Genesis 45:8

8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Genesis 45:8 In-Context

6 For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.

7 God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

9 Now return quickly to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay.

10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.