Why did Joseph’s brothers tell Pharaoh they were shepherds?

Joseph’s brothers told Pharaoh they were shepherds because that is who they truly were, and Joseph had prepared them to answer that way. Shepherds were looked down on in Egypt, so this answer kept them from being drawn into Egyptian court life or the army and helped them stay separate as a people. By admitting their lowly work and asking only to sojourn, they showed humility and left room for Pharaoh to choose a place for them, which God used to place them together in Goshen.

Why did Joseph want his family to live in the land of Goshen?

Goshen was a good place for flocks, away from the main Egyptian cities, and it lay in the best part of the land that Pharaoh was willing to give. By settling his family there, Joseph kept them together, protected from the worst effects of the famine and from being swallowed up by Egyptian ways. Goshen let them keep their shepherd life and their identity while still enjoying Pharaoh’s protection and food during the hard years.

What is the meaning of Jacob calling his life a pilgrimage?

When Jacob calls his life a “pilgrimage,” he is saying he is a traveler and stranger on earth, moving toward another home. He sees this world as an inn, not his final dwelling. Even in the land where he was born, he lived as a pilgrim, moving from place to place and facing many troubles. By speaking this way to Pharaoh, Jacob quietly teaches that life here is short and passing, and that God’s people are looking beyond this life to the promises God has given.

Why does Jacob say his days were few and evil?

Jacob says his days were “few and evil” because, looking back, he sees a life filled with hardship, trouble, and sorrow. He lived 130 years, but compared with the long lives of his fathers and with eternity, his years seem few. They were also marked by fear, family conflict, loss, and wandering. He is not blaming God but speaking honestly about the weight of his journey. At the same time, God has brought him safely to this moment, cared for by Joseph in Egypt.

Why did Jacob bless Pharaoh, and what does that show?

Jacob blesses Pharaoh twice, when he comes in and when he goes out. On one level, it is a polite and thankful act toward a king who has welcomed his family. On a deeper level, it shows that even though Pharaoh is great in power, Jacob, as God’s chosen servant, has something to give that Pharaoh does not have. The blessing is a prayer for good to come to Pharaoh. It shows that spiritual standing before God is higher than earthly rank or wealth.

What does this passage teach about God’s providence and care?

This passage shows God quietly arranging everything for Jacob’s family in a time of crisis. Years earlier Joseph was sold and suffered in Egypt, but now God uses him to bring his family into safety. Pharaoh is moved to give them the best land and even offers them work over his own cattle. Joseph feeds his father, brothers, and their households with bread. In all this, God is providing a place, protection, and daily food for his people in the middle of famine.

How does Joseph’s behavior toward Pharaoh and his family guide believers today?

Joseph honors Pharaoh by following proper order and not settling his family without first telling the king. At the same time, he does not hide his family or feel ashamed of them, though they are simple shepherds. He uses his position to protect and provide for them. For believers today, this gives a pattern of showing respect to those in authority, staying honest about who we are, and caring well for our families, especially the weak and dependent, when God gives us the means.

What was happening in Canaan and Egypt when Jacob came to Pharaoh?

Both Canaan and Egypt were in the middle of a severe, long famine. In Canaan, there was no pasture left for Jacob’s flocks, so staying there would have meant losing their animals and likely their lives. Egypt, however, had stored grain under Joseph’s plan, so people from many lands came there for food. In this setting, Joseph brings his father and brothers down, and they come before Pharaoh as needy strangers looking for a place to stay until the famine passes.

Gen.47.1

Genesis 47:1

KJV

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

Jacob Settles in Goshen

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

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 is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:

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.

And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

¶ 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 Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.