1. So Joseph went to see Pharaoh and said, "My father and my brothers are here from Canaan. They came with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the land of Goshen."
2. Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh.
3. Pharaoh asked them, "What is your occupation?" And they replied, "We are shepherds like our ancestors.
4. We have come to live here in Egypt, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. We request permission to live in the land of Goshen."
5. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now that your family has joined you here,
6. choose any place you like for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt-the land of Goshen will be fine. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too."
7. Then Joseph brought his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8. "How old are you?" Pharaoh asked him.
9. Jacob replied, "I have lived for 130 hard years, but I am still not nearly as old as many of my ancestors."
10. Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before he left.
11. So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt-the land of Rameses-to his father and brothers, just as Pharaoh had commanded.
12. And Joseph furnished food to his father and brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents.
13. Meanwhile, the famine became worse and worse, and the crops continued to fail throughout Egypt and Canaan.
14. Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for grain, and he brought the money to Pharaoh's treasure-house.
15. When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, they came to Joseph crying again for food. "Our money is gone," they said, "but give us bread. Why should we die?"
16. "Well, then," Joseph replied, "since your money is gone, give me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange."
17. So they gave their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. Soon all the horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys of Egypt were in Pharaoh's possession. But at least they were able to purchase food for that year.
18. The next year they came again and said, "Our money is gone, and our livestock are yours. We have nothing left but our bodies and land.
19. Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we will then become servants to Pharaoh. Just give us grain so that our lives may be saved and so the land will not become empty and desolate."
20. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and their land then belonged to Pharaoh.
21. Thus, all the people of Egypt became servants to Pharaoh.
22. The only land he didn't buy was that belonging to the priests, for they were assigned food from Pharaoh and didn't need to sell their land.
23. Then Joseph said to the people, "See, I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed, so you can plant the fields.
24. Then when you harvest it, a fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. Keep four-fifths for yourselves, and use it to plant the next year's crop and to feed yourselves, your households, and your little ones."
25. "You have saved our lives!" they exclaimed. "May it please you, sir, to let us be Pharaoh's servants."
26. Joseph then made it a law throughout the land of Egypt-and it is still the law-that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. But since Pharaoh had not taken over the priests' land, they were exempt from this payment.
27. So the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen in Egypt. And before long, they began to prosper there, and their population grew rapidly.
28. Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he was 147 years old when he died.
29. As the time of his death drew near, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If you are pleased with me, swear most solemnly that you will honor this, my last request: Do not bury me in Egypt.
30. When I am dead, take me out of Egypt and bury me beside my ancestors." So Joseph promised that he would.
31. "Swear that you will do it," Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.