Genesis 47:2
ESV
And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.
NIV
He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
NASB
And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
CSB
He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
NLT
Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh.
KJV
And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
NKJV
And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
What does Genesis 47:2 mean?
Joseph is presenting his family at the court of Pharaoh. They are newly arrived at Pharaoh's invitation (Genesis 45:16–20), in the land of Egypt. Jacob and his descendants are a large group from the land of Canaan. Pharaoh commanded Joseph to offer the best of the land of Egypt to his family to save them from a widespread famine (Genesis 41:28–31).Instead of presenting all 11 of his brothers before Pharaoh, Joseph selects five. Egyptians preferred the number five, much as Scripture often values the number seven. Joseph seems very concerned that his family make the best impression possible. Joseph knows that he is highly favored by Pharaoh, but he wants to make the best home for his own people while avoiding any ill will between them and the Egyptians. In the prior passage, Joseph prepared his family with the right words to say when they met Egypt's ruler (Genesis 46:31–34).
