Genesis 45:17-18 - Exposition

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; and take your father and your households, and come unto me . This may have been an independent invitation given by the Egyptian king to Joseph's relatives; but it is more than likely that Joseph had already told him of the proposal he had made to his brethren, and that he here receives a royal confirmation of the same). And I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, — i.e. the best part of the land, viz; Goshen (Rosenmüller, Lange, and others); though the phrase is probably synonymous with that which follows— and ye shall eat the fat of the land. The fat of the land meant either the richest and most fertile portion of it (Lunge, Kalisch), or the best and choicest of its productions (Gesenius, Keil). Cf. Deuteronomy 32:14 ; Psalms 147:14 .