47:13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away 1 because of the famine. 47:14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as payment 2 for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace. 3 47:15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians 4 came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die 5 before your very eyes because our money has run out?”
47:16 Then Joseph said, “If your money is gone, bring your livestock, and I will give you food 6 in exchange for 7 your livestock.” 47:17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. 8 He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for livestock.
47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our 9 lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become 10 Pharaoh’s slaves. 11 Give us seed that we may live 12 and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” 13
1 tn The verb לַהַה (lahah, = לָאָה, la’ah) means “to faint, to languish”; it figuratively describes the land as wasting away, drooping, being worn out.
2 tn Or “in exchange.” On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.
3 tn Heb “house.”
4 tn Heb “all Egypt.” The expression is a metonymy and refers to all the people of Egypt.
5 tn The imperfect verbal form has a deliberative force here.
6 tn The word “food” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn On the use of the preposition here see BDB 90 s.v. בְּ.
8 tn The definite article is translated here as a possessive pronoun.
9 tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.
10 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.
11 sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.
12 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.
13 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.