The Book of Genesis 57 Verses

Genesis 41

The Dreams of Pharaoh

Chapter 41 Overview · 57 Verses

1After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, 2when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. 3After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river. 4And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up, 5but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk. 6After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind. 7And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.

Genesis 41:1–7 Commentary

Two Full Years Pass in Confinement Before Pharaoh Dreams:

The cupbearer’s promised remembrance turns out to be a long time coming. Two full years have now crawled by — Joseph’s total ordeal stands at roughly thirteen years since his brothers first betrayed and sold him into slavery four chapters earlier in Genesis 37:2 at age seventeen (compare Genesis 41:46⁠).

Doubled Dreams Confirm the Matter Is Fixed:

The second dream repeats the same message in grain: seven full ears followed by seven ears scorched by the east wind, which likewise swallow the healthy ones. God does not send Pharaoh a single warning; the repetition signals that the decree is locked and cannot be altered.

8In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. 10Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard. 11One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning. 12Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually. 13And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”

Genesis 41:8–13 Commentary

A King’s Crisis Unsticks the Cupbearer’s Conscience:

Pharaoh’s elite occultists and sages hit a brick wall, utterly baffled by the dreams. Only when imperial panic sets in does the chief cupbearer’s convenient amnesia suddenly lift. In Genesis 41:9⁠, he finally confesses the truth: “Today I remember my faults.” He recounts how two long years earlier in the dungeon, an abandoned young Hebrew slave decoded his dream and the baker’s fate with surgical precision.

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.

15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”

Genesis 41:14–16 Commentary

Joseph Shaves and Changes Before Facing Pharaoh:

Egyptians were characteristically clean-shaven, unlike many of the surrounding cultures, and Joseph prepares himself to appear appropriately before royalty rather than walking in looking like the prisoner he still technically was.

“It Is Not in Me” — Humility Instead of Boasting:

Pharaoh informs him that he has heard Joseph can interpret dreams, but Joseph immediately deflects all glory to the Creator in Genesis 41:16⁠: "“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”" He insists that true revelation belongs entirely to YAHWEH, who will provide for Pharaoh’s welfare. This unshakeable humility is the hallmark of Joseph’s character.

17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. 19After them, seven other cows—sickly, ugly, and thin—came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt! 20Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first. 21When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.

22In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk. 23After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind. 24And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.”

25At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning. 27Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind—they are seven years of famine.

28It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land. 31The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe.

32Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.”

Genesis 41:17–32 Commentary

Joseph Unlocks What Egypt’s Wise Men Could Not Explain:

Pharaoh retells both dreams in greater detail, and Joseph provides the clear revelation that Egypt’s magicians were entirely powerless to give — seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine so severe the earlier plenty will be forgotten entirely. Joseph also explains the vital truth the court magicians could never fathom: the doubling of the dream means the matter is firmly decreed by God and will happen without delay.

Gentiles Blessed Repeatedly Through Covenant Men:

This continues a pattern that runs the length of Genesis — YAHWEH regularly spares gentile households because of His own people dwelling among them. Looking back across earlier generations, Abimelech’s household was spared and healed through Abraham twenty-one chapters earlier (Genesis 20:17)⁠, Laban prospered because of Jacob eleven chapters back (Genesis 30:27)⁠, and two chapters ago in Joseph's own journey, Potiphar’s entire household flourished under his hand (Genesis 39:5)⁠. Now, through Joseph, an entire gentile superpower will be preserved from starvation.

33“Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities.

36This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.”

Genesis 41:33–36 Commentary

A Slave Without Standing Designs an Imperial Economy:

Joseph does not stop at interpretation. He hands Pharaoh an actual administrative plan, recommending a discerning and wise man be appointed to oversee the collection of one-fifth of Egypt’s produce during the seven good years, stored up against the seven years of famine still to come. He maps out the economic survival strategy for an entire superpower — and he does it completely unprompted. Pharaoh does not merely accept the plan. He hands the entire project, and the entire nation, to the man who proposed it.

Joseph Given Charge of Egypt

37This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his officials. 38So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”

39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Genesis 41:37–40 Commentary

Pharaoh Respects Joseph’s God Without Converting:

Pharaoh recognizing God’s Spirit in Joseph does not mean he is embracing the God of Israel. Like most ancient rulers, he almost certainly worshiped a whole pantheon of deities. What he is doing here is simpler: acknowledging that this particular God clearly has authority in this specific crisis, while still keeping his own gods on the shelf. Scholars have a word for that kind of thinking — henotheism — but you don’t need technical vocabulary to see what is happening: Pharaoh is awed by the revelation, but his heart remains firmly tethered to Egypt.

41Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck. 43He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.

44And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”

Genesis 41:41–44 Commentary

Coronation in Four Moves — Ring, Linen, Chariot, Authority:

Genesis 41:41–44 records an imperial coronation in four decisive moves. The royal signet ring transfers the legal authority to seal decrees in Pharaoh’s name — an imperial dynamic seen over thirteen centuries later in the Persian court of Esther (compare Esther 3:10⁠; Esther 8:2⁠. The fine linen garments and gold chain bestow the royal wardrobe. The second chariot parades Joseph in full view of the superpower, with heralds shouting before him, “Abrek!” — “Bow the knee!” And Pharaoh’s sweeping decree — that without Joseph’s approval no one in all Egypt could lift hand or foot — hands him every executive lever in the empire. The very brother sold for twenty pieces of silver and left to rot in a dungeon is now the master before whom the civilized world must bow.

Philippians 2 — The Pit Before Exaltation Above Every Name:

Nearly two millennia down the corridor of biblical history, that is the very portrait the Apostle Paul reaches for in the New Testament when describing the Messiah: the One who humbled Himself to death was exalted and given the name above every name, so that at the name of Yeshua every knee will bow (Philippians 2:9–11)⁠. Joseph shows you the pattern first: humiliation, the pit, the prison, and then a ring, a robe, and a command to kneel.

45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:45 Commentary

An Egyptian Name and Wife Don’t Make Joseph Egyptian:

Pharaoh gives Joseph an Egyptian name, commonly rendered something like “God speaks, and he lives,” though Egyptologists still debate the exact meaning, and gives him Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as a wife. Ancient custom generally expected a wife to adopt her husband’s religious identity rather than the reverse, and nothing in the text suggests Joseph compromised his worship of the true God to secure this marriage. The man who fled Potiphar’s wife rather than sin is not now quietly absorbed into Egyptian religion simply because he wears an Egyptian title. On is Heliopolis, the center of sun worship in Egypt — the very sanctuary the prophet Jeremiah would denounce over twelve centuries later during the Babylonian exile as Beth-shemesh, the house of the sun (Jeremiah 43:13)⁠. Joseph’s father-in-law is a priest in the very heart of the sun cult, and still nothing in the text suggests Joseph bent.

The Seven Years of Plenty

46Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:46 Commentary

Thirteen Years in Chains Produced Zero Bitterness:

Joseph is thirty years old when he enters Pharaoh’s service — thirteen years removed from the pit his brothers threw him into at seventeen (Genesis 37:2)⁠. Those thirteen years of slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment did not break him, and Scripture never once records him speaking with the bitterness Jacob will voice six chapters ahead about his own “few and hard” years (Genesis 47:9)⁠. Joseph endured the same category of prolonged suffering with none of the complaint, and his years of silent faithfulness are now repaid with royal authority and divine provision.

47During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully. 48During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it. 49So 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.

50Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” 52And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Genesis 41:47–52 Commentary

Manasseh and Ephraim — Loosening Pain, Bearing Fruit:

Asenath bears him two sons. He names the first Manasseh — in Hebrew, Menashe, meaning causing to forget — because God had allowed him to set aside the bitterness of his suffering, not erase the memory of it but loosen its grip. The second he names Ephraim — Ephrayim, meaning fruitful, or doubly fruitful — because God had made him fruitful in the very land of his affliction.

Naming Sons for God’s Deliverance, Not Egypt’s Wealth:

Both names are theology, not sentiment. Rather than celebrating imperial status or Egyptian wealth, Joseph anchors their identity in what God accomplished in him during the darkest seasons of his life.

The Famine Begins

53When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt. 55When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, all of you, and do whatever he tells all of you.”

56When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

57And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

Genesis 41:53–57 Commentary

“Bread” as Hebrew Shorthand for Total Provision:

The famine arrives exactly as God revealed, and “bread” becomes the operative concept throughout what follows. While our text translates Genesis 41:54–55 as “food,” the Hebrew word is lechem (literally bread, which the ESV renders as “bread”). In the ancient Near East, bread was the primary source of caloric intake and the very foundation of daily survival — making lechem the natural biblical shorthand for all sustenance. To “eat bread” or “break bread” was simply the universal Hebrew idiom for sharing an everyday meal. Nearly two millennia later, Yeshua anchored this same principle in His model prayer in the Gospels (Matthew 6:11)⁠. Egypt has grain because a forgotten Hebrew prisoner told Pharaoh the truth. Now, that severe famine has spread across the region, setting the stage for Jacob's sons to journey south.

“Do Whatever He Tells You” — From Joseph to Cana:

When starving Egyptians cry out to Pharaoh for bread in Genesis 41:55⁠, the monarch gives a single command: “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” Nearly two millennia later, at a wedding feast in Cana in John's Gospel, Mary repeats that identical directive regarding her Son: “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5)⁠. The prophetic parallel is unmistakable: supreme authority directs the desperate and hungry to the only one who holds life-saving bread. As verse 57 (Genesis 41:57) records, nations from across the known world streamed to Joseph to survive. The bread of the earth was held in the hands of the rejected brother — foreshadowing the day nearly two millennia down the road when Yeshua would proclaim in John’s Gospel, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)⁠, the sole source of life for a dying world.

Genesis 41 Footnotes

Genesis 41 · Footnote 925 (Genesis 37:2): Genesis 37:2 — This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 926 (Genesis 41:46): Genesis 41:46 — Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 927 (Genesis 41:9): Genesis 41:9 — Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 928 (Genesis 41:16): Genesis 41:16 — “I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 929 (Genesis 20:17): Genesis 20:17 — Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—

Genesis 41 · Footnote 930 (Genesis 30:27): Genesis 30:27 — But Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that YAHWEH has blessed me because of you.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 931 (Genesis 39:5): Genesis 39:5 — From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, YAHWEH blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. YAHWEH’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 932 (Genesis 41:41–44): Genesis 41:41–44 — 41Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck. 43He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 933 (Esther 3:10): Esther 3:10 — So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 934 (Philippians 2:9–11): Philippians 2:9–11 — 9Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, 10 that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 935 (Jeremiah 43:13): Jeremiah 43:13 — He will demolish the sacred pillars of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 936 (Genesis 37:2): Genesis 37:2 — This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 937 (Genesis 47:9): Genesis 47:9 — “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 938 (Genesis 41:54–55): Genesis 41:54–55 — 54the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt. 55When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, all of you, and do whatever he tells all of you.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 939 (Matthew 6:11): Matthew 6:11 — Give us this day our daily bread.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 940 (Genesis 41:55): Genesis 41:55 — When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, all of you, and do whatever he tells all of you.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 941 (John 2:5): John 2:5 — His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 942 (John 6:35): John 6:35 — Yeshua answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1128 (Esther 8:2): Esther 8:2 — The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the estate of Haman.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1257 (Genesis 41:57): Genesis 41:57 — And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1515 (Genesis 41:1–7): Genesis 41:1–7 — 1After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, 2when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. 3After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river. 4And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up, 5but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk. 6After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind. 7And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1516 (Genesis 41:8–13): Genesis 41:8–13 — 8In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. 9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. 10Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard. 11One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning. 12Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually. 13And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1517 (Genesis 41:14–16): Genesis 41:14–16 — 14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh. 15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1518 (Genesis 41:17–32): Genesis 41:17–32 — 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. 19After them, seven other cows—sickly, ugly, and thin—came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt! 20Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first. 21When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke. 22In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk. 23After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind. 24And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.” 25At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning. 27Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind—they are seven years of famine. 28It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land. 31The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1519 (Genesis 41:33–36): Genesis 41:33–36 — 33“Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities. 36This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1520 (Genesis 41:37–40): Genesis 41:37–40 — 37This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his officials. 38So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?” 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1521 (Genesis 41:41–44): Genesis 41:41–44 — 41Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck. 43He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1522 (Genesis 41:45): Genesis 41:45 — Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1523 (Genesis 41:46): Genesis 41:46 — Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1524 (Genesis 41:47–52): Genesis 41:47–52 — 47During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully. 48During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it. 49So 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. 50Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” 52And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Genesis 41 · Footnote 1525 (Genesis 41:53–57): Genesis 41:53–57 — 53When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt. 55When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, all of you, and do whatever he tells all of you.” 56When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.