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Genesis 46-50 -- let's wrap this up
Jacob brings his family, slaves, and stuff into Egypt, where they settle in the land of Goshen. Along the way we've learned that Egyptians look down on Hebrews, refusing to eat meals with them, also setting aside particular undesirable jobs for them, like the segregation we White people did to Black people before we passed the Civil Rights laws. Joseph uses the ongoing famine crisis to seize all the lands and herds of all the Egyptians, to turn all Egyptians into slaves of the Pharaoh, then he redistributes the land and herds back to the people, while instituting a permanent 20% flat tax on farming revenue. This seems more Socialist then Democratic to me. Jacob asks Joseph to promise not to bury his body in Egypt. On Jacob's deathbed, Jacob blesses Joseph's secondborn, not his firstborn, despite Joseph's protests, continuing what has been a theme of unfair inheritance practice. Jacob then blesses each of his 12 sons, making each the head of a tribe with different purposes in life, such as shipping, farming, leadership, raiding, etc. He dies. Time for a funeral for Jacob, and Joseph keeps his promise to bury him outside of Egypt. Several high Egyptian officials attend the funeral. Joseph's brothers ask him for forgiveness, and offer to be his slaves, but Joseph says all this was God's plan and he holds no grudges. Eventually Joseph also dies. The End.
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