Genesis 47:6

The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
land	אֶ֤רֶץ 'E.retz	H776	the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular construct
Egypt	מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ mitz.Ra.yim	H4714	Mitsrajim · proper noun, a place name
thee	לְפָנֶ֣יךָ le.fa.Nei.kha	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
best	בְּמֵיטַ֣ב be.mei.Tav	H4315	the best part · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
land	הָאָ֔רֶץ ha.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
make	הוֹשֵׁ֥ב ho.Shev	H3427	properly · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
father	אָבִ֖יךָ 'a.Vi.kha	H1	father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
brethren	אַחֶ֑יךָ 'a.Chei.kha	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
dwell	יֵשְׁבוּ֙ ye.she.Vu	H3427	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
land	בְּאֶ֣רֶץ be.'E.retz	H776	the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Goshen	גֹּ֔שֶׁן Go.shen	H1657	Goshen · proper noun, a place name
dwell	יָשַׁב yâshab	H3427	properly
knowest	יָדַ֗עְתָּ ya.Da'.ta	H3045	to know (properly · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
men	אַנְשֵׁי 'an.shei-	H582	a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural construct
activity	חַ֔יִל Cha.yil	H2428	probably a force · noun, common masculine singular absolute
them	וְשַׂמְתָּ֛ם ve.sam.Tam	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
rulers	שָׂרֵ֥י sa.Rei	H8269	a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine plural construct
cattle	מִקְנֶ֖ה mik.Neh	H4735	something bought · noun, common masculine singular absolute

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 47:11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rame…
Exodus 18:21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, t…
Proverbs 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
Genesis 47:4 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 i…
Exodus 18:25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties,…
2 Chronicles 26:10 Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen al…
Genesis 13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or…
Genesis 20:15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 47:1-12

Here is, I. The respect which Joseph, as a subject, showed to his prince. Though he was his favourite, and prime-minister of state, and had had particular orders from him to send for his father down to Egypt, yet he would not suffer him to settle till he had given notice of it to Pharaoh, Gen 47:1. Christ, our Joseph, disposes of his followers in his kingdom as it is prepared of his Father, saying, It is not mine to give, Mat 20:23. II. The respect which Joseph, as a brother, showed to his brethren, notwithstanding all the unkindness he had formerly received from them. 1. Though he was a great man, and they were comparatively mean and despicable, especially in Egypt, yet he owned them. Let t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 47:4

For to sojourn . . . are we come--The royal conversation took the course which Joseph had anticipated (Gen 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.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 47:6

In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell - So it appears that the land of Goshen was the best of the land of Egypt. Men of activity - אנשי חיל anshey chayil, stout or robust men - such as were capable of bearing fatigue, and of rendering their authority respectable. Rulers over my cattle - מקנה mikneh signifies not only cattle, but possessions or property of any kind; though most usually cattle are intended, because in ancient times they constituted the principal part of a man's property. The word may be taken here in a more extensive sense, and the circumstances of the case seem obviously to require it. If every shepherd was an abom…

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John Gill on Genesis 47:6

The land of Egypt is before thee,.... To choose what part of it he should judge most suitable and agreeable to his father and brethren: in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell, in the land of Goshen let them dwell; as is requested; and which was, as Pharaoh here suggests, the best part of the land, the most fertile and fruitful, and the fittest for cattle, being full of pastures through the river Nile and the canals of it, and Goshen being the most fertile portion in the land of Rameses, as in Genesis 47:11; this, Dr. Shaw observes (k), could be no other than what lay within two or three leagues at the most from the Nile, because the rest of the Egyptian Arabia, which…

Dictionary and topics

City — The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain (Gen. 4:17). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12). Next, we have…
Goshen — (1.) A district in Egypt where Jacob and his family settled, and in which they remained till the Exodus (Gen. 45:10; 46:28, 29, 31, etc.). It is called “the land of Goshen” (47:27), and also simply…
Governor — (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of…
Herd — Gen. 13:5; Deut. 7:14. (See CATTLE.)
Herdsman — In Egypt herdsmen were probably of the lowest caste. Some of Joseph’s brethren were made rulers over Pharaoh’s cattle (Gen. 47:6, 17). The Israelites were known in Egypt as “keepers of cattle;” and…
Pharaoh — The official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to the time when that country was conquered by the Greeks. (See EGYPT.) The name is a compound, as some think, of the words Ra, the “sun” or…
Shepherd — A word naturally of frequent occurence in Scripture. Sometimes the word “pastor” is used instead (Jer. 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 12:10; 17:16). This word is used figuratively to represent the relation of…
Egypt · Inhabitants of: Hospitable — Inhabitants of: Hospitable
Kindness · .Pharaoh to Jacob — .Pharaoh to Jacob

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).

Genesis 47:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 47:1-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 47:4

Adam Clarke on Genesis 47:6

John Gill on Genesis 47:6

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 47:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 47:1-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 47:4

Adam Clarke on Genesis 47:6

John Gill on Genesis 47:6

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 47:6

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 47:3-6

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 47:1-6

Rashi on Genesis 47:6