80 | Genesis 41:49
cit ies. In each city he put the food grown in the fields sur round ing it. 49 Jo seph stored up huge quan ti ties of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keep ing rec ords be cause it was be yond mea sure.
50
Be fore the years of fam ine came, two sons were born to Jo seph by As e nath daugh ter of Potiph era, priest of On. 51 Jo seph named his first born Ma nas seh a and said,“ It is be cause God has made me for get all my trou ble and all my fa ther’ s household.” 52 The sec ond son he named Ephra im b and said,“ It is be cause God has made me fruit ful in the land of my suf fer ing.”
53
The sev en years of abun dance in Egypt came to an end, 54 and the sev en years of fam ine be gan, just as Jo seph had said. There was fam ine in all the oth er lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all Egypt be gan to feel the fam ine, the peo ple cried to Phar aoh for food. Then Phar aoh told all the Egyp tians,“ Go to Jo seph and do what he tells you.”
56
When the fam ine had spread over the whole coun try, Jo seph opened all the store hous es and sold grain to the Egyp tians, for the fam ine was se vere through out Egypt. 57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Jo seph, be cause the fam ine was se vere ev ery where.
Joseph’ s Brothers Go to Egypt
When Ja cob learned that there was grain
42 in Egypt, he said to his sons,“ Why do you just keep look ing at each oth er?” 2 He con tin ued,“ I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
3
Then ten of Jo seph’ s broth ers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Ja cob did not send Ben ja min, Jo seph’ s broth er, with the oth ers, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.
5
So Is ra el’ s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was fam ine in the land of Ca naan also.
6
Now Jo seph was the gov er nor of the land, the per son who sold grain to all its peo ple. So when Jo seph’ s broth ers ar rived, they bowed down to him with their fac es to the ground. 7 As soon as Jo seph saw his broth ers, he rec og nized them, but he pre tend ed to be a strang er and spoke harsh ly to them.“ Where do you come from?” he asked.
“ From the land of Ca naan,” they re plied,“ to buy food.”
8
Al though Jo seph rec og nized his broth ers, they did not rec og nize him. 9 Then he re mem bered his dreams about them and said to them,“ You are spies! You have come to see where our land is un pro tect ed.”
10
“ No, my lord,” they an swered.“ Your ser vants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your ser vants are hon est men, not spies.”
12
“ No!” he said to them.“ You have come to see where our land is un pro tect ed.”
13
But they re plied,“ Your ser vants were twelve broth ers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Ca naan. The youn gest is now with our fa ther, and one is no more.”
14
Jo seph said to them,“ It is just as I told you: You are spies! 15 And this is how you will be test ed: As sure ly as Phar aoh lives, you will not leave this
a
51 Manasseh sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for forget. b
52 Ephraim sounds like the Hebrew for twice fruitful.
41:51 Manasseh The Hebrew name here, menashsheh, roughly means“ he who causes to forget,” hence Joseph’ s explanation of the name, in which he uses the similar sounding Hebrew verbal form nashshani. 41:52 Ephraim This name is derived from the Hebrew verb, parah, meaning“ to be fruitful.” made me fruitful The Hebrew verb form used here, hiphrani, is a wordplay on the name Ephraim( ephrayim in Hebrew); it describes abundance and prosperity, hence Joseph’ s explanation of the name. See the people diagram“ Joseph’ s, Son of Jacob, Family Tree” on p. 82. 41:54 seven years of famine References to Nile irregularities and famines— even seven-year famines— have survived in Egyptian records.
FAMINES IN GENESIS
Abram and Sarai Travel to Egypt Ge 12:10 Isaac and Family Settle in Gerar Ge 26:1 Joseph’ s Family Follows Him to Egypt Ge 41:53— 42:5
42:1 – 38 Because the famine is widespread throughout the Mediterranean world, starving people from impoverished countries must travel to Egypt to buy food. This sets the stage for Joseph’ s reunion with his family.
When his brothers arrive to buy grain, they don’ t recognize Joseph, but Joseph recognizes them. Joseph asks his brothers a series of questions, and he tests them to see whether they have changed over the past twenty or more years. He initially accuses his brothers of spying and has them imprisoned for three days. Since Joseph wants to see Benjamin, he demands that they bring him to Egypt to validate their word. In the meantime, he holds one brother in prison as collateral. When the brothers return home and report what has happened, Jacob refuses to let them take Benjamin, fearing that he will never see the boy again.
42:3 ten of Joseph’ s brothers There may have been a per capita food distribution rule in Egypt, requiring all ten brothers to make the trip. Compare 29:31 – 35; 30:1 – 24. 42:9 dreams This scene is the fulfillment of the dreams that Joseph reported to his family prior to being sold into slavery( 37:5 – 11). 42:13 twelve The brothers must explain this number to Joseph because only ten appear before him. 42:15 As surely as Pharaoh lives Joseph swears on the life of the most powerful authority in the land— the king of Egypt who thought of himself as a god incarnate( compare 1Sa 17:55; 25:26; 2Sa 14:19; 15:21). This