(Written
by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
As he
had promised, Joseph told Pharaoh his father and brothers had arrived in the
land with their flocks and herds and all that they owned. He informed Pharaoh that they were now residing in Goshen. Joseph then arranged for five of his brothers to be presented before Pharaoh.
Pharaoh
asked the question they were expecting and anticipating: “What is
your occupation?” They
answered as Joseph had requested: “Your servants are shepherds just as our father’s were.”
They explained to Pharaoh that they had come to live in Egypt for a while because the famine was severe
in Canaan and their flocks had no pastures from which to graze. They humbly requested to keep residing
in Goshen.
Pharaoh
said to Joseph; “Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land
of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part
of the land. Let them live in Goshen and
if you know of any among them with special abilities, put them in charge of my
own livestock.
Then
Joseph brought his father, Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh and Pharaoh asked Jocob's age. Jacob
told Pharaoh he was 130 years old. He
explained that his years had been difficult and they were not as long
as that of many of his ancestors. After
their conversation Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and went out from him.
The part of this story where Jacob blesses Pharaoh is interesting. Pharaoh was the ruler of the land and he was being blessed by a foreigner that was also a despised shepherd. The Egyptians hated shepherds, yet Pharaoh respectfully allowed Jacob's blessing and treated him with the honor and respect an elderly person deserves. Was it because of his respect for Joseph? One cannot help but wonder why this occurred in the way that it did.
So it
was that Joseph’s family came to have property in the best parts of the land of
Egypt. They had food provided for
them. Their children and wives had food and their flocks had land to graze in.
All was
well again as Joseph and Jacob rekindled their relationship as father and son
and the relationships between Joseph and his brothers were restored.
