Jacob, Joseph & Egypt

And the men are shepheardes, and because they are shepheardes, they haue brought their sheepe and their cattell, and all that they haue.

And if Pharaoh call you, and aske you, What is your trade?

Then ye shall say, Thy seruants are men occupied about cattell, from our childehood euen vnto this time, both we and our fathers: that yee may dwell in the lande of Goshen: for euery sheepe keeper is an abomination vnto the Egyptians.

Then came Ioseph and tolde Pharaoh, and sayde, My father, and my brethren, and their sheepe, and their cattell, and all that they haue, are come out of the land of Canaan, and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

And Ioseph tooke part of his brethren, euen fiue men, and presented them vnto Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh said vnto his brethren, What is your trade? And they answered Pharaoh, Thy seruants are shepheards, both we and our fathers.

They sayde moreouer vnto Pharaoh, For to soiourne in ye lande are we come: for thy seruants haue no pasture for their sheepe, so sore is ye famine in the lande of Canaan. Nowe therefore, we pray thee, let thy seruants dwel in the land of Goshen.

Then spake Pharaoh to Ioseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come vnto thee.

The lande of Egypt is before thee: in the best place of the land make thy father and thy brethren dwel: let the dwel in the land of Goshen: and if thou knowest that there be men of actiuitie among them, make them rulers ouer my cattell.

Ioseph also brought Iaakob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. And Iaakob saluted Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh sayde vnto Iaakob, Howe olde art thou?

And Iaakob sayd vnto Pharaoh, The whole time of my pilgrimage is an hundreth and thirty yeeres: fewe and euill haue the dayes of my life bene, and I haue not attayned vnto the yeeres of the life of my fathers, in the dayes of their pilgrimages.

And Iaakob tooke leaue of Pharaoh, and departed from the presence of Pharaoh.

And Ioseph placed his father, and his brethren, and gaue them possession in the lande of Egypt, in the best of the land, euen in the lande of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

And Ioseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his fathers houshold with bread, euen to the yong children.

Now there was no bread in all the land: for the famine was exceeding sore: so that the land of Egypt, and the land of Canaan were famished by reason of the famine.

And Ioseph gathered all the money, that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corne which they bought, and Ioseph layd vp the money in Pharaohs house.

So when money fayled in the lande of Egypt, and in the lande of Canaan, then all the Egyptians came vnto Ioseph, and sayde, Giue vs bread: for why should we dye before thee? for our money is spent.

Then saide Ioseph, Bring your cattell, and I will giue you for your cattell, if your money be spent.

So they brought their cattell vnto Ioseph, and Ioseph gaue them bread for the horses, and for the flockes of sheepe, and for the heards of cattel, and for the asses: so he fed them with bread for all their cattell that yeere.

But when the yeere was ended, they came vnto him the next yeere, and sayd vnto him, We will not hide from my lord, that since our money is spent, and my lord hath the heards of the cattel, there is nothing left in the sight of my lorde, but our bodies and our ground.

Why shall we perish in thy sight, both we, and our land? bye vs and our land for bread, and we and our land will be bonde to Pharaoh: therefore giue vs seede, that we may liue and not dye, and that the land go not to waste.

So Ioseph bought all the lande of Egypt for Pharaoh: for the Egyptians solde euery man his ground because the famine was sore vpon the: so the land became Pharaohs.

And he remoued the people vnto the cities, from one side of Egypt euen to the other.

Onely the lande of the Priestes bought he not: for the Priestes had an ordinarie of Pharaoh, and they did eate their ordinarie, which Pharaoh gaue them: wherefore they solde not their grounde.