¶ Iacob cometh before Pharao / and vnto him is ge¦uen the lande of Gosan. He swereth his sonne for his buryal.
CAPI. XLVII
[ A] ANd Ioseph went and tolde Pharao, & sayde: my father and my brethren, their shepe and their beastes, & all that they haue, are come out of the lande of Canaan / & are in the lande of Gosan. And Ioseph toke a part of his brethren: euen fyue of them, and presented theym vnto Pharao. And Pharao sayde vnto his brethren: what is youre occu∣pation? And they sayde vnto Pharao: shepe∣herdes are thy seruauntes, bothe we and also our fathers. They sayde moreouer vnto Pha∣rao: for to* 1.1 soiorne in the lande are we come, for thy seruauntes haue no pasture for their shepe, so sore is the famyshement in the lande of Canaan. Now therfore let thy seruauntes dwell in the lande of Gosan.
And Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: thy father [ B] and thy brethren are come vnto the. The land of Egypte is open before the: In the best place of the lande, make bothe thy father and thy brethren dwell: And euen in the lande of Go∣san let them dwell. Moreouer yf thou knowe any men of actiuitie amonge them, make thē rulars ouer my catell. And Ioseph broughte in Iacob his father, and set hym before Pha∣rao. And Iacob blessed Pharao. And Pharao asked Iacob, howe olde art thou? And Iacob sayde vnto Pharao: the dayes of my pilgre∣mage, are an hundred and thirty yeres. Fewe and euyll haue the dayes of my lyfe bene, and haue not atteyned vnto the yeres of the lyfe of my fathers, in the dayes of their pilgrema∣ges. And Iacob blessed Pharao, and wēt out frome hym. And Ioseph prepared dwellinges for his father and his brethren, and gaue them possessions in the lande of Egypte, in the best of the lande: euen in the lande of Rameses, as Pharao commaunded. And Ioseph made pro∣uysyon for his father, his brethren and all his fathers housholde, as yonge chyldren are fed with bread.
There was no bread in al the lande, for the [ C] derth was exceadynge sore: so that the lande of Egypte, and the lande of Canaan, were fa∣myshed, by the reason of the derth. And Io∣seph gathered togyther all the money that was founde in the lande of Egypte, and of Canaan, for the corne whyche they boughte: and he layde vp the money in Pharaos house. When money fayled in the lande of Egypte, & of Canaan, all the Egyptians came vnto Io∣seph, and sayde: geue vs sustenaunce: wher∣fore suffrest thou vs to dye before the: for our money is spent. Then sayde Ioseph: brynge your catell, and I wyll geue you for your ca∣tell, yf ye be withoute money. And they brought their catel vnto Ioseph. And he gaue them bread for horses and shepe, and oxen and asses: so he fed them with bread, for all their catell, that yere.
When that yere was ended, they came vn∣to [ D] hym the next yere, and sayde vnto hym: we will not hyde it frome my lorde, how that we haue neyther money nor catell, for my lorde: there is no more left for my lorde, but our bo∣dyes, and oure landes. Wherfore latest thou vs dye before thyne eyes, and the lande to go to naught? bye vs and our landes for bread: and let bothe vs and our landes be bonde to Pharao. Geue vs seed, that we maye lyue / & not dye, and that the lande go not to wast.
And Ioseph bought all the lande of Egipt for Pharao. For the Egyptians solde euery man his lande,* 1.2 because the derth was sore v∣pon them: and so the lande became Pharaos. And he appointed the people vnto the cyties / frome one syde of Egypte vnto the other: on∣ly the lande of priestes bought he not. For there was an ordinaunce made, by Pharao / for the priestes, that they shuld eate that whi∣che was appointed vnto them: whiche Pha∣rao had geuen them, wherfore they solde not their landes.
Then Ioseph sayde vnto the folke: behold I haue bought you this daye, and youre lan∣des [ E] for Pharao. Take there seed, and go sow