Discovery BoxGenesis 46:34 
Context46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle 1 from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, 2 for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting 3 to the Egyptians.”
Genesis 47:19
Context47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become 4 Pharaoh’s slaves. 5 Give us seed that we may live 6 and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” 7
1 tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”
2 sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.
3 tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.
4 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.
5 sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.
6 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.
7 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.
