Genesis 47:4
47:4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents 1 in the land. There 2 is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”
Genesis 47:6
47:6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men 3 among them, put them in charge 4 of my livestock.”
1 tn Heb “to sojourn.”
2 tn Heb “for there.” The Hebrew uses a causal particle to connect what follows with what precedes. The translation divides the statement into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “men of skill.”
4 tn Heb “make them rulers.”
sn Put them in charge of my livestock. Pharaoh is, in effect, offering Joseph’s brothers jobs as royal keepers of livestock, a position mentioned often in Egyptian inscriptions, because the Pharaohs owned huge herds of cattle.