Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
Open map →The best of the land, and the name of the city they will build in chainsGenesis 47:11 · 2 places plottedJoseph's brothers once sold him. Now his hand gives them the best land in Egypt, granted by the king. Why that place? What did the gift really give them? And what does the scene picture?
Grace to the men who wronged him
The brothers had nothing to recommend them. Egypt despised their trade, yet Joseph claimed them as his own in front of the king.
J. G. BellettThey were shepherds, it is true, keepers of cattle from their youth — people the Egyptians detested. But what of that? "He is not ashamed to call them brothers." He acknowledges them in front of the king, and the king has the same mind toward them: he acknowledges them too, he honours them, and he wants them to treat his whole land as open to them. So they get the best of the land, in Goshen in the land of Rameses, and Joseph feeds them and their households.
Where Rameses was — and what it became
"The land of Rameses" was a district inside Goshen. The place is easier to describe than to pin down.
Morrish Bible DictionaryA district in Goshen in Lower Egypt, east of the Nile, in which Jacob and his descendants were placed, and in which they built a treasure city of the same name for Pharaoh. It was from there that the Israelites began their march out of Egypt. No one can identify the site today, and it is disputed whether the district or the city took its name from the Egyptian kings called Rameses.
The throne stands behind the gift
Joseph does not act alone. He gives the land "as Pharaoh had commanded," and the king's own power backs the gift.
J. N. DarbyPharaoh, on the throne, has the same mind. He makes the power and resources of Egypt bring him down there, so that all the good of Egypt might be theirs. Joseph is the source, and the one they are closest to, but the authority and power and resources of Pharaoh are in the same mind... Israel still, however, has his own portion, and a separate place in the world in Goshen, and in the best of it.
A picture of Israel settled and fed
One writer sees this settlement as a picture of what Christ will do for Israel. He then adds a caution about what came next.
L. M. GrantThis pictures the Lord Jesus restoring Israel to great blessing under subjection to His authority, for we are also told that he nourished them with food (vv. 11-12). How wonderful it will be for Israel in the millennium to be settled for good and richly supplied! Of course the history here is only a picture, for Israel soon after found itself in bitter slavery to the Egyptians.
Blessing that reaches past Canaan
This home lies in Egypt, not in Canaan. One writer takes that as a hint of how wide the blessing goes.
William KellyFor this type looks at a far wider circle of blessing than Canaan. In the same way, the rejected Son of man is to receive dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him... But this in no way hinders the special honour and nearness of Israel.
A possession is not the promise
The good times were real. They did not last.
J. G. BellettLet the day be as bright as the day of the Egyptian Joseph was to Israel — faith knows that "the polished surface" will soon break up. Circumstances never give faith its object. The word of God does that. We must not let circumstances and appearances take the eye of faith off its object... The house, swept and garnished as it is at present, promises much. So did the land of Rameses and the friendship of Pharaoh, in the days of Genesis 50. But such promises are idle words in the ear of faith; it pays them no attention.
The Christian's portion is elsewhere
Joseph's wife, Asenath, gets no share in this land. One writer says that silence is the point.
Michael HardtJoseph's brothers (and father) picture the nation of Israel receiving rich blessing on earth under the reign of the true Joseph. Asenath — that is, the church — receives no such portion. She enjoys a better lot: she is united with Joseph, who is head over all things... The church is not the earthly nation under the king's reign. She is the heavenly wife of the One who wants her to share His exaltation.
Summary
- Owned — Joseph calls despised shepherds his brothers in front of the king. That claim secures all the rest.
- Placed — the land lies in the district of Rameses inside Goshen, east of the Nile. There they later built a treasure city for Pharaoh.
- Backed — Joseph gives, but Pharaoh commanded it. The king's mind and Egypt's resources stand behind the gift.
- Pictured — writers see Israel settled and fed under Christ's rule, with blessing wider than Canaan. The history itself soon turned to slavery.
- Held loosely — Rameses promised much and did not last. Faith takes its object from God's word, not from a bright present, and the church's portion is heavenly, not earthly.