« | Genesis 47 | » |
1 Ioseph came therfore & tolde Pharao, and said: My father & my brethre, theyr sheepe, and theyr cattell, and all that they haue, are come out of ye lande of Chanaan: and beholde, they are in the lande of Gosen.
2 And Ioseph toke of the company of his brethren [euen] fiue men, and presented them vnto Pharao.
3 And Pharao sayd vnto his brethren: what is your occupation? And they aunswered Pharao: thy seruauntes are kepers of cattell, both we, and also our fathers.
4 They said moreouer vnto Pharao, for to soiourne in the land are we come, for thy seruaunts haue no pasture for their cattell, so sore is the famishment in the lande of Chanaan: Nowe therefore let thy seruauntes dwell in the lande of Gosen.
5 And Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: thy father & thy brethre are come vnto thee.
6 The lande of Egypt is before thee: In the best place of the lande make both thy father and thy brethren dwell, eue in the land of Gosen let them dwel. Moreouer, if thou knowest any man of actiuitie amongest them, make them rulers ouer my [cattell].
7 And Ioseph brought in Iacob his father, and set hym before Pharao: and Iacob blessed Pharao.
8 And Pharao said vnto Iacob: howe olde art thou?
9 Iacob sayd vnto Pharao, The dayes of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirtie yeres: Fewe and euill haue the dayes of my life ben, and haue not attayned vnto the yeres of ye lyfe of my fathers, in the dayes of theyr pilgrimage.
10 And Iacob blessed Pharao, and went out of his presence.
11 And Ioseph prepared dwellinges for his father, and his brethren, and gaue them possessions in the lande of Egypt, in the best of the land, euen the land of Rameses, as Pharao had comaunded.
12 And Ioseph made prouision for his father and his brethren, and all his fathers housholde with bread: euen to the mouthes of the young chyldren.
13 There was no bread in all the lande, for the dearth was exceedyng sore, so that the lande of Egypt, and the land of Chanaan were famished by reason of the dearth.
14 And Ioseph brought together all the money that was founde in the lande of Egypt and of Chanaan, for the corne which they bought: and he layed vp the money in Pharaos house.
15 When money fayled in the lande of Egypt and of Chanaan, all the Egyptians came vnto Ioseph, and saide, Geue vs bread: wherefore suffrest thou vs to dye before thee whe our money is spent?
16 Then sayde Ioseph, Bryng your cattell: and I wyll geue you for your cattell yf money fayle.
17 And they brought their cattell vnto Ioseph: and Ioseph gaue them bread for horses and sheepe, and oxen, & asses, and fedde them with bread for all their cattell that yere.
18 But when that yere was ended, they came vnto hym the next yere, and sayde vnto hym: We wyl not hyde it from my lorde, howe that our money is spent: my lorde also had our heardes of cattel, nether is ther ought left in ye sight of my lorde but euen our bodies & our landes.
19 Wherefore lettest thou vs dye before thine eyes, both we and our lande? bye vs and our land for bread, and both we and our lande wyll be bounde vnto Pharao: onlye geue vs seede, that we may lyue, and not dye, & that the lande go not to waste.
20 And so Ioseph bought all the lande of Egypt for Pharao: For the Egyptians solde euery man his possessions, because the dearth was so sore vpon them: and so the lande became Pharaos.
21 And he caused the people to moue from citie to citie, fro one syde of Egypt into the other.
22 Only the lande of the priestes bought he not: for the priestes had a portion assigned them of Pharao, and dyd eate their portio which Pharao gaue them: wherfore they solde not their landes.
23 Then Ioseph sayde vnto the folke: beholde, I haue bought you this daye and your lande for Pharao: Lo, here is seede for you, & ye shall sowe the land.
24 And of the increase you shall geue the fyfth part vnto Pharao, and foure partes shalbe your owne for seede of the fielde, and for you & them of your householdes, and for your chyldren to eate.
25 And they aunswered: Thou hast saued our lyues, let vs fynde grace in the syght of my lorde, and we wylbe Pharaos seruauntes.
26 And Ioseph made it a lawe ouer the lande of Egypt vnto this daye, that Pharao shoulde haue the fyft part, except ye lande of the priestes only, which was not Pharaos.
27 And Israel dwelt in Egypt, euen in they countrey of Gosen, and they had their possessions therin, and grewe and multiplied exceedyngly.
28 Moreouer Iacob lyued in the lande of Egypt seuenteene yeres, so that ye whole age of Iacob was an hundred and fourtie and seuen yeres.
29 When the tyme drewe nye that Israel must dye, he sent for his sonne Ioseph and sayde vnto him: If I haue founde grace in thy syght, oh put thy hande vnder my thygh, and deale mercifully and truly with me, that thou bury me not in Egypt.
30 But I shall sleepe with my fathers, and thou shalt cary me out of Egypt, & bury me in their buryall. And he aunswered: I wyll do as thou hast sayde.
31 And he sayde: Sweare vnto me. And he sware vnto him. And Israel worshipped towarde the beddes head.
The Bishop’s Bible (BB)
The Bishop’s Bible (BB) is a significant English translation of the Bible that was first published in 1568 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was commissioned by the Church of England as a revision of the Great Bible and as a response to the Geneva Bible, which was popular among the Puritans but contained marginal notes that were considered politically and theologically contentious by the Anglican establishment. The primary goal of the Bishop’ s Bible was to create a translation that would be more acceptable to the ecclesiastical authorities and suitable for use in Anglican churches.
One of the distinguishing features of the Bishop’s Bible is its effort to maintain a high level of accuracy and scholarly integrity while also ensuring that the language used was dignified and appropriate for public reading. The translation was undertaken by a team of bishops and other scholars, hence its name. The translators aimed to preserve the poetic and literary qualities of the original texts, drawing on previous translations such as the Tyndale Bible, the Coverdale Bible, and the Great Bible, while also incorporating their scholarly insights and linguistic refinements.
The Bishop’s Bible was notable for its large, folio format, which was designed to be read from the pulpit. It included extensive marginal notes, though these were more restrained and less controversial than those found in the Geneva Bible. The translation also featured elaborate illustrations and maps, as well as a comprehensive introduction and various prefaces that provided context and guidance for readers. Despite its grandeur and scholarly merit, the Bishop’s Bible did not achieve the widespread popularity of the Geneva Bible among the general populace.
Although the Bishop’s Bible played an essential role in the religious and cultural life of Elizabethan England, it was eventually overshadowed by the King James Version (KJV), which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611. The KJV drew heavily on the Bishop’ s Bible, as well as other earlier translations, but ultimately surpassed it in both scholarly rigor and literary quality. Nonetheless, the Bishop’s Bible remains an important milestone in the history of English Bible translations, reflecting the theological and political currents of its time and contributing to the development of subsequent translations.