Genesis 45:8

8 I was sent hither not by your counsel, but by God's will, which hath made me as the father of Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and prince in all the land of Egypt. (I was sent here not by your deeds, but by God's will, who hath made me like a father to Pharaoh, and the lord of all his household, and the ruler in all the land of Egypt.)

Genesis 45:8 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 45:8

So now [it was] not you [that] sent me hither, but God
Which is to be understood not absolutely, as if they had no concern at all in sending him thither; they sold him to the Ishmaelites, who brought him down to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, and so were instrumental in his coming to Egypt; but comparatively, it was not they so much as God that sent him; whose providence directed, disposed, and overruled all those events, to bring Joseph to this place, and to such an high station, to answer the purposes and designs of God in providing for and preserving Jacob's family in a time of distress:

and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh:
to be a teacher to him, as Aben Ezra, that is, to be his counsellor, to advise him well in all things, as a father his children; or to be his partner and patron, as Jarchi, to have a share with him in power and authority, and to be reckoned as a father to him, see ( Genesis 41:43 ) ; and to provide for him and the welfare of his kingdom, as parents do for their children: the following phrases explain it of rule and government; and the meaning is, that he was a great man, and a prince F19 in Pharaoh's court:

and lord of all his house;
his prime minister, chief counsellor and courtier:

and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt;
to whom all the deputies of the several provinces were subject under Pharaoh, and especially in the affair of the corn.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 So it is interpreted by R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 50. 1.

Genesis 45:8 In-Context

6 For it is (but) two years that hunger began to be in the land, (and) yet five (more) years (shall) follow, in which men shall not be able to ear, neither reap;
7 and God before-sent me, that ye be kept (alive) on (the) earth, and may have meats to live. (and God sent me ahead, so that ye would be kept alive on this earth, and have food to eat/and have descendants into without end.)
8 I was sent hither not by your counsel, but by God's will, which hath made me as the father of Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and prince in all the land of Egypt. (I was sent here not by your deeds, but by God's will, who hath made me like a father to Pharaoh, and the lord of all his household, and the ruler in all the land of Egypt.)
9 Haste ye, and goeth up to my father, and ye shall say to him, Thy son Joseph sendeth these things to thee; God hath made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down (here) to me, and tarry not,
10 and (then) dwell in the land of Goshen; and thou shalt be beside me, thou, and thy sons, and the sons of thy sons, (and) thy sheep, and thy great beasts, and all things which thou wieldest (and all the things which thou possessest),
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.