Genesis 41:41-57

New International Reader's Version

Joseph Is Put in Charge of Egypt

⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I’m putting you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took from his finger the ring he used to give his official stamp. He put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes made out of fine linen. He put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck. ⁴³ He also had him ride in a chariot. Joseph was now next in command after Pharaoh. People went in front of Joseph and shouted, “Get down on your knees!” By doing all these things, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh. But unless you give an order, no one will do anything in the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He gave Joseph a wife. She was Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. Joseph traveled all over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He left Pharaoh’s palace and traveled all over Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years there was plenty of food. The land produced more than the people needed. ⁴⁸ Joseph collected all the extra food produced in those seven years in Egypt. He stored it in the cities. In each city he stored up the food grown in the fields around it. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored up huge amounts of grain. There was as much of it as sand by the sea. There was so much grain it couldn’t be measured. So Joseph stopped keeping records of it.

⁵⁰ Before the years when there wasn’t enough food, two sons were born to Joseph. He had them by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. ⁵¹ Joseph named his first son Manasseh. That’s because he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and my father’s whole family.” ⁵² He named the second son Ephraim. That’s because he said, “God has given me children in the land where I’ve suffered so much.”

⁵³ The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. ⁵⁴ Then the seven years when there wasn’t enough food began. It happened just as Joseph had said it would. There wasn’t enough food in any of the other lands. But in the whole land of Egypt there was food. ⁵⁵ When all the people of Egypt began to get hungry, they cried out to Pharaoh for food. He told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do what he tells you.”

⁵⁶ There wasn’t enough food anywhere in the country. So Joseph opened the storerooms. He sold grain to the Egyptians because people were very hungry all over Egypt. ⁵⁷ People from all over the world came to Egypt. They came to buy grain from Joseph. That’s because people were very hungry everywhere.