Transfer of Wealth - Genesis 47: 14-26

47:14-26 - The key word in verse 56 of chapter 41 is “sold” in that the grain and corn that was confiscated or “taxed” at 20% from the Egyptian people by their Semite conquering overlords, is being “sold” back to them when they are on the brink of starvation. If it were me, I’d be furious that I would have to pay money to buy back the food that I grew with my own hands but was stolen by the government, and I’m sure that the Egyptian people felt that same way. But the “how” of the food being sold to Egyptians and to foreigners throughout the land is important as is explained by TB and Genesis 47.

During the initial part of the crisis, the food was sold for money, and a lot of money at that. TB explains in this Torah Class article, “This was no welfare. The price for those stored grains was VERY high. We see from the upcoming story of Genesis 42 and 43 that several BAGS of silver was required to buy food from Egypt for the clan of Jacob; food would normally not have required a sum of money that would be spoken of in terms of ‘bagfuls’ of silver.” Genesis 47:14 says that the result of the food being sold to the people for money was that “Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan… and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.”

I find it hard to believe that Joseph was the one who insisted in selling the food back to the people for money, surely it was Pharaoh who insisted, Joseph having been a slave himself for many years most likely wouldn’t have wanted to force other people into that position. But unfortunately for him, he was the enforcer of Pharaoh’s decrees and everyone probably saw him as a monster and hated him personally for what was happening. The first form of payment for food was all the cash in the whole area, not limited to Egypt. This is the currency that people had on hand in the form of liquidity instead of assets. All the discretionary money in Egypt and around was transferred through the sale of food from the people, even the wealthy people, to Pharaoh, and remember, he was viewed as a foreign tyrant, surely he wasn’t beloved by his people.

After all the cash money disappeared into Pharaoh’s treasure box and the people had no more cash to pay, “Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.” After the “money fails” because it’s all gone, now the animals and livestock start to get transferred from the people to Pharaoh through the sale of food. After all the money and animals are gone from the people, then all they have is “out bodies, and our lands… And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.”

It's not a matter of conquering at this point, because these Semites have taken over the Egyptian government, but now they own all the land and assets of Egypt legally, through litigiously binding contracts and bills of sale. This could not be going any better for Pharaoh. Because he owned all the land “he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.” The word “he” is cross-referenced as meaning, “he made them slaves, or serfs.” He owned the land so he could evict the people and force them to go wherever he wanted, and it sounds like he moved a lot of the local Egyptian people from the farmland homes to other more densely populated places. He not only owned the land, but the people asked “give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land e not desolate.” Pharaoh also provided the people with the seeds to grow food, so I think by definition that makes them serfs.

Through the serf program where Pharaoh buys up the land then gives the seeds to the people thus legally binding them to the land to work and live, many of the citizenry became slaves to Pharaoh, but there were also many other people who didn’t end up tied to any land specifically, but only had themselves to sell to Pharaoh for food. TB explains, “For those who were poorer, and did not have access to other more commercially available food sources, this famine would up costing hundred of thousands of Egyptians… possibly a million or more… their liberty. For, as these lower-class Egyptians ran out of money to buy food, they had no choice but to sell themselves and their families into bond service to the Pharaoh in exchange for grain. But, from their standpoint, it was this Semite foreigner… Joseph… who was to blame for this travesty and humiliation; because Joseph was the front man, the visible symbol, for the entire food program; getting both credit and blame.”

Just like during the 7 years of abundance where grain and corn were taxed at 20%, Joseph sets out the terms to those who sold themselves and their land to Pharaoh “that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.” It seems like the people are super grateful saying, “thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” But it’s probable that in fact the Egyptian people were NOT grateful to be selling themselves into slavery and giving up everything they have just to survive by buying back their own food that they grew that was stolen from them.

It is important to note here that one caveat is made, in that the only land that was not accepted as payment to Pharaoh was “only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their land.” So the religious hierarchy kept their assets and received food from Pharaoh for free, which will probably be impactful here shortly. So basically at this point, the land of Egypt is divided into Pharaoh’s lands, which were probably the majority of the area, which also was run by slaves of Pharaoh, and the small amount of lands that were given to the priests, not one else owned anything else.