Genesis 47:20
New International Version
So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

New Living Translation
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh.

English Standard Version
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s.

Berean Standard Bible
So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

King James Bible
And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.

New King James Version
Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.

New American Standard Bible
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.

NASB 1995
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s.

NASB 1977
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s.

Legacy Standard Bible
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s.

Amplified Bible
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.

Christian Standard Bible
In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

American Standard Version
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was sore upon them: and the land became Pharaoh's.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Yoseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because the Egyptians sold, each man, his field, because the famine was severe upon them and it became the land of Pharaoh.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Joseph bought all the land of the Egyptians, for Pharao; for the Egyptians sold their land to Pharao; for the famine prevailed against them, and the land became Pharao's.

Contemporary English Version
The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king

Douay-Rheims Bible
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao's hands:

English Revised Version
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was sore upon them: and the land became Pharaoh's.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his fields because the famine was so severe. The land became Pharaoh's.

Good News Translation
Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe; and all the land became the king's property.

International Standard Version
So Joseph purchased all of the Egyptian territory for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine's effect was so severe. That's how Pharaoh came to own the land.

JPS Tanakh 1917
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was sore upon them; and the land became Pharaoh's.

Literal Standard Version
And Joseph buys all the ground of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians have each sold his field, for the famine has been severe on them, and the land becomes Pharaoh’s;

Majority Standard Bible
So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

New American Bible
So Joseph acquired all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each of the Egyptians sold his field, since the famine weighed heavily upon them. Thus the land passed over to Pharaoh,

NET Bible
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe. So the land became Pharaoh's.

New Revised Standard Version
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh’s.

New Heart English Bible
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field, since the famine was severe on them. So the land became Pharaoh�s.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.

World English Bible
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe on them, and the land became Pharaoh’s.

Young's Literal Translation
And Joseph buyeth all the ground of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians have sold each his field, for the famine hath been severe upon them, and the land becometh Pharaoh's;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Joseph's Leadership During the Famine
19Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” 20So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other.…

Cross References
Genesis 47:19
Why should we perish before your eyes--we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."

Genesis 47:21
and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other.


Treasury of Scripture

And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.

no references listed for this verse.

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Bought Buyeth Egypt Egyptian Egyptians Exchange Famine Field Fields Food Great Ground Joseph Pharaoh Pharaoh's Prevailed Severe Soil Sold Sore
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Bought Buyeth Egypt Egyptian Egyptians Exchange Famine Field Fields Food Great Ground Joseph Pharaoh Pharaoh's Prevailed Severe Soil Sold Sore
Genesis 47
1. Joseph presents his father, and five of his brothers before Pharaoh.
11. He gives them habitation and maintenance.
13. He gets the Egyptian's money;
16. their cattle;
18. and their lands, except the priests', to Pharaoh.
23. He restores the land for a fifth.
28. Jacob's age.
29. He swears Joseph to bury him with his fathers.














(20) So the land became Pharaoh's.--Joseph has been accused of reducing a free people to slavery by his policy. Undoubtedly he did vastly increase the royal power; but from what we read of the vassalage under which the Egyptians lived to a multitude of petty sovereigns, and also to their wives, their priests, and their embalmers, an increase in the power of the king, so as to make it predominant, would be to their advantage. The statement made here that the land in Egypt belonged entirely to the king is confirmed by Herodotus and other Greek authorities. The same is the case in India at this day; only, instead of the rent being a fifth part of the produce, it is in India a fixed annual sum, which is settled at comparatively distant intervals. In Burmah the agriculturists hold their land directly from the Crown.

Verse 20. - And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so (literally, and) the land became Pharaoh's. From this it may be concluded that originally Pharaoh had no legal claim to the soil, but that the people had a valid title to its absolute possession, each man being regarded as the legitimate proprietor of the portion on which he had expended the labor of cultivation.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So Joseph
יוֹסֵ֜ף (yō·w·sêp̄)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3130: Joseph -- 'he increases', a son of Jacob, also the name of several Israelites

acquired
וַיִּ֨קֶן (way·yi·qen)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7069: To erect, create, to procure, by purchase, to own

for Pharaoh
לְפַרְעֹ֔ה (lə·p̄ar·‘ōh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6547: Pharaoh -- a title of Egypt kings

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the land
אַדְמַ֤ת (’aḏ·maṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 127: Ground, land

in Egypt;
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ (miṣ·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

the Egyptians,
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ (miṣ·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4713: Egyptian -- inhabitant of Egypt

one and all,
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 582: Man, mankind

sold
מָכְר֤וּ (mā·ḵə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 4376: To sell

their fields
שָׂדֵ֔הוּ (śā·ḏê·hū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7704: Field, land

because
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the famine
הָרָעָ֑ב (hā·rā·‘āḇ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7458: Famine, hunger

was so severe
חָזַ֥ק (ḥā·zaq)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer

upon them.
עֲלֵהֶ֖ם (‘ă·lê·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

The land
הָאָ֖רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

became Pharaoh’s,
וַתְּהִ֥י (wat·tə·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be


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OT Law: Genesis 47:20 So Joseph bought all the land (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 47:19
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