Genesis 41:46-57

Genesis 41:46-57

[46] And Joseph  was thirty  years  old  when he stood  before  Pharaoh  king  of Egypt.  And Joseph  went out  from the presence  of Pharaoh,  and went throughout  all the land  of Egypt.  [47] And in the seven  plenteous  years  the earth  brought forth  by handfuls.  [48] And he gathered up  all the food  of the seven  years,  which were in the land  of Egypt,  and laid up  the food  in the cities:  the food  of the field,  which was round about  every city,  laid he up  in the same.  [49] And Joseph  gathered  corn  as the sand  of the sea,  very  much,  until he left  numbering;  for it was without  number.  [50] And unto Joseph  were born  two  sons  before the years  of famine  came,  which Asenath  the daughter  of Potipherah  priest  of On  bare  unto him. [51] And Joseph  called  the name  of the firstborn  Manasseh:  For God,  said he, hath made me forget  all my toil,  and all my father's  house.  [52] And the name  of the second  called  he Ephraim:  For God  hath caused me to be fruitful  in the land  of my affliction.  [53] And the seven  years  of plenteousness,  that was in the land  of Egypt,  were ended.  [54] And the seven  years  of dearth  began  to come,  according as Joseph  had said:  and the dearth  was in all lands;  of Egypt  there was bread.  [55] And when all the land  of Egypt  was famished,  the people  cried  to Pharaoh  for bread:  and Pharaoh  said  unto all the Egyptians,  unto Joseph;  what he saith  to you, do.  [56] And the famine  was over all the face  of the earth:  And Joseph  opened  all the storehouses, and sold  unto the Egyptians;  and the famine  waxed sore  in the land  of Egypt.  [57] And all countries  came  into Egypt  to Joseph  for to buy  corn; because that the famine  was so sore  in all lands. 

What does Genesis 41:46-57 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The notation of the birth of Joseph"s sons Isaiah , of course, very significant in view of God"s purposes concerning Abraham"s family ( Genesis 41:50-52). Joseph acknowledged God"s goodness to him in naming both his sons. An allusion to the blessing aspect of the patriarchal promises occurs in Genesis 41:49.
"If the name of Joseph"s first son (Manasseh) focuses on a God who preserves, the name of Joseph"s second son (Ephraim) focuses on a God who blesses." [1]
Some readers of Genesis have wondered why Joseph did not inform Jacob of his welfare quickly since he must have realized that Jacob would have worried about his disappearance. In naming Prayer of Manasseh , Joseph said God had enabled him to forget all (his troubles in) his father"s household ( Genesis 41:51). Perhaps Joseph did not try to contact Jacob because he thought his father had set him up for what happened to him at Dothan. [2] This seems very unlikely to me since Jacob"s sorrow over Joseph"s apparent death seems genuine. Perhaps Joseph did not try to contact Jacob because, through the remarkable events by which God exalted him, he came to realize that God would fulfill the rest of His promises contained in his dreams. [3] He may have concluded that his best course of action would be to continue to let God take the initiative as He had done so consistently in his life to that time. Joseph had evidently come to trust God in place of his father. In this sense he had forgotten his father"s household.
""Forget" does not mean here "not remember" but rather to have something no longer (cf. Job 39:17; Job 11:16. See, too, the Arabic proverb, "Whoever drinks water from the Nile forgets his fatherland if he is a foreigner"). The phrase refers, therefore, more to an objective external fact than to a subjective, psychological process." [4]
One might say that for Joseph life in Canaan was a closed chapter of his life. [5]
"Just as Adam is seen in the Creation account as dependent on God for his knowledge of "good and evil," so Joseph also is portrayed here in the same terms ... Just as Adam is made God"s "vicegerent" to rule over all the land, so similarly Joseph is portrayed here as the Pharaoh"s "vicegerent" over all his land ( Genesis 41:40-43). As Adam was made in God"s image to rule over all the land, so the king here gave Joseph his "signet ring" and dressed him in royal garments ( Genesis 41:42). The picture of Joseph resembles the psalmist"s understanding of Genesis 1when, regarding that passage, he writes, "[6] crowned him with glory and honor./ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;/ you put everything under his feet" ( Psalm 8:5-7). Just as God provided a wife for Adam in the garden and gave man all the land for his enjoyment, so the king gave a wife to Joseph and put him over all the land ( Genesis 41:45)....
"The picture of Joseph, then, looks back to Adam; but more, it looks forward to one who was yet to come. It anticipates the coming of the one from the house of Judah to whom the kingdom belongs (cf. Genesis 49:10). Thus in the final shape of the narrative, the tension between the house of Joseph and the house of Judah, which lies within many of these texts, is resolved by making the life of Joseph into a picture of the one who is to reign from the house of Judah." [7]
God controls the fortunes of nations to protect and provide for His covenant people.