-12 Joseph announces to Pharaoh the arrival of his kindred. “Of the whole of his brethren,” more exactly from the end of his brethren. Five men, a…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification