Genesis 47:24 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 47:24
And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
four · conjunction + cardinal number, both genders singular construct
parts
הַיָּדֹ֡תhai.ya.Dot
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · definite article + noun, common both genders plural absolute
seed
לְזֶ֨רַעle.Ze.ra'
H2233
seed · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
field
הַשָּׂדֶ֧הha.sa.Deh
H7704
a field (as flat) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
food
וּֽלְאָכְלְכֶ֛םu.le.'a.khe.le.Khem
H400
food · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
households
בְּבָתֵּיכֶ֖םbe.va.tei.Khem
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
food
וְלֶאֱכֹ֥לve.le.'e.Khol
H398
to eat (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
ones
לְטַפְּכֶֽםle.ta.pe.Khem
H2945
a family (mostly used collectively in the singular) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 41:34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous year…
Psalms 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
Psalms 112:5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Genesis 47:25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.
Leviticus 27:32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
1 Samuel 8:15-17 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 47:13-26
Care being taken of Jacob and his family, the preservation of which was especially designed by Providence in Joseph's advancement, an account is now given of the saving of the kingdom of Egypt too from ruin; for God is King of nations as well as King of saints, and provideth food for all flesh. Joseph now returns to the management of that great trust which Pharaoh had lodged in his hand. It would have been pleasing enough to him to have gone and lived with his father and brethren in Goshen; but his employment would not permit it. When he had seen his father, and seen him well settled, he applied himself as closely as ever to the execution of his office. Note, Even natural affection must give…
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.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 47:24
Ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh - This is precisely the case in Hindostan; the king has the fifth part of all the crops.
John Gill on Genesis 47:24
And it shall come to pass, in the increase,.... When the land shall produce an increase, and it shall be gathered in:
that you shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh; a fifth part of the increase:
and four parts shall be your own; for the following uses, one part
for seed of the field: to sow again with for the next year: a second part
for your food; for food for themselves: a third part
for them of your household; their servants and maids: and the fourth part
for food for your little ones; for their children, be they young or old; or however four parts of five he proposed they should have for their own use, and for the maintenance of their families, which was a kind and generous propo…
We have compared priests with priests; now, if it seems good, let us also compare the Egyptian people with the Israelite people. For it is said in what follows that after the famine and the servitude the Egyptian people offer a fifth part to Pharaoh; but on the contrary the Israelite people offer tithes to the priests. See in this too that the divine Scripture is supported by a mighty reason. See the Egyptian people paying tribute by the number five: for the five bodily senses are designated, to which the carnal people is enslaved; for the Egyptians always give obedience to visible and corporeal things. But the Israelite people honors the number ten, the number of perfection; for it received the ten words of the law and, bound by the power of the Decalogue, took up by divine largess the divine mysteries unknown to this world. But in the New Testament also the number ten is likewise venerable, just as the fruit of the Spirit too is set forth as germinating in ten virtues, and the faithful servant offers to the Lord ten minas from the gains of his trading and receives power over ten cities. But because there is one author of all and one fount and "beginning," Christ, therefore the people indeed renders tithes to the ministers and priests, but offers the firstborn to "the firstborn of all creation" and the first-fruits to the "beginning" of all, of whom it is written: "who is the beginning, the firstborn of all creation." See therefore from all these things the difference of the people of the Egyptians and the people of Israel, and the difference of the priests of Pharaoh and the priests of the Lord, and, examining yourself, discern of which people you are and of what order you hold the priesthood. If you still serve the carnal senses, if you still pay tribute by the number five and look to those things which are "visible" and "temporal," and do not look to those things which are "invisible" and "eternal," know that you are of the Egyptian people. But if you always have before your eyes the Decalogue of the law and the ten of the New Testament, which we expounded above, and offer tithes of these, and immolate the firstborn of your sense in faith to "the firstborn from the dead," and refer your first-fruits to the "beginning" of all, you are "a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile." But the priests of the Lord too, if they examine themselves and are free…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Field — (Heb. sadeh), a cultivated field, but unenclosed. It is applied to any cultivated ground or pasture (Gen. 29:2; 31:4; 34:7), or tillage (Gen. 37:7; 47:24). It is also applied to woodland (Ps. 132:6)…
Egypt · .The king acquires title to land of — .The king acquires title to land of
Extortion · (grain) — (grain)
Land · Monopoly of — Monopoly of
Monopoly · By Pharaoh — By Pharaoh
Statecraft · .Joseph — .Joseph
Usurpation · and per — and per
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Genesis 47:23-26
Then Joseph said unto the people. Here Moses describes the singular humanity of Joseph, which, as it then repressed all complaints, so, at this time, it justly dispels and refutes the calumnies with which he is assailed. The men, who were entirely destitute, and, in a sense, exiles, he reinstates in their possessions, on the most equitable condition, that they should pay a fifth part of the produce to the king. It is well known that formerly, in various places, kings have demanded by law the payment of tenths; but that, in the time of war, they doubled this tax. Therefore, what injury, can we say, was done to the Egyptians, when Joseph burdened the land, bought for the king, with a fifth par…
To make the extent of the benefit conferred by Joseph upon his family, in providing them with the necessary supplies during the years of famine, all the more apparent, a description is given of the distress into which the inhabitants of Egypt and Canaan were plunged by the continuance of the famine.
Gen 47:13
The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted with hunger. - ותּלהּ: from להה = לאה, to languish, to be exhausted, only occurring again in Pro 26:18, Hithp. in a secondary sense.
Gen 47:14
All the money in both countries was paid in to Joseph for the purchase of corn, and deposited by him in Pharaoh's house, i.e., the royal treasury.
Gen 47:15-17
When the money was exhausted,…
he made them all slaves: In Hebrew script, the difference is very slight between slaves (Hebrew ‘abadim) and towns (Hebrew ‘arim). Moving the people into the towns doesn’t fit the context very well, so most translations select slaves as the reading that makes the most sense (cp. 47:20).
Rashi on Genesis 47:24
לזרע השדה FOR SEED OF THE FIELD — for sowing every year),
ולאשר בבתיכם AND FOR THEM OF YOUR HOUSEHOLDS — means and as food for the servants and maidservants that are in your houses,
טפכם means your young children.
