Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Joseph presents his father and brothers to Pharaoh, who gives them the land of Goshen. Second, in verse 15, the Egyptians during the famine sell their livestock and fields to Joseph and Pharaoh for grain. Third, in verse 27, Jacob, dying, makes Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan.
Vulgate Text: Genesis 47:1-31
1. So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, saying: My father and brothers, their sheep and herds, and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and behold, they are settled in the land of Goshen. 2. He also presented five men from among the least of his brothers before the king; 3. whom he questioned: What is your occupation? They answered: We your servants are shepherds of sheep, both we and our fathers. 4. We have come to sojourn in your land, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine grows heavy in the land of Canaan; and we ask that you command us your servants to dwell in the land of Goshen. 5. The king therefore said to Joseph: Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6. The land of Egypt is before you; make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Goshen. And if you know there to be capable men among them, appoint them overseers of my livestock. 7. After this, Joseph brought in his father to the king and set him before him, and he, blessing him, 8. was asked by him: How many are the days of the years of your life? 9. He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years, few and evil, and they have not attained to the days of my fathers in the time of their pilgrimage. 10. And having blessed the king, he went out. 11. But Joseph gave his father and brothers a possession in Egypt, in the best place of the land, Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12. And he nourished them and all his father's household, providing food for each one. 13. For in all the world bread was lacking, and the famine had oppressed the land, especially of Egypt and Canaan. 14. From these he gathered all the money from the sale of grain, and brought it into the king's treasury. 15. And when the buyers' money had run out, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread; why should we die before you, when our money has failed? 16. To whom he answered: Bring your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for them, if you have no money. 17. When they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses and sheep, and cattle, and donkeys; and he sustained them that year in exchange for their livestock. 18. They also came the second year and said to him: We will not hide from our lord that since our money has failed, our livestock has likewise failed; nor is it hidden from you that besides our bodies and our land we have nothing. 19. Why then should we die before your eyes? Both we and our land will be yours; buy us into royal servitude, and provide seed, lest the land be reduced to a wilderness for want of cultivators. 20. Joseph therefore bought all the land of Egypt, as each one sold his possessions because of the greatness of the famine. And he subjected it to Pharaoh, 21. and all its peoples from the farthest borders of Egypt to its extreme limits, 22. except the land of the priests, which had been given to them by the king; to whom also a fixed allowance of food from the public granaries was provided, and therefore they were not compelled to sell their possessions. 23. Joseph therefore said to the peoples: Behold, as you see, Pharaoh possesses both you and your land; take seed and sow the fields, 24. that you may have crops. You shall give a fifth part to the king; the four remaining parts I allow you for sowing and for food for your families and children. 25. They answered: Our salvation is in your hand; let our lord only look upon us, and we will gladly serve the king. 26. From that time until the present day, throughout all the land of Egypt, a fifth part is paid to the kings, and it became as it were a law, except for the priestly land, which was free from this condition. 27. So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Goshen, and possessed it, and grew and multiplied greatly. 28. And he lived in it seventeen years, and all the days of his life were one hundred and forty-seven years. 29. And when he perceived the day of his death drawing near, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh, and you shall show me mercy and truth, that you not bury me in Egypt; 30. but I shall sleep with my fathers, and you shall take me out of this land and lay me in the sepulchre of my ancestors. To whom Joseph answered: I will do as you have commanded. 31. And he said: Swear then to me. And when he had sworn, Israel adored God, turning toward the head of his bed.
Verse 2: Five Brothers before the King
"He also presented five men from among the least of his brothers." In Hebrew it is, "from the extremity of his brothers he took five men," as if to say: Joseph did not carefully select among his brothers, designating this or that one from the middle of the brothers, but took the five who were at the end and most readily available. So Vatablus. Second, Lyranus, Abulensis, and Thomas the Englishman interpret "the least" as the most excellent. Third, the Hebrews, Oleaster, Hamerus, and Pererius understand by "the least" the less attractive and more lowly in appearance; for Joseph showed these to Pharaoh, but not the more handsome and elegant, lest Pharaoh enlist them for his court or army, which Joseph did not want, lest his brothers be steeped in the faith and customs of the Egyptians. The first sense is the simplest and best corresponds to the Hebrew phrase.
Verse 4: No Pasture for the Flocks
"There is no pasture for the flocks." If this was so in Canaan, why not also in Egypt? For this was a common and widespread drought and barrenness. Abulensis responds that the case of Canaan and Egypt is different, because Egypt is irrigated by many canals drawn from the Nile, which Canaan lacks. St. Augustine adds, Question 160, that the marshes of Egypt are sufficiently moist of themselves, so that the less the Nile floods, the more those marshes abound in grass; but the more the Nile floods, the less grass they produce.
Verse 6: The Land of Egypt Is before You
"Is before you," as if to say: I offer you all Egypt; choose whatever part you wish for your father. "Appoint them overseers of my livestock." Philo and Josephus affirm that this was indeed done.
Verse 7: Blessing the King
"Blessing him," that is, greeting and wishing well to Pharaoh, saying, for example: "May the king live forever; may God preserve you and bless you." Something similar occurs in verse 10. See Martin de Roa, Book 1 of his Singularia, chapter 9, on this expression.
Verse 9: The Days of My Pilgrimage
"The days of the pilgrimage of my life," because Jacob often changed his dwelling place. For from Canaan he went to Mesopotamia, and returning from there he again journeyed through Canaan, so that his whole life seems to have been a continuous pilgrimage. St. Augustine and St. Jerome note that the just in this life are pilgrims, because they have heaven as their homeland; on the contrary, sinners are called and are inhabitants of the earth. See the comments on Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 13, and here chapter 12, verse 1, at the end.
"One hundred and thirty years." In this 130th year of Jacob, Joseph was 39 years old, Reuben 46, Simeon 45, Levi 44, Judah 43, as is evident from what was said in chapters 29 and 30. From this it is again evident that this descent of Jacob into Egypt occurred 215 years after the calling of Abraham from Chaldea to Canaan: for when Abraham was called there, he was 75 years old; in Abraham's hundredth year Isaac was born; Isaac in his sixtieth year begot Jacob; Jacob descending into Egypt was 130 years old. If then to these 130 years of Jacob you add those 25 of Abraham until the birth of Isaac, and those 60 of Isaac until the birth of Jacob, you will have the 215 years just mentioned.
"Few." In Hebrew, "they are few," namely if they are compared with the far more numerous years of Isaac, Abraham, Terah, and my other ancestors.
Morally, learn here how brief is all the longevity of this life. For we are all born into life under this law, that having tarried in it but a little while, we must immediately depart, and that saying of David to Ittai may be applied here: "Yesterday you came, and today you are compelled to go out with us." St. Augustine asks: what else is life but a race toward death? And St. Gregory of Nazianzus: "This very life I live is like the swiftest river, which rising upward always flows down to the depths." Again he says: "From one tomb I hasten to another tomb," that is, from my mother's womb I head toward the grave; indeed even Seneca, in Epistle 59, says that every day some part of life is taken away, and even when we are growing, life is diminishing; this day which we are living, we share with death; as soon as we enter life, we immediately begin to exit through another door. Go now, mortals, accumulate wealth, honors, estates -- tomorrow you will die.
"Evil," that is, wretched, toilsome, full of hardship. So Christ says: "Sufficient for the day is its own evil," that is, its own misery. For to pass over other things, Jacob first, because of the anger of his brother Esau who was plotting his death, was forced to flee his homeland alone and as a poor man to Haran. Second, in Haran for 20 years he served Laban most harshly, Genesis 31. Third, he was struck with great fear and labored greatly to appease Esau coming to meet him with 400 men, Genesis 32. Fourth, he was afflicted by the violation of Dinah and the massacre of Shechem inflicted by his sons, and feared lest he be overwhelmed by the attacking Canaanites, Genesis 34. Fifth, the death of Rachel struck him. Sixth, the incest of Reuben with Bilhah his wife grieved him, Genesis 35. Seventh, Joseph, sold and lost for 23 years, wonderfully afflicted him. Eighth, Simeon detained in prison and Benjamin taken away to Egypt wounded his spirit. Ninth, because of the necessity of famine, already aged, he had to depart from Canaan, which had been promised to him and his descendants, to Egypt, which was hateful to him and his fathers, and he grieved.
Verse 10: He Blessed the King and Departed
"Having blessed the king," that is, having greeted the king and said farewell to him; for "to bless" here means to greet and bid farewell, as I said at verse 7. So Joab blessed, that is bade farewell to, David, 2 Kings 14:21. So in 4 Kings 4:29, Elisha commands Gehazi not to greet anyone on the way, where the Hebrew has "not to bless anyone"; for when in departing we say "farewell," by this very act, wishing good health, we as it were bless the other person; for "to bless" means to wish well, or to wish good and happy things.
Verse 11: Rameses
"Rameses." In that region of Goshen, in which the Israelites later built a city, which they called Rameses. So St. Jerome.
Verse 13: The Whole World Lacked Bread
"The whole world." A great part of the world, namely the whole East, which is as it were the world of Canaan and Egypt, surrounding and encircling them. It is a hyperbole. In Hebrew it is "from all the land," which Vatablus incorrectly restricts to the land of Egypt alone.
Verse 14: Into the King's Treasury
"He brought it into the treasury," reserving nothing of it for himself, says Philo. See how foreign Joseph was to the embezzlement of our age, and how he was devoted not to his own interests but to the public welfare.
Verse 15: Give Us Bread
"Bread," that is, grain, from which we bake bread.
Verse 18: The Second Year
"The second year," from the bringing and selling of the livestock, which was the fourth or fifth year from the beginning of the famine.
Verse 19: Buy Us into Servitude
"Buy us into servitude." For because of famine it was permitted not only to sell oneself but also one's children into servitude.
Verse 22: The Priestly Exemption
"Provide seed." Therefore something could still be sown at that time, namely in the fields adjacent to the Nile.
"Except the land of the priests." Note: This tax immunity was granted to his idol priests by Pharaoh, as the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Septuagint express, not by Joseph, a worshipper of the one true God, as Theodoret claims; unless you say that Joseph granted it to them, not insofar as they were priests of idols, but insofar as they were philosophers and masters of wisdom and astrology; and therefore they abstained from meat, wine, eggs, milk, marriage, and all worldly affairs their whole life, as St. Jerome says, Book 1 Against Jovinian. Perhaps also Joseph taught them the true worship of the one God, as the Psalmist suggests, Psalm 104:22. Note this passage regarding the immunity from taxes of the true priests of Christ: for if Pharaoh granted this to his pagan priests, how will a Christian king and prince not grant it to the priests of Christ? For their honor or contempt pertains to God Himself, and what is bestowed upon them is bestowed upon God, who will richly repay in turn and will reward princes, says St. Chrysostom, Homily 65.
Tropologically, Origen says: The priests of God love to receive their portion in heaven and reject earthly things; but Pharaoh's priests have their portion on earth.
Verse 23: Take Seed and Sow
"Joseph therefore said," in the seventh and last year of barrenness, so that they might sow for the following year when fertility would return; so Philo, who also adds that Joseph stationed inspectors to see that that portion was spent on sowing, lest anyone consume it as food.
Verse 25: Our Salvation Is in Your Hand
"Our salvation is in your hand." In the Hebrew it is: "you have given us life" (you have preserved our life by your food), "may we find favor in the eyes of our lord" (in your eyes, O Joseph), "that we may be servants of Pharaoh." As if to say: You are the author and preserver of our life; you have restored us to life; in return, therefore, for this food and salvation, we offer ourselves as servants to you and to Pharaoh; indeed we will even consider it a great benefit if you receive us into servitude, and consequently into your care and providence, both you and Pharaoh, who through you has so providently and kindly provided for us in this famine, that it is better to serve him, to be governed by him and depend on him, than to enjoy our own liberty, to govern ourselves, and to care for ourselves and our things; lest we again fall into a famine or similar misfortune.
Verse 26: A Fifth Part to the Kings
"It became as it were a law." This royal tax established by Joseph acquired the force of a perpetual law. So the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Greek, as if to say: Joseph introduced a custom which even today endures as a law, that a fifth part of the crops is paid to the kings of Egypt. See how fairly and gently Joseph deals with his subjects; today there is no lack of tyrants who without title demand and extort more than half. Furthermore, God so arranged this to reward the beneficence of Pharaoh, which he had bestowed upon the righteous old man Jacob and his sons.
Morally, let the counselors and officials of princes learn from Joseph that they must be devoted not to their own interests but to those of the republic and their princes. For Joseph, although he was the prince of Egypt, refused to enrich himself or to elevate his father and brothers to high offices, though he could have done this easily and without resentment, and indeed Pharaoh desired it; and this was to show how faithfully he administered the republic, and how foreign he was to greed and private love of himself and his family. He therefore wished them to remain in the same occupation and rank to which they were accustomed, and to be shepherds of sheep, and to procure their living by their own labor and care. Let the prelates of our age contemplate this example, those who, when raised from a humble station to a high one, wish to raise their nephews and relatives along with them, so that they seem to be conducting private rather than public business, and to administer the riches of the Church not as the Church's property but as their own, and to convert them to the use and indeed the luxury of themselves and their family. What account will these render to Christ the Lord of their stewardship on the last and great day of the world!
Such among the Romans was Marcus Attilius Regulus, who, though he had presided over the highest affairs of state, nevertheless remained so poor that he supported himself, his wife, and children on a small farm cultivated by a single servant; upon hearing of whose death Regulus wrote to the senate for a successor, since with the servant's death his affairs were left destitute and his own presence was necessary. They record that Publius Scipio Africanus the Younger, in the 54 years he lived, bought nothing, sold nothing, built nothing; and left only 33 pounds of silver in a great estate, and two of gold, although Carthage had been conquered under his command, and soldiers had been enriched by him alone of all commanders. So Aelian, Book 11. Aristides son of Lysimachus, who performed many distinguished deeds at home and in war, and imposed tribute on the Greeks, did not leave enough after his death to cover the cost of his funeral. So Aelian in the same place. Just such was Blessed Thomas More, as is evident from his Life by Stapleton. To Epaminondas, Artaxerxes sent a great weight of gold to win him over to his side; but he said to the envoys: "There is no need of money; for if the king wants what is useful to my Thebans, I am prepared to do it freely; but if the contrary, he does not have enough gold, for I refuse to accept the riches of the whole world in exchange for love of my country. You who tried me without knowing me and thought me like yourselves, I do not wonder at, and I forgive you. But depart quickly, lest you corrupt others, since you could not corrupt me; otherwise I will hand you over to the magistrate." Probus is the witness in his Life. The same Epaminondas, when envoys brought gifts to corrupt him, invited them to dinner; a meager table was set and sour wine; then Epaminondas said: "Go, and tell your master about my meals, by which, since I am content with them, he will not easily lure me with his gifts to treason."
Verse 27: Israel Dwelt in Egypt
"Israel," that is, Jacob.
Verse 28: The Chronology of Jacob's Life
"One hundred and forty-seven." Note: This is the timeline of Jacob's life. First, Jacob was born in the year of the world 2109, 432 years after the flood. Second, Jacob remained in his father's house until his 77th year, in which he seized the birthright from Esau; and therefore fearing his plots he fled to Haran. Third, in Haran, after the seven years he served Laban, he received his wives Leah and Rachel. From Leah he begot Reuben in his 84th year, Simeon in his 85th, Levi 86th, Judah 87th, Joseph 91st. Fourth, after begetting Joseph, and all his children except Benjamin, Jacob served Laban another six years for the flocks, so that in all he was in Haran and served 20 years; when these were completed in his 97th year, he returned to Canaan. Fifth, Jacob in his 107th year begot Benjamin, in whose birth Rachel died. Sixth, around Jacob's 88th year occurred the famous flood of Ogyges, by which the land of Attica was so devastated that for 199 years until Cecrops it was without a king and almost deserted, concerning which see Eusebius, Book 10 of the Preparation, last chapter, and St. Augustine, Book 18 of the City of God, chapter 18, where St. Augustine also adds another prodigy of the same time, namely that the star Venus was seen to change its color, size, shape, and course. Seventh, Joseph was sold in his 16th year, Jacob's 107th. For the father mourned him as dead for 23 years, namely until his 130th year, when, summoned by Joseph together with his sons, he descended from Canaan to Egypt. Eighth, Isaac died when Jacob was in his 120th year. Ninth, Jacob died in his 146th year, when Joseph was 56 years old, namely in the year of the world 2256. Tenth, Jacob's death preceded the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt by 197 years, and the birth of Moses by 118 years. Finally, while Jacob was living in Egypt, holy Job was born, a mirror of patience.
Verse 29: Place Your Hand Under My Thigh
"Place your hand under my thigh." I discussed this rite of swearing in chapter 24, verse 2.
"You shall show me mercy and truth." "Mercy" signifies grace and a gratuitous favor; "truth" signifies faithfulness and the faithful bestowing and execution of the favor, as if to say: You will grant me this grace, that you bury me not here but in Canaan, and you will faithfully and truly carry it out.
Verses 29–30: Burial in Canaan
"That you not bury me in Egypt, but I may sleep with my fathers." Joseph wished the same for himself and commanded it to be done after his death, chapter 50, verse 21. The reason for this wish was, first, because Jacob desired to be buried in the holy land, in which alone the worship of God was to exist, among his holy ancestors, namely with Isaac and Abraham, to be buried in Hebron. See how great a care the ancients had for their burial, and how desirable it is to be buried among the saints. Second, Jacob wished to be buried in Canaan so as to detach the hearts of his descendants from the riches and vices of Egypt, and to give them a firm hope of return and liberation from Egypt, and of obtaining the promised land, namely Canaan. So Theodoret, St. Chrysostom, Rupert. Third, he wished this so that among his descendants who would dwell in Canaan, these sepulchres of his and of the fathers would be living monuments and equally incentives of their faith, piety, and virtue. Fourth, Jacob knew that Christ would be born, would die, and would rise again in Canaan; hence he wished to be buried there, so that he might rise with Christ. So Lyranus, Abulensis, and others. Therefore, as Abulensis says, it is believed by all Catholics that among the others who rose with Christ on Easter day, Jacob also rose.
St. Augustine adds tropologically that Jacob desired the remission of sins, both his own and those of the entire human race, through the death of Christ to be undergone in Canaan; hence he wished to be buried there. For a similar reason St. Jerome, St. Paula, and many other saints wished to live and die in Canaan, namely in Bethlehem. Finally, the Patriarchs wished to be buried in Canaan so as to share in the prayers and sacrifices which were offered there; for they believed in the existence of Purgatory.
Anagogically, Rupert says: Jacob, dead, gave an example to the living, that in hope of the heavenly fatherland they might love the pledge of eternal inheritance, as if to say: Jacob wished to be buried in Canaan so that his descendants might yearn for heaven, of which Canaan was a type.
"In the sepulchre of my ancestors," in the double cave of Hebron, about which see chapter 23, verse 17. Hence from ancient times the faithful have been accustomed to be buried among the faithful and the saints, in sacred places. Hear St. Dionysius, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, chapter 7: "When these things have been performed," he says, "the Bishop lays the body in a most worthy place, with other sacred bodies of his order." And Clement of Rome, Book 6 of the Apostolic Constitutions, chapter 30: "Assemble," he says, "in the cemeteries, reading the sacred books in them, and singing psalms for those who have fallen asleep." That these were customarily consecrated by priests is taught by Gregory of Tours, On the Glory of the Confessors, chapter 106. They are called koimeterion, that is, sleeping-places, because in Scripture the faithful after death are said to sleep in them, to be raised on the last day of judgment, as St. Augustine testifies, Epistle 122. St. Cyprian, Book 1, Epistle 4, reproaches a certain Martial because he had deposited his sons, in the manner of foreign nations, "in profane tombs." By this very fact he indicates that already at that time there were sacred burial places for Christians. That the faithful were often buried in churches is attested by St. Ambrose, Book 1 On Abraham, chapter 3; Jerome, in the Life of Paula and Fabiola; Augustine, in the book On the Care of the Dead, chapter 1.
Verse 31: He Adored God, Turning toward His Bed
"Swear then." Jacob does not distrust Joseph's word, but demands an oath so that Joseph might use this as a pretext before Pharaoh, should he wish to retain Jacob's body in Egypt. So Rupert. Abulensis adds: Jacob knew, he says, that Joseph, unless he had bound him so strictly, intended to make him a precious and memorable tomb in Egypt. Therefore he demands an oath from him, so that feeling bound by it, he would entirely abandon that plan and modestly bury him in the ancestral sepulchre of the fathers in Canaan. Here see and imitate the modesty of Jacob and his love of simplicity.
"Turning toward the head of his bed." So also Aquila and Symmachus translate. Now Jacob turned himself toward the head of the bed in the direction of Joseph, because that was toward the East, toward which those who worship are accustomed to turn, and for which reason altars are built facing East; or, as Lyranus holds, because this head of the bed faced the promised land, toward which worshippers would turn when they were outside of it, as is evident in Daniel 6:10 and 3 Kings 8:44. So also Ribera on chapter 11 of Hebrews, Abulensis, and others here.
You will say: How then do the Septuagint and from them St. Paul translate: "Jacob adored the top of his staff," that is, Joseph's scepter? I answer: This arose from the fact that the Hebrew word mittah, if you read it as mitta, means a bed; but if with different vowel points you read matte, then it means a staff. It can be read either way here, and both this reading and translation are canonical. Jacob therefore did both: namely, having obtained his wish and joyful at the promise given to him by Joseph that he would bury him in Canaan with his fathers, he gave him thanks and "adored," that is, bowing he showed reverence and venerated the scepter, that is, the royal power of Joseph, given to him by Pharaoh, or rather by God.
Second and more genuinely, Jacob, giving thanks to God, adored and praised Him, because He had given this power and also this intention of burying him in Canaan to Joseph; whence he turned himself to the head of the bed, either because this head was toward the East, or because it faced the land of Canaan, as I said. I have treated this matter more fully at Hebrews 11:21.
See here fulfilled the dream of Joseph, chapter 37, verse 9, that his father and mother would adore him. You will say: Rachel his mother had long since died, namely before Joseph was sold by his brothers, as is clear from chapter 35, verse 19. Therefore she could not adore him. St. Chrysostom responds that a wife is reckoned as one person with her husband in civil terms, according to that passage in Genesis 2: "The two shall be one flesh." Therefore when the husband adores, the wife is also reckoned to adore the son. "For if the father did this," he says, "much more would she have done so, had she not been snatched from this life." Add that Rachel had substituted Bilhah in her place, who adored Joseph, as I said at chapter 37, verse 9.