you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
Joseph tells his family what to say when Pharaoh asks about their work. His reason is blunt: Egypt loathed shepherds. Three things meet here — an honest answer, a claim on one patch of land, and a national dislike that God uses for His own purpose.
The Coaching Before Pharaoh
Joseph does not hide his family's trade. The plain answer is what secures the land he already has in mind for them.
William KellyTwo things made this advice acceptable to the king, and even his people. Genesis 45 records that Pharaoh had already declared his wish to give them the good of the land of Egypt, so that they might eat the fat of the land (verses 18-20). And since "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians," no one would object at all to Israel settling into this work on the land best suited to it. That land also lay farthest away, so the Egyptians would not have them in sight day by day. So from the start Joseph could advise his brothers to live where it was best for them, and least offensive to the Egyptians.
Why Goshen
Joseph had picked the place long before he spoke to Pharaoh, and the choice guarded more than their livelihood.
William KellyWe may notice the faith and wisdom of Joseph, who had already in Genesis 45:10 sent the message about Goshen, before he had said a word to Pharaoh. It was the outlying part of Egypt, where they could best keep their old occupation, and were least exposed to the idolatrous and moral corruptions of that land.
Why Shepherds Were Loathed
The Bible calls every shepherd an abomination to the Egyptians — something they found detestable. It never says why. One suggested cause points back to foreign shepherd rulers who once seized power in Egypt.
Morrish Bible DictionaryA person's wealth in the East often consisted of flocks, so the shepherd held an important and honourable position. David was a keeper of sheep. Joseph instructed his brothers to tell Pharaoh that they were shepherds. They asked permission to live in Goshen, for every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians. People think this came from some "shepherd-kings" who had seized power over Egypt.
So why did this Pharaoh welcome them?
F. B. HoleSince "every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians," we might have been surprised at this. But, as we remarked before, at this period the ruling powers in Egypt were not true Egyptians. They were a foreign race, closely connected with the nomadic and shepherd people to which Jacob and his sons belonged. It is quite likely that the Pharaoh of those days looked on it as a stroke of good business to receive Jacob and his descendants.
A Purpose in the Contempt
What looks like an insult worked as a wall. Egypt's contempt kept the family from dissolving into the people around them.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThis move to Egypt was, without doubt, directed by the Lord. It guarded the family from being scattered and from mixing with strangers. The important period had now arrived when God appointed them to grow into a nation. In Canaan both of these bad results would have been unavoidable. In Egypt neither could happen. Goshen gave ample room for their growing numbers, and the dislike the Egyptians had for shepherds (46:34) kept them from intermarrying.
Not Ashamed of Them
Joseph's relatives carry a trade Egypt despises. He brings them before the king anyway.
J. G. BellettThey were shepherds, it is true, keepers of cattle from their youth, people held in abomination in the land of Egypt. But what of that? "He is not ashamed to call them brothers." He owns them in front of the king. And the king himself is of one mind with Joseph toward them; he owns them too, and honours them.
The Shepherd Heart Today
The trade Egypt could not stomach still pictures what God asks of His people.
L. M. GrantGod expects His own people to have hearts as shepherds, to care for the needs of souls. The world (Egypt) not only ignores such shepherd care, but resents others who engage in it. In fact, too often even believers do not appreciate the pastoral care and concern that a godly person seeks to show them.
The same rejection met Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd.
F. A. HughesOur Shepherd is the "Good Shepherd," He who has given His life for the sheep. That hostility marked those who heard these words from His blessed lips (John 10). It still marks this present world. Man, as such, has no appreciation of the worth of Christ the Good Shepherd (compare Genesis 46:34).
Summary
- Confess. Joseph tells his family to name their trade honestly before the king rather than disguise it.
- Placed. That honest answer wins them Goshen. It lay on the edge of Egypt, where they could keep their old life, far from its idolatry.
- Despised. Every shepherd was detestable to Egypt. The loathing is traced to earlier foreign shepherd rulers — yet this Pharaoh came from that same stock, and he welcomed them.
- Protected. The contempt worked as a hedge. It kept the family from intermarrying and scattering while God made them a nation.
- Owned. Joseph is not ashamed to present despised shepherds as his own before the king. The shepherd care the world still resents is the very heart Christ showed as the Good Shepherd.