Genesis 45:18
New International Version
and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’

New Living Translation
Then get your father and all of your families, and return here to me. I will give you the very best land in Egypt, and you will eat from the best that the land produces.’”

English Standard Version
and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’

Berean Standard Bible
Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’

King James Bible
And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

New King James Version
Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.

New American Standard Bible
and take your father and your households and come to me; and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’

NASB 1995
and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’

NASB 1977
and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall eat the fat of the land.’

Legacy Standard Bible
and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’

Amplified Bible
and get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat (the finest produce) of the land.’

Christian Standard Bible
Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’

American Standard Version
and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

Contemporary English Version
Tell them to bring their father and their families here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they can eat and enjoy everything that grows there.

English Revised Version
and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Take your father and your families, and come to me. I will give you the best land in Egypt. Then you can enjoy the best food in the land.'

Good News Translation
Let them get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will have more than enough to live on.

International Standard Version
get your father and your households, and come back to me. I'll give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can live off the abundance of the land.'

Majority Standard Bible
Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.?

NET Bible
Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you the best land in Egypt and you will eat the best of the land.'

New Heart English Bible
Take your father and your families and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the richness of the land.'

Webster's Bible Translation
And take your father, and your households, and come to me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

World English Bible
Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and take your father, and your households, and come to me, and I give to you the good of the land of Egypt, and you eat the fat of the land.

Young's Literal Translation
and take your father, and your households, and come unto me, and I give to you the good of the land of Egypt, and eat ye the fat of the land.

Smith's Literal Translation
And take your father and your houses, and come to me: and I will give to you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the heart of the land.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And bring away from thence your father and kindred, and come to me: and I will give you all the good things of Egypt, that you may eat the marrow of the land.

Catholic Public Domain Version
and take from there your father and kindred, and come to me. And I will give you all the good things of Egypt, so that you may eat from the marrow of the land.’ ”

New American Bible
There get your father and your households, and then come to me; I will assign you the best land in Egypt, where you will live off the fat of the land.’

New Revised Standard Version
Take your father and your households and come to me, so that I may give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you may enjoy the fat of the land.’
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And take your father and your households, and come to me; and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat of the fat of the land.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And take your father and the people of your house and bring them to me, and I shall give you the good of the land of Egypt, and eat the fat of the land.’
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
and take your father and your households, and come unto me; and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And take up your father, and your possessions, and come to me; and I will give you of all the goods of Egypt, and ye shall eat the marrow of the land.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Pharaoh Invites Jacob to Egypt
17Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan. 18Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’ 19You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back.…

Cross References
Exodus 3:8
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Exodus 16:3
“If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!”

Numbers 11:5
We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.

Deuteronomy 8:7-9
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and fountains and springs that flow through the valleys and hills; / a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; / a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper.

Deuteronomy 11:10-12
For the land that you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden. / But the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in the rain from heaven. / It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.

Psalm 105:23-24
Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham. / And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,

Isaiah 19:6-7
The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither. / The bulrushes by the Nile, by the mouth of the river, and all the fields sown along the Nile, will wither, blow away, and be no more.

Isaiah 30:23
Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.

Jeremiah 2:7
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land and made My inheritance detestable.

Ezekiel 20:6
On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.

Acts 7:11-14
Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food. / When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. / On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh. ...

Acts 7:15-16
So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. / Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.

Hebrews 11:21
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11:22
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.

Acts 7:9-10
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him / and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.


Treasury of Scripture

And take your father and your households, and come to me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.

the fat.

Genesis 27:28
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

Genesis 47:6
The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

Numbers 18:12,29
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee…

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Best Eat Egypt Enjoy Families Fat Good Households
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Best Eat Egypt Enjoy Families Fat Good Households
Genesis 45
1. Joseph makes himself known to his brothers.
5. He comforts them in God's providence.
9. He sends for his father.
16. Pharaoh confirms it.
21. Joseph furnishes then for their journey.
25. Jacob is revived with the news.














Then bring your father and your families and return to me.
This phrase reflects Joseph's invitation to his brothers to bring their father, Jacob, and their entire families to Egypt. It signifies reconciliation and the restoration of family unity after years of separation and betrayal. The call to "return to me" highlights Joseph's authority and his role as a savior figure, prefiguring Christ's invitation to come to Him for salvation and provision. The emphasis on family underscores the importance of kinship and the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham to make his descendants a great nation (Genesis 12:2).

I will give you the best of the land of Egypt,
Joseph promises to provide his family with the best of Egypt, which indicates his high status and favor with Pharaoh. This offer of the "best of the land" symbolizes God's provision and blessing, reminiscent of the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8). Egypt, particularly the region of Goshen, was fertile and suitable for their livestock, ensuring their prosperity. This also foreshadows the Israelites' eventual enslavement and exodus, highlighting God's sovereignty in using Egypt as both a place of refuge and a place of deliverance.

and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’
The phrase "eat from the fat of the land" implies abundance and prosperity. In ancient Near Eastern culture, "fat" was associated with the best and most luxurious portions, often reserved for the wealthy or for offerings to deities. This promise of abundance contrasts with the famine in Canaan, demonstrating God's provision through Joseph. It also serves as a type of the spiritual abundance found in Christ, who offers life more abundantly (John 10:10). The imagery of feasting and satisfaction points to the eschatological hope of the Messianic banquet (Isaiah 25:6).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Joseph
The son of Jacob who was sold into slavery by his brothers and rose to become the second most powerful man in Egypt. In this passage, he is speaking to his brothers.

2. Jacob (Israel)
The father of Joseph and his brothers, who is invited to come to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan.

3. Joseph's Brothers
The siblings who initially betrayed Joseph but are now recipients of his grace and forgiveness.

4. Egypt
The land where Joseph has risen to power and where he invites his family to come and live.

5. Famine
The severe shortage of food affecting the region, prompting Joseph's family to seek sustenance in Egypt.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty and Provision
Joseph's rise to power and his ability to provide for his family during the famine demonstrate God's sovereign plan and provision. Believers can trust that God is in control and will provide for their needs.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Joseph's invitation to his family, despite their past betrayal, is a powerful example of forgiveness and reconciliation. Christians are called to forgive others as they have been forgiven by Christ.

Faith in God's Promises
The move to Egypt was part of God's plan to preserve the Israelites. Believers are encouraged to have faith in God's promises, even when circumstances seem dire.

The Importance of Family
Joseph's concern for his family highlights the importance of family unity and support. Christians are encouraged to care for and support their families, especially in times of need.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then bring
וּקְח֧וּ (ū·qə·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

your father
אֲבִיכֶ֛ם (’ă·ḇî·ḵem)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 1: Father

and your families
בָּתֵּיכֶ֖ם (bāt·tê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 1004: A house

and return
וּבֹ֣אוּ (ū·ḇō·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to me.
אֵלָ֑י (’ê·lāy)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

I will give
וְאֶתְּנָ֣ה (wə·’et·tə·nāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

you
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Direct object marker
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

the best
טוּב֙ (ṭūḇ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2898: Good, goodness, beauty, gladness, welfare

of the land
אֶ֣רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

of Egypt,
מִצְרַ֔יִם (miṣ·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

and you shall eat
וְאִכְל֖וּ (wə·’iḵ·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 398: To eat

from the fat
חֵ֥לֶב (ḥê·leḇ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2459: Fat, richest, choice part

of the land.’
הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land


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OT Law: Genesis 45:18 Take your father and your households (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 45:17
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