1Luego, José fue a ver al faraón, y le dijo: ―Han llegado mi padre y mis hermanos desde Canaán con todas sus posesiones, ovejas y vacas. En este momento se encuentran en la región de Gosén.2José había llevado consigo a cinco de sus hermanos y se los presentó al faraón.3Este entonces les preguntó: ―¿A qué se dedican? Y ellos contestaron: ―Somos pastores, como nuestros antepasados.4Hemos venido a vivir en Egipto porque no hay pasto para nuestro ganado en Canaán. El hambre es mucha allá. Queremos pedirle permiso para vivir en la tierra de Gosén.5-6El faraón le dijo a José: ―Escoge el lugar que tú quieras para que vivan ellos. Dales la mejor tierra de Egipto. La tierra de Gosén es buena. Y si alguno de ellos quiere, ponlo a cargo de mis rebaños también.7Entonces José llevó a su padre Jacob ante el faraón. Y Jacob bendijo al faraón.8―¿Qué edad tienes? —le preguntó el faraón.9Jacob le respondió: ―He vivido ciento treinta años que han sido largos y difíciles, pero no se pueden comparar con la edad de mis antepasados.10Entonces Jacob bendijo nuevamente al faraón y salió.11José, pues, les dio la tierra de Ramsés, de acuerdo con lo que el faraón le había ordenado.12José les proporcionó alimentos, según el número de los miembros de la familia.
La administración de José
13La escasez de alimentos fue cada vez mayor, de modo que toda la gente de Egipto y de Canaán estaba experimentando mucha hambre.14José reunió todo el dinero de Canaán y de Egipto a cambio del trigo que les vendía, e ingresó ese dinero en la tesorería del faraón.15Cuando a la gente se le terminó el dinero, fueron a José a suplicar que se les diera alimentos. ―Se nos ha terminado el dinero —dijeron—. Por favor, denos alimentos, porque si no moriremos de hambre.16―Bueno —replicó José—, denme sus ganados y yo les daré alimentos en cambio.17Así que trajeron el ganado a José para cambiarlo por alimentos. Pronto todos los caballos, ovejas, vacas y burros que había en Egipto pasaron a ser del faraón.18Al año siguiente vino nuevamente el pueblo y le dijo: ―Señor, usted sabe que ya no tenemos dinero. Además, todo nuestro ganado ahora es suyo. Tan solo podemos pagarle con nuestros cuerpos y nuestras tierras.19¿Por qué hemos de morir? Cómprenos a nosotros y a nuestras tierras, y seremos esclavos del faraón. Cómprenos a nosotros por alimentos para que vivamos y para que la tierra no quede deshabitada.20Entonces José compró toda la tierra de Egipto para el faraón. La verdad es que, debido al hambre, los egipcios vendieron sus tierras. De ese modo, todo el país pasó a poder del faraón.21Y todos los egipcios pasaron a ser esclavos del faraón.22La única tierra que no compró fue la de los sacerdotes, porque tenían ración de parte del faraón y no necesitaban venderla.23Entonces José dijo a la gente: ―Los he comprado a ustedes y a sus tierras para el faraón. Aquí está el trigo. Vayan y siembren la tierra.24Cuando llegue la cosecha, la quinta parte será para el faraón. Reserven cuatro partes para que se alimenten y tengan semilla para el año siguiente. Así tendrán alimento para ustedes y sus familias.25―¡Usted nos ha salvado la vida! —le dijeron—. ¡Con todo gusto seremos esclavos del faraón!26Entonces José estableció esta ley en Egipto: la quinta parte de todas las cosechas es del faraón. Esta ley todavía se sigue aplicando. Las únicas tierras que no pasaron a ser propiedad del faraón fueron las de los sacerdotes.27Los israelitas, pues, vivieron en la tierra de Gosén, en Egipto, consiguieron terrenos, prosperaron y tuvieron muchos hijos.28Jacob vivió diecisiete años en Egipto, y en total, vivió ciento cuarenta y siete años.29Cuando se le acercaba el momento de la muerte, llamó a su hijo José y le dijo: ―Júrame solemnemente que harás lo que te voy a pedir. ¡Si de veras me amas, por favor, no me entierres en Egipto!30Cuando yo haya muerto, sácame de Egipto y sepúltame junto a mis antepasados. Y José se lo prometió.31―¡Júrame que lo harás! —insistió Jacob. Y José se lo juró. Luego, Israel se recostó sobre la cabecera de la cama.
1So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” (Gn 45:10; Gn 46:31)2And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. (Hch 7:13)3Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” (Gn 46:32; Gn 46:33; Gn 46:34)4They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” (Gn 15:13; Gn 46:34; Dt 26:5)5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.6The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” (Gn 45:18; Gn 47:4; Ex 18:21; Ex 18:25)7Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. (Gn 47:10)8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?”9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” (Gn 11:32; Gn 25:7; Gn 35:28; 1 Cr 29:15; Job 14:1; Sal 39:4; Sal 39:12; Sal 119:19; Sal 119:54; Heb 11:9; Heb 11:13; Stg 4:14)10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. (Gn 47:7)11Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers 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. (Gn 45:10; Gn 47:6; Ex 1:11; Ex 12:37)12And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents. (Gn 45:11; Gn 50:21)
Joseph and the Famine
13Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine.14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. (Gn 41:56)15And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” (Gn 47:19)16And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.”17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.18And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land.19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” (Neh 5:2)20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s.21As for the people, he made servants of them[1] from one end of Egypt to the other.22Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. (Esd 7:24)23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.24And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” (Gn 41:34)25And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” (Gn 33:15)26So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s. (Gn 47:22)27Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. (Gn 45:10; Gn 46:3)28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. (Gn 47:9)29And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, (Gn 24:2; Gn 24:49; Gn 33:15; Gn 50:25; Dt 31:14; 1 R 2:1)30but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” (Gn 49:29; Gn 50:5; Gn 50:13)31And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.[2] (Gn 48:2; 1 R 1:47; Heb 11:21)