Verses 1-6 of this chapter are a direct continuation of what went before in chapter 46. However, the opening of this chapter has a change of setting that involves the movement of Joseph, his father, and at least some of his brothers from Goshen to the capital, where the king of Egypt (Pharaoh) lived. In languages whose narrative structure requires making movements and scene changes unambiguously clear, some adjustments must be made in verses 1 and 2.

There are two ways to view the movement from Goshen to the king’s palace in the capital city:
(1) that Joseph takes his father and brothers with him when he goes to his audience or meeting with the king; or
(2) that Joseph returns, leaving his father and brothers in Goshen.

If we assume the first of these possibilities, as Good News Translation and a number of other English versions do, we are faced with the problem of the brothers and Jacob being at the same time in Goshen and in the palace. Good News Translation begins with “Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king,” but then says about the brothers and Jacob, “They are now in the region of Goshen.” If this is a real problem, it may be solved by using a different expression to indicate the presence of Jacob’s people at Goshen. See further comments below.

If, on the other hand, we make the second assumption, we must also assume that there are two different occasions when Joseph meets with the king. In this case the language of translation may still require making the movements clear; we may say, for example, “After instructing his brothers, Joseph returned to the king’s palace and went in to speak with him: ‘My father and brothers have arrived from Canaan with … They are now in the region of Goshen.’ ” This view assumes they are physically in Goshen. Therefore we have to assume that Joseph arranges a second meeting, in which the king will speak with the brothers. If this is so, before Joseph can present the brothers to the king, he must send for them to come; and to show the movement of the brothers from Goshen, we must say something like “Joseph sent for his father and his brothers. He then chose five of his brothers to present them to the king.”

So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh: the Hebrew says “Joseph came and told Pharaoh.” “Came” in English is speaking from the point of view of the place where the king is. Revised Standard Version went speaks from the point of view of where Joseph was at the time, namely, in Goshen. We may keep the point of view of Goshen and say, for example, “Then Joseph left Goshen and went to speak with the king.”

They are now in …: in Hebrew this is literally “and behold them in…”; there is no verb. The word hinneh again has the function of drawing attention to a significant development in the story. If Jacob and the (five) brothers are in fact waiting at the palace at this time, then a verb other than one that means “they are staying” should be supplied; for example, “they have made their camp in….”

From among his brothers he took five men: five men may be expressed as “five of them.” Anchor Bible believes the number five means “several” here as well as in 43.34. However, most modern translations retain the number five both here and in 43.34. As suggested above, most translations that follow possibility (2) render took as “sent for” or “called for.”

Presented them to Pharaoh: presented translates a verb meaning “to put,” “to set,” or “to place.” The same verb is used of Jacob putting the peeled branches in front of the animals in 30.38. In this context it has the sense of “introduced,” “showed,” or “took them to the king so he could see them.”

Some translations that follow possibility (1) above also assume that Joseph took his brothers with him when he first went in to speak with the king, rather than having them wait outside. In this case Joseph concludes his speech by introducing the brothers: “He told the names of his brothers to the king.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .