Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 47:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20And 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Joseph acquires Egypt's agricultural land for Pharaoh as fieldholders sell because famine has become overpowering. The result is explicit: the land becomes Pharaoh's.
Alive, and the land now Pharaoh's
This verse is one part of that explanation in Genesis 47:13–26. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Genesis 47:13–26
Read verses 18–24. The people offer land and labor, famine presses the sale, Joseph completes royal acquisition, and then supplies seed under a continuing one-fifth arrangement.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The people's proposal becomes royal land acquisition, with famine pressure stated as the cause of the comprehensive sale.
Read Genesis 47:18–22 together
Why these verses belong together: The next year's depletion leads to the offer of land and labor, royal acquisition, the relocation-or-enslavement textual issue, and the priests' protected exception.
Verse 18. 18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
Verse 19. 19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
Verse 20. 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 the land became Pharaoh’s.
Verse 21. 21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
Verse 22. 22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
Follow the Context
- Severe famine leaves Egypt and Canaan languishing; Joseph gathers the money paid for grain and brings it into Pharaoh's house (47:13–14).
- When money is exhausted, the Egyptians ask why they should die; Joseph exchanges food for horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys and sustains them through that year (47:15–17).
- In the next year the people say only their bodies and land remain, offer both for bread and seed, and Joseph acquires the land for Pharaoh because famine presses every fieldholder (47:18–20).
- The received Hebrew text says Joseph moves the people to cities across Egypt, while the Samaritan Pentateuch and Greek tradition read that he makes them servants; priestly land remains exempt because Pharaoh supplies the priests (47:21–22).
- Joseph states that he has acquired the people and land for Pharaoh, gives seed, assigns one-fifth to Pharaoh and four-fifths for seed and households, receives the people's life-saving acknowledgment, and establishes the arrangement as an enduring statute with the priestly exception (47:23–26).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“bought all the land of Egypt”
In plain language: Joseph acquires the agricultural land for Pharaoh.
The people's final major asset passes to the crown.
Why it matters: The statement marks a structural transfer, not merely a temporary food delivery.
How certain? very strong“every man sold his field”
In plain language: Egyptian fieldholders sell their individual agricultural holdings.
The narrator explains the broad scope of the acquisition.
Why it matters: The language is comprehensive within the story but not a modern cadastral record.
How certain? very strong“the famine prevailed over them”
In plain language: The famine was strong or overpowering upon the people.
The sale occurs under severe survival pressure.
Why it matters: The causal clause prevents the transaction from being read as an ordinary unconstrained preference.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not command governments to acquire all farmland during famine.
The Egyptians' sale does not prove famine pressure was morally irrelevant or that the parties had equal leverage.
Joseph's role in preserving life does not make every concentration of land automatically wise or righteous.
The passage does not say Joseph personally owns the land; it becomes Pharaoh's.
What Remains True
A transaction can be legally described and still require moral scrutiny when necessity, unequal control of food, and permanent concentration of ownership shape it.
How It Can Shape Life
- Do not evaluate land transfer during crisis only by signatures or stated agreement; examine hunger, displacement risk, price, alternatives, future tenancy, and who gains lasting power.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 47:20's contribution to Genesis 47:13–26. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
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 ↗