Genesis 47:13-26

Joseph's Stewardship

Joseph proved to be a good steward over the grain collected during the years of plenty. First, he sold grain for money until all the money in Egypt and Canaan was exhausted. Next, he took their livestock in exchange for grain to make bread. Then, he accepted their land and their very lives.

Having acquired everything in the land of Egypt in the name of Pharaoh, Joseph told the people his plan. From that time on, the people would work the land and give twenty percent of the harvest to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests was exempted because Pharaoh had given them an allotment of grain and they did not have to sell their lands to his representative.

Joseph's plan strengthened and enriched the government in Egypt. Willis wrote, "Egypt was apparently in a condition of unsettled disorganization during much of the period of Hyksos domination. The Egyptian people would have welcomed a stronger, more secure central government, especially in a national crises like a famine, even if this meant infringements on individual rights or privileges." The fact that the statute remained until the time of the writer, likely Moses, is evidence of how valued this arrangement became (Genesis 47:13-26).