Genesis 41:46-57

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he ¹entered the service of 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 plentiful years the earth produced abundantly,

48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it.

49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, ²like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

50 Before the year of famine came, ³two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him.

51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For, ” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house. ” ^[a]

52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has ⁴made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. ” ^[b]

53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end,

54 and ⁵the seven years of famine began to come, ⁶as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do. ”

56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses^[c] and ⁷sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe ⁸over all the earth.

Genesis 41:46-57 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.

Cross References

• 1. 41:46 1 Sam. 16:21; 1 Kgs. 12:6, 8; Dan. 1:19
• 2. 41:49 ch. 22:17; Judg. 7:12; 1 Sam. 13:5; Ps. 78:27
• 3. 41:50 ch. 46:20; 48:5
• 4. 41:52 [ch. 49:22; Hos. 13:15]
• 5. 41:54 Ps. 105:16; Acts 7:11
• 6. 41:54 ver. 30
• 7. 41:56 ch. 42:6; [ch. 47:14, 20, 24]
• 8. 41:57 ver. 54, 56

Footnotes

• [a] 41:51 'Manasseh' sounds like the Hebrew for 'making to forget'
• [b] 41:52 'Ephraim' sounds like the Hebrew for 'making fruitful'
• [c] 41:56 Hebrew 'all that was in them'