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Joseph Is Made Ruler over Egypt

37 ·This seemed like a very good idea to the king [L The thing/word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh], and all his ·officers [servants] agreed. 38 And ·the king asked them [L Pharaoh said to his servants], “Can we find a ·better man than Joseph to take this job [L man like this man]? God’s spirit is truly in him!”

39 So ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this. There is no one as wise and ·understanding [discerning] as you are, so 40 I will put you in charge of my ·palace [house]. All the people will obey your orders, and only [L in terms of the throne] I will be greater than you.”

41 Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “Look! I have put you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] took off ·from his own finger his ring with the royal seal on it [L his signet ring; C a form of identification], 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 [C all symbols of authority]. 43 ·The king had Joseph [L He made him] ride in the second royal chariot, and people walked ahead of his chariot calling, “Bow down [C an Egyptian word of uncertain meaning]!” By doing these things, the king put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt.

44 The king said to him, “I am ·the king [L Pharaoh], and I say that no one in all the land of Egypt may lift a hand or a foot without your permission.” 45 ·The king [L Pharaoh] gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah [C may mean “the god said, ‘let him live’ ”; showing the Egyptians’ acceptance of him]. He also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath, who was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On [C an important city seven miles northeast of Cairo also known as Heliopolis, a center of the worship of the sun]. So Joseph ·traveled through [or rose over] all the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he ·began serving [L stood before the Pharaoh] the king of Egypt. And he ·left the king’s court [L went out from before Pharaoh] and traveled through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven ·good years [years of plenty], the ·crops in the land grew well [land produced much; L land made by handfuls]. 48 And Joseph gathered all the food produced in Egypt during those seven years of good crops and 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—so much that he could not ·measure [count] it.

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37 Now the [a]proposal seemed good [b]to Pharaoh and [c]to all his servants.

Joseph Is Made a Ruler of Egypt

38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, (A)in whom there is a divine spirit?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one as (B)discerning and wise as you are. 40 (C)You shall be [d]in charge of my house, and all my people shall [e]be obedient to you; only regarding the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you (D)over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh (E)took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and (F)put the gold necklace around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in [f]his second chariot; and they proclaimed ahead of him, “[g]Bow the knee!” And he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet (G)without [h]your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 Then Pharaoh named Joseph [i]Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of [j](H)On, to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46 Now Joseph was (I)thirty years old when he [k]stood in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven years of plenty the land produced [l]abundantly. 48 So he collected all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities; he put in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. 49 Joseph stored up grain [m]in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped [n]measuring it, for it was [o]beyond measure.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 41:37 Lit word
  2. Genesis 41:37 Lit in the sight of
  3. Genesis 41:37 Lit in the sight of
  4. Genesis 41:40 Lit over
  5. Genesis 41:40 Lit kiss your mouth; LXX obey at your command
  6. Genesis 41:43 Lit the second...which was his
  7. Genesis 41:43 Or Make way
  8. Genesis 41:44 Lit you no one
  9. Genesis 41:45 Prob. Egyptian for “God speaks; he lives”
  10. Genesis 41:45 Or Heliopolis
  11. Genesis 41:46 Or entered the service of
  12. Genesis 41:47 Lit by handfuls
  13. Genesis 41:49 Lit very much
  14. Genesis 41:49 Lit numbering
  15. Genesis 41:49 Or without number