Genesis 47:27, commentary and pictures

This verse stands near the close of Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, bringing to its finish the story of Joseph and his brethren, a story that carries lessons on the surface as well as deeper ones. It comes after the testing of the brothers, after Joseph made himself known to them, and after the joy of Jacob, and it records part of Israel's journey into Egypt and reception by Joseph and Pharaoh. In it Israel and his descendants are shown dwelling and settling in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, also called the land of Rameses, in the best of the land by Pharaoh's command, living apart.

There they had possessions and property of their own and acquired possessions, dwelling in prosperity and peaceful prosperity. Through the famine years they were nourished with bread as a little child is nourished. Unlike the Egyptians, they were not compelled to give money, to sell their stock or themselves, or to give a fifth part to Pharaoh. They grew and multiplied exceedingly, growing greatly in numbers.

They were not yet in bondage when Jacob's family entered Egypt in 1706 B.C. Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years till 1689 B.C., and Joseph lived till 1635 B.C., seventy-one years after the entry, and through all that time there are no signs of slavery. Their peaceful prosperity came before a later ruler who did not know Joseph oppressed them, and their increase continued even under persecution and oppression. Their settling and growth shows God's care for the preservation of the progenitors of the Seed and the promised Seed, and that God blessed Israel's descendants while they lived in Egypt.

The name Israel means God's people and is one of the names applied to the church, belonging in a sequence of names for the same body after Sons of God and seed of Abraham in the Old Testament and before disciples, Christians, churches of Christ, and church of God in the New Testament. The history connected with the verse is an example that God can guide people by a winding path and still bring them safely to the purpose He intends for them. The location of Goshen where the Hebrews lived has been shown by research, fitting perfectly with the Bible account and harmonizing with all that is known of Egyptian civilization. Their former dwelling in Goshen explains how the land could have been left empty after the Exodus, when the Israelites had disappeared into the wilderness.

Their dwelling apart in Goshen kept family life within the healthful precincts of the home in order to train children in the fear of God and expose them as little as possible to the corrupting influence of heathen association. With that separation they grew and multiplied exceedingly, growing up without a taste for debasing pleasures, acquiring domestic tastes, and taking their place as consistent and earnest workers.