“And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.”
My Notes
What Does Genesis 47:7 Mean?
"Jacob blessed Pharaoh." The Hebrew shepherd blesses the most powerful ruler on earth. The patriarch who arrived as a refugee — hungry, dependent, at Pharaoh's mercy — blesses the man who holds all the power. The lesser doesn't bless the greater (Hebrews 7:7 cites this principle). Jacob's blessing of Pharaoh asserts a spiritual authority that supersedes political authority.
The audacity is quiet but unmistakable: a 130-year-old nomad walks into the court of Egypt's god-king and pronounces blessing over him. Pharaoh doesn't bless Jacob. Jacob blesses Pharaoh. The power dynamic in the room is inverted by the blessing. The refugee has something the emperor needs.
Jacob blesses Pharaoh twice — on arrival (verse 7) and on departure (verse 10). The relationship is bookended by blessing. Whatever else happens in between — the conversation about Jacob's age, the settlement in Goshen — the frame is blessing. Jacob enters blessing and leaves blessing.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What spiritual authority do you carry that exceeds your social position?
- 2.How does Jacob blessing Pharaoh invert the expected power dynamic?
- 3.What do you have to offer people who seem to have everything?
- 4.How does the covenant-carrier outranking the crown-wearer change how you view spiritual authority?
Devotional
The refugee blesses the king. The hungry nomad pronounces blessing over the most powerful person on earth. The power dynamic is inverted: the one with nothing gives something the one with everything needs.
Jacob has no wealth to offer Pharaoh. No military alliance. No diplomatic leverage. What he has is the authority to bless — the patriarchal, covenantal, divinely authorized capacity to speak God's favor over another person. And he exercises it over the ruler of Egypt. Twice.
The audacity is theological: the person with the covenant outranks the person with the crown. The patriarch who carries God's promise is superior — spiritually, not politically — to the king who carries Egypt's scepter. The blessing flows downward from the greater to the lesser. And in this room, the greater is the old man, not the pharaoh.
This inverts every human power calculation: the refugee has what the emperor needs. The dependent gives to the provider. The one who came asking for bread dispenses blessing. The relationship isn't equal — but the advantage belongs to the unexpected party.
What do you carry that exceeds your social position? What blessing do you possess that the 'pharaohs' in your life need from you? You may enter the room as a refugee. You may leave as the one who blessed the king.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Joseph brought in Jacob his father,.... That is, some time after he had introduced his five brethren, and had gotten…
- Jacob in Goshen 11. רעמסס ra‛mesês, Ra‘meses “son of the sun.” 31. מטה mı̂ṭṭāh, “bed.” מטה maṭṭeh “staff.”…
Jacob blessed Pharaoh - Saluted him on his entrance with Peace be unto thee, or some such expression of respect and good…
Here is, I. The respect which Joseph, as a subject, showed to his prince. Though he was his favourite, and…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture