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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