“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
Parallel translations
- WEB They said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
- KJV And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.
- NKJV So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
- NASB So they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
- NLT “You have saved our lives!” they exclaimed. “May it please you, my lord, to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The people gratefully declare that Joseph has saved their lives and willingly become Pharaoh's servants. They respond with thankfulness, not resentment.
Overview
Far from complaining, the Egyptians acknowledge Joseph as their deliverer and gladly accept their new status. Their words, 'you have saved our lives,' express genuine gratitude for his provision. Joseph the savior, freely confessed by a thankful people, foreshadows Christ, the greater Savior whom redeemed people gladly own as Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 33:15“Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
- Prov 11:26–27The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it.
- Gen 45:6–8For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
- Ruth 2:13“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”
- Gen 6:19And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you.
- Gen 18:3“My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
- Gen 50:20As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
- Gen 41:45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 47:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.