The Meaning of Genesis 47:3 Explained

Genesis 47:3

KJV: And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

YLT: and Pharaoh saith unto his brethren, 'What are your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, 'Thy servants are feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;'

Darby: And Pharaoh said to his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.

ASV: And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Pharaoh  said  unto his brethren,  What [is] your occupation?  And they said  unto Pharaoh,  Thy servants  [are] shepherds,  both we, [and] also our fathers. 

What does Genesis 47:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 47:1-12 - Pharaoh Welcome's Joseph's Relatives
What a meeting between father and son! If the old man were sitting in the corner of the lumbering wagon, weary with the long journey, how he must have started up when they said, "Joseph is coming!" What pathos there is in the expression, "wept a good while," as though the long-pent-up streams took a long time to exhaust themselves. Had Joseph been less noble he might have shrunk from introducing his lowly relatives to the mighty Pharaoh! But such thoughts were submerged in the great love which claimed that withered, aged, halting man as his father. Let us never be ashamed of our Savior, who has done more for us than even Jacob for his sons. This confession that the days of his pilgrimage had been few and evil is set to a sad minor chord; and to the superficial gaze Esau had enjoyed a much more prosperous career; but when Jacob stood before Pharaoh the mighty monarch recognized his moral supremacy, and bent beneath his benediction. Surely the less is blessed of the greater. Here was the harvest of his tears! [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 47

1  Joseph presents his father, and five of his brothers before Pharaoh
11  He gives them habitation and maintenance
13  He gets the Egyptian's money;
16  their cattle;
18  and their lands, except the priests', to Pharaoh
23  He restores the land for a fifth
28  Jacob's age
29  He swears Joseph to bury him with his fathers

What do the individual words in Genesis 47:3 mean?

And said Pharaoh to his brothers what [is] your occupation and they said Pharaoh shepherding flocks your servants [are] both we [and] also our fathers
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֛ה אֶל־ אֶחָ֖יו מַה־ ؟ מַּעֲשֵׂיכֶ֑ם וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ פַּרְעֹ֗ה רֹעֵ֥ה צֹאן֙ עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ גַּם־ אֲנַ֖חְנוּ גַּם־ אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ

וַיֹּ֧אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
פַּרְעֹ֛ה  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה  
Sense: the common title of the king of Egypt.
אֶחָ֖יו  his  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
מַה־  what  [is] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
؟ מַּעֲשֵׂיכֶ֑ם  your  occupation 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: מַעֲשֶׂה  
Sense: deed, work.
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ  and  they  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
פַּרְעֹ֗ה  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה  
Sense: the common title of the king of Egypt.
רֹעֵ֥ה  shepherding 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
צֹאן֙  flocks 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ  your  servants  [are] 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
גַּם־  both 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
גַּם־  [and]  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ  our  fathers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.

What are the major concepts related to Genesis 47:3?

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