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 47:4
Context47:4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents 4 in the land. There 5 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
Context47:6 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 6 among them, put them in charge 7 of my livestock.”
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 Heb “to sojourn.”
5 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.
6 tn Heb “men of skill.”
7 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.
