Genesis 47:13 Commentary and Bible Study

The famine bites in Egypt, but due to the revelation of God and wisdom he has given to Egypt’s chief steward, there is food available to the people. It is stored up in the cities in quantities beyond measure, and Joseph is the custodian and distributer of it all. But the Egyptians will not get this food for nothing. It was not their wisdom that stored up corn against the years of dearth. The people must pay for what they receive. Till then Pharaoh was a monarch, but now he became the owner of Egypt’s wealth, their land, and even their persons. The people are moved into the cities where the food is stored, so that they can be fed. Why did Joseph do all this? What was his divine sanction? Why consolidate all this power and wealth in Pharaoh’s hands? Was it right to do so? Yes, Joseph did nothing without sanction from God. What about the oracle in dreams and his understanding of God’s purpose? He may have understood from it that he was to obtain sovereignty for Pharaoh. Furthermore he introduced a permanent system of taxation, by which in future a fifth of all their produce was to be given to Pharoah, the priests alone being exempt, because of their special status in Egyptian society – interestingly Joseph recognised this right, even though he knew their religion to be false.