Genesis 41:41-57

International Children’s Bible

⁴¹ Then the king said to Joseph, “Look! I have put you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then the king took off from his own finger his ring with the royal seal on it. And he put it on Joseph’s finger. He gave Joseph fine linen clothes to wear. And he put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck. ⁴³ The king had Joseph ride in the second royal chariot. Men walked ahead of his chariot calling, “Bow down!” By doing these things, the king put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt.

⁴⁴ The king said to him, “I am the king. And I say that no one in all the land of Egypt may lift a hand or a foot unless you say he may.” ⁴⁵ The king gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. So Joseph traveled through all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving the king of Egypt. And he left the king’s court and traveled through all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven good years, the crops in the land grew well. ⁴⁸ And Joseph gathered all the food produced in Egypt during those seven years of good crops. He stored the food in the cities. In every city he stored grain that had been grown in the fields around that city. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored much grain, as much as the sand of the seashore. He stored so much grain that he could not measure it.

⁵⁰ Joseph’s wife was Asenath daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. Before the years of hunger came, Joseph and Asenath had two sons. ⁵¹ Joseph named the first son Manasseh.^[a] Joseph said, “God has made me forget all the troubles I have had and all my father’s family.” ⁵² Joseph named the second son Ephraim.^[b] Joseph said, “God has given me children in the land of my troubles.”

⁵³ The seven years of good crops came to an end in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁴ Then the seven years of hunger began, just as Joseph had said. In all the lands people had nothing to eat. But in Egypt there was food. ⁵⁵ The time of hunger became terrible in all of Egypt. The people cried to the king for food. He said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do whatever he tells you to do.”

⁵⁶ The hunger was everywhere in that part of the world. And Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the people of Egypt. This was because the time of hunger became terrible in Egypt. ⁵⁷ And all the people in that part of the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain. This was because the hunger was terrible everywhere in that part of the world.