Pharaoh must interview the family before giving his full approval to their use of the land of Goshen. Joseph prepares his family for the meeting before going to the king's palace. He tells them how important it for Pharaoh to understand they work as shepherds and want to continue working as shepherds.
"Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, 'I will go up to Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.' When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your occupation?', you should answer, 'Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.'" (Genesis 46:31-34) These men have other skills besides shepherding, of course, for they also have to grow their own crops and they may have had other business ventures while they lived in Canaan. But it's vital that Pharaoh understands their primary occupation is shepherding. Egyptians consider shepherds "unclean" and Pharaoh will not offer them employment in the city and he will not invite them to mingle socially with his own people once he understands they are shepherds. He will want them segregated and this means that, for the sake of his great friendship with Joseph, he will grant them access to the entire land of Goshen. If they had not been self-sufficient during their four-century sojourn in Egypt they would not have fared as well in the exodus. If they had given up shepherding in favor of working in various administrative jobs for Pharaoh, they'd have no livestock to take with them when they leave.
When the Lord told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign land for several centuries, He didn't name the nation where this would occur. I believe Joseph knows it's Egypt. I don't know whether the Lord has revealed this information to him or whether he can see where things are eventually heading, but when he grows old and is near death he will instruct his family to take his coffin with them when the Lord takes them out of Egypt and gives them the promised land. Jacob and his sons may think they are in Goshen for the short term, but Joseph can clearly see that they are there for a long period of time. He knows they won't leave on their own but by the mighty hand of God. The Pharaoh of his day won't mistreat them, but the tide will soon turn in Egypt. A new dynasty will arise with a king who feels no affinity toward the shepherding people of Canaan. Prejudice toward the Hebrew people will emerge and thrive in Egyptian culture. The Hebrews among them will be thought of as "sub-human" in comparison to Egyptians.
But right now the current Pharaoh wants to speak to Joseph's family. He will show them respect due to his high regard for Joseph, but once he hears they are shepherds he won't be inviting them to dinner at the palace. He won't be helping them to integrate into Egyptian culture. This is exactly how the Lord wants it, and Joseph knows it, so Joseph has instructed his family what to say when they are called before the king. Joseph will select five of his brothers to meet the king, and the Bible doesn't tell us which five, but I tend to think it was the five oldest brothers. It's not necessary for them all to meet the king, plus some of them had to remain with the flocks and herds.
"Joseph went and told Pharaoh, 'My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.' He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' 'Your servants are shepherds,' they replied to Pharaoh, 'just as our fathers were.' They also said to him, 'We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.'" (Genesis 47:1-4) What they are saying, if Pharaoh reads between the lines, is something like this, "If it would please the king, let us settle off to ourselves, out of the way of your people, where we can maintain our lifestyle as shepherds. We will only be here until the famine subsides and then we will go back to Canaan once the pasture land there flourishes again. Due to our occupations, you won't want us here in the capital city or in jobs where we'll interact with Egyptians. We are shepherds like our fathers and grandfathers before us. You and your people will be happier if we're out of the way and off to ourselves."
Pharaoh is happy to help Joseph's family out and perhaps even happier that he won't be inconvenienced by the sight of them. It pleases him that they don't want to mingle in Egyptian society and he grants Joseph's request. As national leaders tend to do---especially those of ancient times---he grants Joseph's request in such a way that he makes himself sound extremely generous and helpful. "Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.'" (Genesis 47:5-6) If any of Joseph's family is especially gifted at animal husbandry, Pharaoh says they can tend his own flocks and herds for a salary. I doubt Pharaoh spends much time, if any, walking among his livestock. Had any of Joseph's family taken him up on his offer, he likely would not have to encounter them or spend any time talking with them as he would if they worked in his palace or in his government.
Was Goshen the best part of the land? I can't say whether it was the best of all the pasture land in the whole nation of Egypt, but naturally Pharaoh presents it as such. He wants to look like he's really going the extra mile, doing far and above what any other man would do for visiting Hebrews. So I don't know if Goshen is literally the best grazing land in all of Egypt, but it's the place God wants them, and wherever God wants them is going to be the best place for them. In that sense Pharaoh certainly is allowing them the use of the best of the land. God will insulate them in Goshen from the idolatrous culture around them. They will maintain their customs and religion and not intermarry with pagan Egyptians. When the time comes for Him to bring them out of Egypt, they will not have lost their national identity or their belief in the one and only God.
"Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh." (Genesis 47:7a) Jacob is 130 years old now and was not required to discuss his occupation with the king. He's retired from working among the flocks or working in the fields. Joseph brings him in separately and introduces him to the king.
"After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, 'How old are you?' And Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.' Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence." (Genesis 47:9b-10) When entering the presence of an ancient king, the person was to get down on his knees and bow with his forehead to the floor. I think the aged Jacob has difficulty doing this. I think his son Joseph had to help him down and back up, causing Pharaoh to observe his frailty and to question him about his age. We don't know what type of blessings Jacob bestowed on the king, but I assume it would be customary to say things like, "May the king live forever!" Later in the Old Testament we will find Israelite kings addressed in this manner when someone enters their presence to speak with them. I imagine Jacob saying something like, "May the Lord bless and keep you for your kindness to us. May He make the years of your life long and pleasant. May He maintain your throne and your descendants forever." But the Bible doesn't tell us exactly what he said, just that he was humble and respectful in the presence of the king.
When Jacob says his years have been "few", they actually are few in comparison to the long lives of his ancestors. When you think about it, any amount of years on the earth could be called "few". This world has been here for a long time, and in comparison to its age, our sojourn here is quite short. Jacob rightly says his years have been "difficult", for life on earth has its difficulties, but in addition to the common things that afflict us all, he was deceived for two decades about the fate of the son who is now Pharaoh's right hand man. I think his twenty years of grief have turned him into an older man physically than he actually is. I think those years took a heavy toll on him.
"So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children." (Genesis 47:11-12)
I feel like tomorrow would be a good time for us to discuss who the Pharaoh of Joseph's time might have been and how his possible identity helps to explain why he was so kind to Joseph and his family.
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