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NASB | Genesis 47:19 "Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 47:19 "Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate." |
Subject: Joseph's iron fist |
Bible Note: Hi, JRM! I see your point... but I refer to Scripture (Genesis 47:19), it was the people themselves who bargained for their lives as they had nothing else to barter with... Now, on Joseph's defense: a) Pharoah maintained final authority on Joseph's program (Genesis 47:22), and b) Joseph's negotiation provided for both the Pharoah and for the people as he only taxed them one fifth of their production (Genesis 47:24)... ultimately both the Pharoah and the people benefited from the arrangement... perhaps 20 percent is a high tax on people but death is always a definite scourge on longevity! The Bible closes with the statement that that law has been in effect since then (Genesis 47:26); yet it does not expand on any additional levies or the Egyptians being able to buy back their lands or themselves from the Pharoah... One final point... since Jacob's people had not yet been enslaved by the Egyptians, there doesn't seem to be any ulterior motives for Joseph's illwill towards the people of Egypt... I still see his actions as a necessity to keep the people and the land safe from the devastation of the seven years of famine... I am not sure about the origins of the system of taxation here in America... but I understand that the original introduction was meant as a temporary measure to fund the war efforts... it must have worked well past everyone's expectations... I suspect that much of what happened with us happened with the Egyptians! ...so, did Joseph suffer a lapse of judgment and exploited the people or was his program too successful for the Pharaoh to allow it to lapse into oblivion?... I think that the latter is closer to what truly transpired during Joseph's command! God Bless! Angel |