Genesis 47:18-19

47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our ¹  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 ²  Pharaoh’s slaves. ³  Give us seed that we may live ⁴  and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” ⁵ 

Genesis 47:24

47:24 When you gather in the crop, ⁶  give ⁷  one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the rest ⁸  will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.”

[47:18]  ¹ tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.

[47:19]  ² tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.

[47:19]  ³ 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.

[47:19]  ⁴ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.

[47:19]  ⁵ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.

[47:24]  ⁶ tn The words “the crop” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[47:24]  ⁷ tn The perfect form with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here.

[47:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “four parts.”