Genesis 41:37–57

Joseph Is Made Governor over Egypt

³⁷The king and his officials approved this plan, ³⁸and he said to them, “We will never find a better man than Joseph, a man who has God’s spirit in him.” ³⁹The king said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this, so it is obvious that you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else. ^40*I will put you in charge of my country, and all my people will obey your orders. Your authority will be second only to mine. ⁴¹I now appoint you governor over all Egypt.” ^42*The king removed from his finger the ring engraved with the royal seal and put it on Joseph’s finger. He put a fine linen robe on him, and placed a gold chain round his neck. ⁴³He gave him the second royal chariot to ride in, and his guard of honour went ahead of him and cried out, “Make way! Make way!” And so Joseph was appointed governor over all Egypt. ⁴⁴The king said to him, “I am the king—and no one in all Egypt shall so much as lift a hand or a foot without your permission.” ^45–46He gave Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphenath Paneah, and he gave him a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest in the city of Heliopolis.

Joseph was 30 years old when he began to serve the king of Egypt. He left the king’s court and travelled all over the land. ⁴⁷During the seven years of plenty the land produced abundant crops, ⁴⁸all of which Joseph collected and stored in the cities. In each city he stored the food from the fields around it. ⁴⁹There was so much corn that Joseph stopped measuring it—it was like the sand of the sea.

⁵⁰Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons by Asenath. ⁵¹He said, “God has made me forget all my sufferings and all my father’s family”; so he named his first son Manasseh.^{y 52}He also said, “God has given me children in the land of my trouble”; so he named his second son Ephraim.^z

⁵³The seven years of plenty that the land of Egypt had enjoyed came to an end, ^54*and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every other country, but there was food throughout Egypt. ^55*When the Egyptians began to be hungry, they cried out to the king for food. So he ordered them to go to Joseph and do what he told them. ⁵⁶The famine grew worse and spread over the whole country, so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold corn to the Egyptians. ⁵⁷People came to Egypt from all over the world to buy corn from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.