ImmerseBeginnings NLT - Page 77



41:37-56
G enesis
65
will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of
Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.”
Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. So
Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 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.” Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed
it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold
chain around his neck. Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for
his ­second-­in-­command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was
shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. And
Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in
the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”
Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, ­Zaphenath-­paneah.
He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter
of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph took charge of the entire land
of Egypt. He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of
Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he
inspected the entire land of Egypt.
As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. During
those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the
grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. He piled up huge amounts
of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records
because there was too much to measure.
During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born
to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of
On. Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, “God has made me
forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” Joseph named
his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this
land of my grief.”
At last the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt
came to an end. Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph
had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but
throughout Egypt there was plenty of food. Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people
cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.” So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up
the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was





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