Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ Now you are commanded to do this: Take wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also, don’t concern yourselves about your belongings, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.”
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Genesis 45:18-20 sits inside this longer paragraph.
The report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” It pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals, and go, travel to the land of Canaan. Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ Now you are commanded to do this: Take wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also, don’t concern yourselves about your belongings, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.”
Parallel Translations
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Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’
Now you are commanded to do this: Take wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
Also, don’t concern yourselves about your belongings, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.”
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And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
Show all 3 translations
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and take your father and your households, and come unto me; and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Now thou art commanded, this do ye: take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
Also regard not your stuff; for the good things of all the land of Egypt are yours.'
Cross-references (34)
- Genesis 27:28 (v18) God give you of the dew of the sky, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine.
- Genesis 46:5 (v19) Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which…
- Genesis 47:6 (v18) The land of Egypt is before you. Make your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. If…
- Numbers 18:12 (v18) “I have given to you all the best of the oil, all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to…
- Isaiah 1:19 (v20) If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land;
Show all 34 cross-references
- Numbers 18:29 (v18) Out of all your gifts, you shall offer every wave offering to Yahweh, of all its best parts, even the holy part of it.’
- Psalms 147:14 (v18) He makes peace in your borders. He fills you with the finest of the wheat.
- Genesis 45:27 (v19) They told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them. When he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of…
- Deuteronomy 32:14 (v18) butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the finest of the wheat.…
- Psalms 81:16 (v18) But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”
- Isaiah 28:1 (v18) Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile…
- Isaiah 28:4 (v18) The fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley, shall be like the first-ripe fig before the summer;…
- Luke 17:31 (v20) In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field…
- Genesis 31:17-18 (v19) Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives on the camels, and he took away all his livestock, and all his possessions which he had…
- Exodus 22:7 (v20) “If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay…
- Deuteronomy 7:16 (v20) You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God shall deliver to you. Your eye shall not pity them. You shall not serve their gods;…
- Deuteronomy 19:13 (v20) Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the innocent blood from Israel that it may go well with you.
- Deuteronomy 19:21 (v20) Your eyes shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- Joshua 7:11 (v20) Israel has sinned. Yes, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. Yes, they have even taken some of the devoted…
- 1 Samuel 10:22 (v20) Therefore they asked of Yahweh further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” Yahweh answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the…
- 1 Samuel 25:13 (v20) David said to his men, “Every man put on his sword!” Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men…
- 1 Samuel 30:24 (v20) Who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays with the baggage.…
- Ezra 9:12 (v20) Now therefore don’t give your daughters to their sons. Don’t take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity…
- Isaiah 13:18 (v20) Their bows will dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eyes will not spare children.
- Isaiah 49:1 (v19) Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned…
- Isaiah 49:23 (v19) Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and…
- Ezekiel 7:4 (v20) My eye will not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations will be among you. Then you…
- Ezekiel 7:9 (v20) My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways. Your abominations will be among you. Then you will…
- Ezekiel 12:3-4 (v20) “Therefore, you son of man, prepare your stuff for moving, and move by day in their sight. You shall move from your place to another place…
- Ezekiel 20:17 (v20) Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I didn’t destroy them. I didn’t make a full end of them in the wilderness.
- Genesis 20:15 (v20) Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you. Dwell where it pleases you.”
- Genesis 45:18 (v20) Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the…
- Ezekiel 9:5 (v20) To the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him, and strike. Don’t let your eye spare, neither have pity.
- Matthew 24:17 (v20) Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 The most plentiful ground.
The most plentiful ground.
The chiefest fruits and commodities.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–20 Gen 45:18 And take your father and your households,…
Gen 45:18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Ver. 18. Come unto me: and I will give your, &c.] So saith Christ, "Come unto me, and ye shall find rest to your souls," {Mat 11:28} health to your bones, all the blessings of this life and a better. Say, you meet with some trouble by the way, as haply Jacob had foul weather ere he came down to Egypt. Non sunt condignae passiones ad praeteritam culpam quae remittitur, ad praesentis consolationes gratium, quae immittitur, ad futuram gloriam, quae promittitur, saith Bernard, sweetly. What is a drop of vinegar put into an ocean of wine? No country hath more venomous creatures than Egypt, none more antidotes. So godliness, saith one, hath many troubles, and as many helps against trouble.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18–20 The choicest fruits of the land.
The choicest fruits of the land.
Fat oft is put for the best of my sort, as Num 18:12,29; Deu 32:14; Psa 63:5; 147:14.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–20 And take your father, and your households,.... Or families,…
And take your father, and your households,.... Or families, for they were all married persons, and had children, and no doubt servants also: all were to be brought with them:
and come unto me; into his kingdom, to his metropolis, and to his palace, and into his presence:
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and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt; the best things which it affords, and the best and most fruitful part of it, as he afterwards did, which was the land of Goshen:
and ye shall eat the fat of the land; the choicest fruits of the earth, such as were produced in fields and gardens; meaning that they should have the finest of the wheat for themselves, and the fattest pastures for their flocks.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v20 Verse 20. Regard not your stuff] Literally, Let not…
Verse 20. Regard not your stuff] Literally, Let not your eye spare your instruments or vessels. כליכם keleychem, a general term, in which may be included household furniture, agricultural utensils, or implements of any description. They were not to delay nor encumber themselves with articles which could be readily found in Egypt, and were not worth so long a carriage.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 Marrow; which is an emphatical expression, to signify the…
Marrow; which is an emphatical expression, to signify the best things of Egypt, Chaldean. Hebrew, "the fat, or the cream of the land." (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv19–20 19. Now thou art commanded — “There is a…
19. Now thou art commanded — “There is a beautiful kindness and courtesy here shown on the part of Pharaoh, in passing from the language of invitation to that of command, where Joseph’s personal interest is concerned.
Take you wagons — Of which there were probably none in Palestine; carts, two-wheeled vehicles which could easily pass through the roadless desert. The modern Egyptian cart has two solid wheels, but carts with spoked wheels are represented in the monuments.
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Little ones — And in Gen_45:18, households, all their dependents, servants, amounting probably to several hundreds, are included in the invitation.” — Newhall.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv18–20 18. the good of the land] Cf. Gen_45:20; Gen_45:23;…
18. the good of the land] Cf. Gen_45:20; Gen_45:23; 2Ki_8:9, with the meaning of “the best produce.” The second clause repeats the same thought, in different imagery. Joseph promises the best that Egypt can give. Cf. Num_18:12; Num_18:30; Num_18:32, “best,” Heb. “fat.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–20 (19) Wagons.—Egypt being a flat country and carefully cultivated…
(19) Wagons.—Egypt being a flat country and carefully cultivated was adapted for the use of vehicles, and consequently they were brought into use there at an early period. Those depicted on the monuments had two wheels, and were drawn by oxen. The chariots of Pharaoh and Joseph were probably drawn by horses, which had about this time been introduced into Egypt.
Your little ones.—Heb., your “taf.” (See Note on Gen_34:29.) The “taf” included the whole mass of dependants; and while “the household” (Gen_45:18) would have reference chiefly to the men, the “taf,” in opposition to it, would consist of the female slaves and the children.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v19 Vers. 19, 20. Now thou art commanded, this do…
Vers. 19, 20. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; an apostrophe to Joseph, Pharaoh manifestly regarding the cause of Joseph and his brethren as one (Rosenm Keil, Lange, and others)take you wagons out of the land of Egypt the carriages here referred to (twOlG; , from lG; to roll) were small two-wheeled vehicles suitable for a fiat country like Egypt, or for traversing roadless deserts. They were usually drawn by cattle, and employed for carrying agricultural produce. Herodotus mentions a four-wheeled car which was used for transporting the shrine and image of a deity (2:63; vide Rawlinson"s edition, and note by Sir G. Wilkinson) for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Pharaoh meant them to understand that they had not only Joseph"s invitation, but his (Pharaoh"s) commandment, to encourage them to undertake so serious a project as the removal of their households to Egypt. Also regard not your stuff literally, and your eyes shall not (i.e. let them not) grieve for your utensils (i.e. articles of domestic furniture), although you should require to leave them behind (LXX, Rosenm Keil, Kalisch, Lange, et alii). The rendering of the Vulgate, nee dimittatis quicquid de supellectili vestra, conveys a meaning exactly the opposite of the true one, which is thus correctly expressed by Dathius: Nec aegre ferrent jacturam supellectilis suet. For the good of all the land of Egypt is yours literally, to you it (sc. shall belong).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v19 General Information:
General Information:
Pharaoh continues to tell Joseph what to tell his brothers.
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Now
This does not mean "at this moment," but is used to draw attention to the important point that follows.
you are commanded, 'Do this, take carts out of the land of Egypt for your children and for your wives. Get your father and come. Do not be concerned about your possessions, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.'
This is a quotation within a quotation. It can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "also tell them to take carts out of the land of Egypt for their children and wives, and to get their father and come here. They should not worry about bringing their possessions, for I will give them the best things we have in Egypt." (See: Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)
you are commanded
This can be stated in active form. AT: "I also command you to tell them" or "also tell them" (See: Active or Passive)
take carts out
"Carts" are wagons with two or four wheels. Animals pull the carts.
translationWords
command
possess
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.