Joseph went before Pharaoh and declared, "My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks and herds. They dwell now in Goshen." From among them he chose five brothers and set them before the throne.
Pharaoh's gaze was steady as he asked, "What is your trade?"
They bowed and answered, "Your servants are shepherds, as were our fathers before us. The famine has stripped Canaan bare, so we have come to sojourn in your land. Grant us to dwell in Goshen, we pray."
Pharaoh turned to Joseph and said, "The land of Egypt lies before you. Place your father and brothers in the best of it—in Goshen they shall remain. If some among them are skilled, let them tend even my own herds."
Then Joseph brought his aged father Jacob before Pharaoh. The old man leaned on his staff and blessed the mighty ruler. Pharaoh asked him, "How many are the years of your life?"
Jacob replied, "The years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty. Few and troubled have been my days, not as long as those of my fathers." Again he blessed Pharaoh, then departed from the presence of the king.
So Joseph gave his family land in the district of Rameses, the choicest of Egypt, and sustained them with food, portion by portion, according to their households.
But across Egypt and Canaan, the famine grew harsher still. Grain was life, and Joseph gathered all the silver of the land into Pharaoh's house. When money failed, the people cried, "Give us bread, lest we die before your eyes!"
Joseph said, "Bring your livestock in exchange for food." They brought horses, sheep, cattle, and donkeys, and for one year he fed them in return.
When that year passed, they came again, saying, "Our money is gone, our herds belong to you—nothing remains but our land and our bodies. Buy us, and let us live. Give us seed, that Egypt may not become a waste."
Thus Joseph purchased all the land for Pharaoh, making the people servants from one end of Egypt to the other—except the land of the priests, for Pharaoh gave them daily portion.
To the people Joseph said, "Behold, I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed—sow it in the ground. Yet a fifth shall belong to Pharaoh, and four parts you may keep for seed and for food for your households."
They answered, "You have saved our lives! We will serve Pharaoh." And Joseph decreed it a law in Egypt: a fifth of all harvests belongs to Pharaoh—a law that endures even to this day.
Meanwhile, Israel's children prospered in Goshen. They multiplied and grew strong. Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, until the sum of his days was one hundred and forty-seven.
When the shadow of death drew near, Jacob called Joseph and said, "If I have found grace in your eyes, swear to me with your hand beneath my thigh: do not bury me in Egypt. Carry me to the resting place of my fathers."
Joseph answered, "I will do as you ask."
"Swear to me," Jacob insisted. And Joseph swore. Then Israel bowed in worship, leaning upon the head of his staff, awaiting the day of his departure.