Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 47:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Joseph answers that if money is gone, the people should give their livestock in exchange for food. The proposal moves the crisis from currency to productive household assets.
Read It With
- Genesis 47:13–26
Read verses 15–17 together. The people's plea prompts Joseph's terms, the livestock is then brought, and Joseph sustains them with food for that year.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Joseph answers the no-money crisis by moving to livestock as the next exchange resource.
Read Genesis 47:15–17 together
Why these verses belong together: Money exhaustion prompts the people's plea, Joseph's livestock terms, and year-long food provision in exchange for productive assets.
Verse 15. 15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
Verse 16. 16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
Verse 17. 17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
What Remains True
Emergency exchange terms should be judged not only by immediate relief but also by what future livelihood people must surrender.
How It Can Shape Life
- Before accepting a vulnerable person's tools, animals, vehicle, or home equity for necessities, ask whether the transaction preserves life by destroying the person's ability to recover.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 47:13–26 — Joseph Restructures Egypt During the FamineSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? very strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed text, famine sequence, prior storage and family provision, following contrast, later royal oppression, and canonical resource-justice comparisons.
Exact location: Genesis 47:13–26 with 41:25–57; 47:1–12, 27–31; Exodus 1:1–14; Leviticus 25; 1 Samuel 8; and Nehemiah 5 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Exact Hebrew crisis, depletion, livestock, sustenance, person, land, service, acquisition, relocation, allowance, fifth, and statute language.
Exact location: WLC Genesis 47:13–26, especially vattelah in verse 13; vayyittom, mikne, and vaynahalem in 15–17; geviyyatenu, admatenu, avadim, and qanah in 18–23; he'evir oto le'arim in verse 21; hoq in 22 and 26; and hamishit/homesh in 24 and 26
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Translation, syntax, KJV-language, and material textual-variant cross-checks.
Exact location: NET Genesis 47:13–26 translator and textual notes, especially languishing, exchange, deliberative speech, service, verse 21's Masoretic/Samaritan/Septuagint difference, one-fifth, favor, and statute
Open NET Genesis 47 ↗