†. Gen 47:18-19a . .The next year they came again and said: Our
money is gone, and our livestock are yours. We have nothing left but
our bodies and land. Why should we die right in front of you? Buy us
and our land in exchange for food; we will then become servants to
Pharaoh.
Joseph's plan had no intention of shackling the Egyptians in grinding poverty
and humiliation like the African slaves of America's pre civil war days.
Though they became Pharaoh's slaves, they also become share-croppers;
which is a very tolerable arrangement in comparison to slaves who are
permitted to keep none of the fruits of their labors. In effect then, the
Egyptians would actually be afforded the dignity of working for
compensation; and it was pretty generous too.
†. Gen 47:18-19b . . Just give us grain so that our lives may be
spared and so the land will not become empty and desolate.
They not only needed grain for food, but also enough to sow their fields in
anticipation of next season's crop. Whether the Egyptian populace at large
was aware of the famine's predicted duration can't be known for certain, but
farmers often sow even in famine years because who can tell if the weather
is going to change for the better or not. Joseph, of course, was privy to
knowledge of the famine's end, and I would think that he would surely share
that information with the delegations that negotiated with him in this matter.
†. Gen 47:20 . . So Joseph gained possession of all the farm land of
Egypt for Pharaoh, every Egyptian having sold his field because the
famine was too much for them; thus the land passed over to
Pharaoh.
It's reasonable to assume that Pharaoh's only interest would be what's
known as Egypt's so called "black" land; which is primarily the arable soil
located adjacent to the Nile's river banks and was at one time subject to
seasonal flooding; which replenished the soil with fresh deposits of silt each
year.
†. Gen 47:21-22 . . and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from
one end of Egypt to the other. However, he did not buy the land of
the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh
and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is
why they did not sell their land.
That regular State allotment must have made religion seem like an attractive
career path. Their constituents may have been suffering, but the priests
were doing just fine and coasting right through all the hard times. I think it's
notable that God wouldn't permit Judaism's priests to own land; nor permit
them to feed at the Federal trough either, thus making them fully dependant
upon the prosperity of ordinary pew warmers. Thus the Aaronic priests were
highly motivated to keep the people in a good standing with God in order to
keep themselves fed because lack of good standing could easily result in a
poor economy in Israel. (cf. Deut 28:1-68)
When Saul was king, there was a time in Israel when the priests didn't even
have enough food of their own on hand to supply David's escape (1Sam
21:1-6). That was a pretty good indication that Saul's kingdom had fallen
into spiritual decline during his administration; and definitely time for a
change in leadership.
†. Gen 47:23-24 . . Joseph said to the people: Now that I have
bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so
you can plant the ground. But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of
it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the
fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your
children.
Four-fifths is equal to 80% which is a very unusual percentage for share
croppers. In addition, there's no mention of either rents or leases. In other
words, the Egyptians lived on Pharaoh's land essentially for free. The only
rent they paid, if you could call it that, was the one-fifth of the land's
produce. That was a very good deal for the Egyptians because it was
flexible. In other words; no matter how well or how poorly the land produced
in any given year, whether little or much, the percentage never changed.
Thus they were always able to satisfy their obligation to Pharaoh even in
years when disease and/or insects decimated their crops. It was virtually
impossible to ever fall behind in payments.
Since Pharaoh owned all the land, and exacted neither rent nor lease from
share-croppers; it became possible for Egypt's poor to apply for a piece of
acreage. While the drought was a curse for some people; it was a blessing
for others.
†. Gen 47:25 . .You have saved our lives; they said. May we find
favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.
The word "bondage" is from 'ebed (eh'-bed) which includes all kinds of
servitude; including outright slavery. Another word for "servant" is sakiyr
(saw-keer') which is a person who works for wages; viz: an employee.
It's reasonable to assume that not everyone in Egypt took up farming as
there would still be the need for goods and services like metal smiths,
butchers, seamstresses, barbers, shipwrights, wagon and chariot builders,
longshoremen, pottery, merchant marine, general mercantile, weavers,
shoemakers, freight haulers, ranchers, and building contractors; et al: every
sort of trade and commercial enterprise imaginable. Pharaoh had all the
money. So then, the barter system probably thrived in Egypt-- the farmers
trading out of their 80% and the merchants and tradesmen paying Pharaoh
his one-fifth out of what trickled down from the farmers. In other words: in
that economy, food was gold.
Nobody complained. One thing you could say about the Egyptians; they
didn't look a gift horse in the mouth. If not for Joseph's providence, they
would have all surely died, and lost everything, and they knew it too. Thanks
to him, instead of dying, they all enjoyed a pretty good standard of living.
There were some sacrifices to be made, yes, but all in all, they fared pretty
well under Joseph's administration.
†. Gen 47:26 . . So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in
Egypt-- still in force today --that a fifth of the produce belongs to
Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become
Pharaoh's.
The "today" in that passage of course refers of the author's own day.
Thank God Joseph was a man of integrity because the kind of power he
wielded has a way of tempting men to do some very unscrupulous things;
and to make the lives of people under them unbearable. Of one thing we can
be pretty sure: Pharaoh's approval rating no doubt broke all the records
thanks to his selection of Joseph to manage Egypt's affairs during a very
serious national crisis.
Cont.
/
money is gone, and our livestock are yours. We have nothing left but
our bodies and land. Why should we die right in front of you? Buy us
and our land in exchange for food; we will then become servants to
Pharaoh.
Joseph's plan had no intention of shackling the Egyptians in grinding poverty
and humiliation like the African slaves of America's pre civil war days.
Though they became Pharaoh's slaves, they also become share-croppers;
which is a very tolerable arrangement in comparison to slaves who are
permitted to keep none of the fruits of their labors. In effect then, the
Egyptians would actually be afforded the dignity of working for
compensation; and it was pretty generous too.
†. Gen 47:18-19b . . Just give us grain so that our lives may be
spared and so the land will not become empty and desolate.
They not only needed grain for food, but also enough to sow their fields in
anticipation of next season's crop. Whether the Egyptian populace at large
was aware of the famine's predicted duration can't be known for certain, but
farmers often sow even in famine years because who can tell if the weather
is going to change for the better or not. Joseph, of course, was privy to
knowledge of the famine's end, and I would think that he would surely share
that information with the delegations that negotiated with him in this matter.
†. Gen 47:20 . . So Joseph gained possession of all the farm land of
Egypt for Pharaoh, every Egyptian having sold his field because the
famine was too much for them; thus the land passed over to
Pharaoh.
It's reasonable to assume that Pharaoh's only interest would be what's
known as Egypt's so called "black" land; which is primarily the arable soil
located adjacent to the Nile's river banks and was at one time subject to
seasonal flooding; which replenished the soil with fresh deposits of silt each
year.
†. Gen 47:21-22 . . and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from
one end of Egypt to the other. However, he did not buy the land of
the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh
and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is
why they did not sell their land.
That regular State allotment must have made religion seem like an attractive
career path. Their constituents may have been suffering, but the priests
were doing just fine and coasting right through all the hard times. I think it's
notable that God wouldn't permit Judaism's priests to own land; nor permit
them to feed at the Federal trough either, thus making them fully dependant
upon the prosperity of ordinary pew warmers. Thus the Aaronic priests were
highly motivated to keep the people in a good standing with God in order to
keep themselves fed because lack of good standing could easily result in a
poor economy in Israel. (cf. Deut 28:1-68)
When Saul was king, there was a time in Israel when the priests didn't even
have enough food of their own on hand to supply David's escape (1Sam
21:1-6). That was a pretty good indication that Saul's kingdom had fallen
into spiritual decline during his administration; and definitely time for a
change in leadership.
†. Gen 47:23-24 . . Joseph said to the people: Now that I have
bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so
you can plant the ground. But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of
it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the
fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your
children.
Four-fifths is equal to 80% which is a very unusual percentage for share
croppers. In addition, there's no mention of either rents or leases. In other
words, the Egyptians lived on Pharaoh's land essentially for free. The only
rent they paid, if you could call it that, was the one-fifth of the land's
produce. That was a very good deal for the Egyptians because it was
flexible. In other words; no matter how well or how poorly the land produced
in any given year, whether little or much, the percentage never changed.
Thus they were always able to satisfy their obligation to Pharaoh even in
years when disease and/or insects decimated their crops. It was virtually
impossible to ever fall behind in payments.
Since Pharaoh owned all the land, and exacted neither rent nor lease from
share-croppers; it became possible for Egypt's poor to apply for a piece of
acreage. While the drought was a curse for some people; it was a blessing
for others.
†. Gen 47:25 . .You have saved our lives; they said. May we find
favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.
The word "bondage" is from 'ebed (eh'-bed) which includes all kinds of
servitude; including outright slavery. Another word for "servant" is sakiyr
(saw-keer') which is a person who works for wages; viz: an employee.
It's reasonable to assume that not everyone in Egypt took up farming as
there would still be the need for goods and services like metal smiths,
butchers, seamstresses, barbers, shipwrights, wagon and chariot builders,
longshoremen, pottery, merchant marine, general mercantile, weavers,
shoemakers, freight haulers, ranchers, and building contractors; et al: every
sort of trade and commercial enterprise imaginable. Pharaoh had all the
money. So then, the barter system probably thrived in Egypt-- the farmers
trading out of their 80% and the merchants and tradesmen paying Pharaoh
his one-fifth out of what trickled down from the farmers. In other words: in
that economy, food was gold.
Nobody complained. One thing you could say about the Egyptians; they
didn't look a gift horse in the mouth. If not for Joseph's providence, they
would have all surely died, and lost everything, and they knew it too. Thanks
to him, instead of dying, they all enjoyed a pretty good standard of living.
There were some sacrifices to be made, yes, but all in all, they fared pretty
well under Joseph's administration.
†. Gen 47:26 . . So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in
Egypt-- still in force today --that a fifth of the produce belongs to
Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become
Pharaoh's.
The "today" in that passage of course refers of the author's own day.
Thank God Joseph was a man of integrity because the kind of power he
wielded has a way of tempting men to do some very unscrupulous things;
and to make the lives of people under them unbearable. Of one thing we can
be pretty sure: Pharaoh's approval rating no doubt broke all the records
thanks to his selection of Joseph to manage Egypt's affairs during a very
serious national crisis.
Cont.
/
