And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
All Commentaries on Genesis 47:26 Go To Genesis 47
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Let people of today take heed of the extent of the privilege enjoyed in antiquity by priests serving idols and learn a lesson to show at least equal regard for those entrusted with the service of the God of all …. You see, it is not for [the priest’s] sake that you ought take pains but for him who is the object of the priest’s service, and so you will gain reward from him in generous measure. Hence Jesus also said, “When you do it to one of these, you do it to me,” and, “Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.” … As the respect shown for their sake wins us much confidence (he takes to himself, you see, what is done to his servants), so too neglect of them brings upon us heavy condemnation from above. I mean, as he takes to himself respect for them, so too contempt of them. Realizing this, let us never neglect attention to the priests of God. I say this not to set such store by them as by your love, and out of a wish for you to be advantaged in every way. What do you give, after all, that is so valuable as what you receive from the Lord? Yet, in return for that token that is expended in the present life, you gain undying reward and blessings beyond telling. With this in mind, let us hasten to render such services, considering not the expense but the gain and the favor arising from this action. If, for example, we had in view some friend of a person highly placed in this world’s honors and went out of our way to give him every attention, in the belief that what was done to him redounded to the credit of his patron and that when this was communicated to the latter it would cause us to enjoy greater favor with him, all the more should this be true of the Lord of all. I mean, if a person shows some friendliness and compassion for some chance acquaintance lying abjectly in a public place, the Lord takes his actions as done to himself and promises to bring into the kingdom those who do any good to such people and to say, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, because I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.” So much more if anyone renders a service to those afflicted for God’s sake and carrying the dignity of priesthood, he will not simply enjoy a reward of these proportions but many times more abundant, since the loving God generously surpasses without fail what we do.
