Genesis 41:43-53

43 He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt.

44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Though I am Pharaoh, yet ¹without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt."

45 Then Pharaoh named * Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of ²On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.

46 Now Joseph was ³thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

47 During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.

48 So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.

49 Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until * he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

The Sons of Joseph

50 Now before the year of famine came, ⁴two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.

51 Joseph named * the firstborn Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."

52 He named * the second Ephraim, "For," he said, "⁵God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

53 When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end,

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Genesis 41:43-53 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 41

In this chapter are related Pharaoh's dreams, which his magicians could not interpret, Ge 41:1-9, upon which the chief butler now remembering Joseph, recommended him to Pharaoh as an interpreter, having had an happy experience of him as such himself, Ge 41:10-13, when Joseph was sent for out of prison; and Pharaoh having related his dreams, he interpreted them of seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine, that should be in the land of Egypt, Ge 41:14-32; and having done, he gave his advice to provide in the years of plenty against the years of famine, and proposed a scheme for doing it, which was approved of by Pharaoh and his ministers, Ge 41:33-37; and Joseph himself was pitched upon as the most proper person to execute it, and was appointed chief over the kingdom next to Pharaoh, who gave him a new name and a wife upon this occasion, Ge 41:38-45; accordingly, in the years of plenty he took a tour throughout the whole land, and gathered and laid up food in vast quantities in every city, Ge 41:46-49; an account is given of two sons born to Joseph, and of their names, Ge 41:50-52; and of the seven years of famine, beginning to come on at the end of the seven years of plenty, which brought great distress on the land of Egypt, and the countries round about, who all came to Joseph to buy corn, Ge 41:53-57.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 5

1. Psalms 105:22
2. Jeremiah 43:13; Ezekiel 30:17
3. Genesis 37:2
4. Genesis 48:5
5. Genesis 17:6; Genesis 28:3; Genesis 49:22

Footnotes 13

[a]. Lit "the second...which was his"
[b]. Heb "Abreck: Attention" or "Make way"
[c]. Lit "you no one"
[d]. Probably Egyptian for ``God speaks; he lives''
[e]. Or "Heliopolis"
[f]. Or "entered the service of"
[g]. Lit "by handfuls"
[h]. Lit "very much"
[i]. Lit "numbering"
[j]. Or "without number"
[k]. Or "Heliopolis"
[l]. I.e. making to forget
[m]. I.e. fruitfulness