What Does Genesis 47:4 Mean?

They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen." The formal request arrives: let us dwell in Goshen. The request is grounded in two honest reasons: no pasture in Canaan (the famine has stripped Canaan of grazing land), and the severity of the famine. These are the specific circumstances that have made the migration necessary and that justify permanent settlement rather than temporary grain-buying. The family cannot continue its Canaan-based pastoral life because there is nothing for the animals to eat in Canaan during the five remaining famine years.

"We have come to sojourn in the land": "sojourn" (Hebrew: lagur: to dwell as a temporary resident) is the appropriate legal term in the ancient Near East for foreigners residing in a land without full citizen rights. The family presents themselves as sojourners: the same status Abraham had in Canaan (Genesis 23:4) and the status Moses will be in Midian (Exodus 2:22). The sojourner status acknowledges the family's foreign origin and their dependence on Pharaoh's permission to reside. Eventually, the sojourner status of the family in Egypt will become the background to Exodus's liberation narrative: Israel was a sojourner in a land not their own.

"Please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen": the specific request for Goshen (consistent with Joseph's arrangement and invitation) is the conclusion of the occupation explanation and the famine justification. The brothers have given Pharaoh everything he needs to grant the request: they are established shepherds; there is no pasture in Canaan; Goshen is suitable for their occupation; the prime minister's family needs settled land through the famine. Pharaoh's response in verse 5 to 6 grants the request, confirming that the presentation achieved the intended outcome.