Genesis 47:4
They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
The verse belongs to the wider account of the famine and Jacob's family in Egypt, when the famine reached Canaan and Jacob's sons went to Egypt to buy grain. Jacob's family told Pharaoh they had come to sojourn temporarily because the famine was severe in Canaan and left no pasture for their flocks. Their statement that they had come to sojourn, rather than to settle permanently, preserved their right to leave.
They asked Pharaoh for permission to dwell and live in Goshen and to obtain a grant of land for their home. Joseph presented five of his brothers to Pharaoh to obtain the grant of land. Shepherding, their occupation, was regarded as degrading in Egypt. Joseph counseled the brothers to answer frankly that they were shepherds when asked their occupation, so Pharaoh would not exalt them to honorable positions in the king's special royal service amid corrupting idolatrous influences at court.
Pharaoh granted the father and brothers a home in Goshen, in the best part of Egypt, with good pasture and water. Goshen, selected by Joseph, was a well-watered, fertile country affording good pasture and water for their flocks. There in Goshen they could worship God undisturbed by the ceremonies of Egyptian idolatrous service. The Israelites inhabited the country round about Goshen and the surrounding country until God with power and mighty signs and wonders brought His people out of Egypt.