Genesis 41:51

51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, [a] saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”

Genesis 41:51 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 41:51

And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh
Which signifies forgetfulness, as the reason of it shows: for God, [said he], hath made me forget all my toil, and all my
father's house;
all his toil and labour in Potiphar's house, and especially in the prison; and all the injuries his brethren had done him; all this he was made to forget by the grandeur and honour, wealth and riches, power and authority he was possessed of; and indeed he had so much business upon his hands, that he had scarce time to think of his father, and his family.

Genesis 41:51 In-Context

49 So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure.
50 Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
52 And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end,

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Manasseh sounds like the Hebrew for making to forget.
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