Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 47:16

"And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail." — Genesis 47:16 (ASV)

JOSEPH’S POLICY IN EGYPT.

Give your cattle. — Since the people were in need of food, and their land could not be cultivated while the Nile was not overflowing, this was a merciful arrangement. Through it, the owners were relieved of a burden, and a portion of the cattle were also saved for the time when they would be needed again for agricultural purposes. As caring for so many cattle during a famine would be a very serious matter (1 Kings 18:5–6), we now see the reason why Pharaoh wanted the most capable of Joseph’s brothers to be employed in this task. Probably, while there was no food for them in the Nile Valley, there would still be grass in the alluvial soil of the delta, which men experienced in herding cattle would be able to find.