Joseph Manages the Famine in Egypt

The famine became so severe that there was no bread in the land. Egypt and Canaan were worn down by hunger. As people bought grain, Joseph collected the money from Egypt and Canaan and brought it into Pharaoh’s house.

When the money was gone, the Egyptians came to Joseph and asked for bread so they would not die before him. Joseph told them to bring their livestock instead. For that year, he gave them bread in exchange for horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys.

When that year ended, the people came back. They said their money was spent and their livestock already belonged to Joseph’s master. Nothing was left except their bodies and their land. They asked Joseph to buy them and their land for bread, and to give them seed so they could live and the land would not become empty.

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because the famine was so severe that the Egyptians sold their fields. He moved the people to the cities across Egypt. Only the priests’ land was not bought, because Pharaoh gave them their portion of food.

Then Joseph told the people that he had bought them and their land for Pharaoh, and he gave them seed to sow the fields. At harvest time, one fifth would go to Pharaoh. Four parts would remain for seed and food for their households and little ones. The people said Joseph had saved their lives, and this became a standing rule in Egypt, except for the priests’ land.