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Genesis 41:39–41

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41:39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning72 as you are! 41:40You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands.73 Only I, the king, will be greater than you.74

41:41“See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place75 you in authority over all the land of Egypt.”76

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Footnotes

  1. 72 Heb “as discerning and wise.” The order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  2. 73 Heb “and at your mouth (i.e., instructions) all my people will kiss.” G. J. Wenham translates this “shall kowtow to your instruction” (Genesis [], 2:). Although there is some textual support for reading “will be judged, ruled by you,” this is probably an attempt to capture the significance of this word. Wenham lists a number of references where individuals have tried to make connections with other words or expressions—such as a root meaning “order themselves” lying behind “kiss,” or an idiomatic idea of “kiss” meaning “seal the mouth,” and so “be silent and submit to.” See K. A. Kitchen, “The Term Nsq in Genesis 41:40,” 69 (1957): 30; D. S. Sperling, “Genesis 41:40: A New Interpretation,” 10 (1978): 113–19.
  3. 74 Heb “only the throne, I will be greater than you.”
  4. 75 The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is descriptive of a present action. Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, in which case Pharaoh describes a still future action as if it had already occurred in order to emphasize its certainty. In this case one could translate “I have placed” or “I will place.” The verb נָתַן (natan) is translated here as “to place in authority [over].”
  5. 76 Joseph became the grand vizier of the land of Egypt. See W. A. Ward, “The Egyptian Office of Joseph,” 5 (1960): 144–50; and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 129–31.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are. You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands. Only I, as king, will be greater than you.” Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I am placing you over all the land of Egypt.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all of this known to you there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and to your word all my people shall submit. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.