YISHARAL REUNITED WITH HIS SON (GEN 47)
And as they neared their destination, Yisharal sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen. And when they finally arrived there, Joseph prepared his royal chariot and travelled to Goshen to meet his father. And when Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and they both wept, holding each other for a very long time.
Finally, Yisharal said to Joseph, “Now I can die in peace, for I have finally seen your face again and I know that you are alive and well.”
And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s entire family, “I will go to the Pharaoh and tell him, that you’ve all come to be with me, from the land of Canaan and that you are all shepherds who’ve brought your flocks and herds and everything you own here. And when the Pharaoh calls on you to confirm all this, that’s what you tell him OK? Then he’ll let you live over here in the region of Goshen, away from all the general population, because you know what the Egyptians are like - they despise our people and can’t stand shepherds either. But this Pharaoh is different, he barely tolerates the Egyptians and has been very kind to us”.
So Joseph went to see the Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen.”
And Joseph presented five of his brothers to the Pharaoh, (5 IS A ROYAL SUPERSTITIOUS NUMBER FOR GOOD LUCK) who asked “What is your occupation?”
And they replied, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors and we have come to live here in Egypt for a while because there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very intense there. So please, O` great Pharaoh we request permission to live in the region of Goshen.”
And the Pharaoh was happy for Joseph, saying, “How wonderful to have your father and brothers here with us. Go! Choose any place you want in the entire land of Egypt! Let them live wherever they want! Give them the best land in Egypt. If they want Goshen, let them live in Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock too”.
Then Joseph brought in his father, Yisharal, and presented him to the Pharaoh and Yisharal spoke words of blessing over the Pharaoh, who asked, “How old are you?”
And Yisharal replied, “I have travelled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.”
Then Yisharal blessed the Pharaoh again, thanking him for treating his son Joseph so well, then he left his court. And Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt, (the region of Rameses), to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as the Pharaoh had commanded, providing food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependants, including the smallest children.
And the famine became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. The reigning (shemite) Pharaoh couldn’t of cared less about the starving Egyptians he had conquered. So by selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money in the Pharaoh’s treasury. So when the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money also, they all came to Joseph.
“Our money is gone!” They cried. “But please give us food, or we will die before your very eyes!”
But Joseph replied, “Since all your money is gone, bring me your livestock and I’ll give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
So they brought their livestock, horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys to Joseph in exchange for another year of food.
But after that year ended, they came back again saying, “We cannot hide it any longer. Our money is all gone, and all our livestock and cattle are yours too. We have nothing left to give you but our bodies and our land. Please save us and don’t let us die. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We offer ourselves as slaves for the Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty and desolate.”
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for the Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to the Pharaoh. And as for the people, Joseph made them all slaves, from one end of Egypt to the other.
A HEBREW MAN, SOLD INTO EGYPT AS A SLAVE, BY TERRORISTS WAS NOW REDUCING THE WHOLE NATION OF EGYPT TO SLAVERY! . . . . WOW!
TODAY THE WORD `SLAVERY’ SOUNDS VERY HARSH AND CRUEL, BUT IT WAS A NORMAL PART OF LIFE IN ANCIENT TIMES AND THE SERVANTS WERE ACTUALLY TREATED AND FED VERY WELL, ALMOST LIKE PART OF THE FAMILY (USUALLY!)
The only land that Joseph did not buy was the land belonging to the priests because they got food directly from the Pharaoh. Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I’ve bought you and your land for the Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields, then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crops will belong to the Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your children.”
And the nation cried out to Joseph, “You have saved our lives by letting us be the Pharaoh’s servants!”
Joseph then issued a decree (still in effect in the land of Egypt), that the Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to the Pharaoh.
Meanwhile, Jacob’s family (the people of Yisharal) had settled in the region of Goshen (away from the main population of Egyptians) and there they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their populations grew rapidly. And Yisharal lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, making him 147 years old.
And as the time of his death drew near, Yisharal called for his son Joseph and said to him, “Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh (ON HIS CIRCUMCISION - SWEARING AN OATH ON THE FUTURE GENERATIONS ‘STILL IN THE TESTICLES’ - TESTAMENT ) and swear that you will treat me kindly by honoring this last request. Please do not bury me here among the nations, but take me back to the land promised to me. Do you understand? When I die, take my body out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors please.”
“Of course I will Dad.” Joseph promised.
“Swear it!” Yisharal insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Yisharal bowed humbly at the head of his bed.
