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Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Verse Takeaways
1
A Model of Just Leadership
Commentators like John Calvin praise Joseph's actions not as tyranny, but as "exceptional benevolence." By buying the land and then leasing it back for a fixed, moderate rent of one-fifth of the produce, Joseph established a fair and stable system. This act of "clemency" enriched the king without oppressing the people, serving as a timeless model for leaders to balance state interests with public welfare.
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Book Overview
Genesis
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5
18th Century
Presbyterian
רעמסס ra‘mesês — Ra‘meses “son of the sun.”
מטה mı̂ṭṭāh — “bed.” מטה maṭṭeh…
19th Century
Anglican
Lo, here is seed for you. —As Joseph would give them seed with which to sow their fields only when the famine was nearly …
16th Century
Protestant
Then Joseph said unto the people. Here Moses describes the exceptional benevolence of Joseph, which, just as it then suppressed all compla…
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17th Century
Reformed Baptist
Then Joseph said unto the people After he had bought their land, and before the removal of them to distant parts:
With care taken for Jacob and his family—a mercy especially orchestrated by Providence through Joseph's advancement—the account now turns to how th…