I must say that Joseph seems rather harsh in this chapter. He had stored up all the grain from the land for 7 years - in order that the people may make it thru the famine. It had sounded like a plan for the good of society as a whole - a type of social welfare system. There was so much food that he was selling it to traders from Canaan (or at least to his brothers, perhaps not to travelers in general).
Now, as the famine nears its end, he distributes the food to the people, but at the expense of all their money, livestock, and land. The people survive the famine, but end up in bondage to Pharaoh. I must admit, it's not the image of this social program I usually think of. Joseph and Pharaoh seem harsh and cruel, profiting from the warning that God had given them.
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