Read Genesis 41:38-42:17 at Bible Gateway.
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Hebrew paragraph divisions
Gen 41:1-44:17 {s} Joseph the overseer
Strong themes of the parashah
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Gen 41:38-42:17 chiastic structure
1a) Gen 41:38-45a, Pharaoh made Joseph governor over all the land of Egypt;
1a) Gen 41:38-39, And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you;”
1b) Gen 41:40, “You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you;”
1c) Gen 41:41, And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt;”
central axis) Gen 41:42-43a, Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!”
2c) Gen 41:43b, So he set him over all the land of Egypt;
2b) Gen 41:44, Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt;”
2a) Gen 41:45a, And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah;
1b) Gen 41:45b, And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On;
1c) Gen 41:45c, So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt;
central axis) Gen 41:46a, Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt/ Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh;
2c) Gen 41:46b, And went throughout all the land of Egypt;
2b) Gen 41:47-56, Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore Joseph two sons;
1a) Gen 41:47-49, The seven plentiful years came/ Joseph gathered very much grain;
1a) Gen 41:47, Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly;
1b) Gen 41:48a, So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt;
central axis) Gen 41:48b, And laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them;
2b) Gen 41:49a, Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea;
2a) Gen 41:49b, Until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable;
1b) Gen 41:50a, And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came;
central axis) Gen 41:50b, Whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him;
2b) Gen 41:51-52, Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction;”
2a) Gen 41:53-56, The seven years of famine came/ Joseph sold the grain he had gathered;
1a) Gen 41:53-54a, Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said;
1b) Gen 41:54b, The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread;
central axis) Gen 41:55, So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do;”
2b) Gen 41:56a, The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians;
2a) Gen 41:56b, And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt;
2a) Gen 41:57-42:17, Joseph was governor over the land;
1a) Gen 41:57-42:5, Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt;
1a) Gen 41:57, So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands;
1b) Gen 42:1-2, When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die;”
central axis) Gen 42:3, So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt;
2b) Gen 42:4, But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him;”
2a) Gen 42:5, And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan;
central axis) Gen 42:6a, Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land;
2a) Gen 42:6b-17, Joseph’s ten brothers before him in the land of Egypt;
1a) Gen 42:6b-9a, Joseph recognized his ten brothers, but they did not recognize him;
1a) Gen 42:6b, And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth;
1b) Gen 42:7a, Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them;
central axis) Gen 42:7b, Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food;”
2b) Gen 42:8, So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him;
2a) Gen 42:9a, Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them;
1b) Gen 42:9b, And said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
1c) Gen 42:10-11, And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies;”
central axis) Gen 42:12, But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land;”
2c) Gen 42:13, And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more;”
2b) Gen 42:14, But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’
2a) Gen 42:15-17, Joseph resolved to test his ten brothers;
1a) Gen 42:15a, Joseph: “In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh;
1b) Gen 42:15b, “You shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here;”
central axis) Gen 42:16a, “Send one of you;”
2b) Gen 42:16b, “And let him bring your brother;”
2a) Gen 42:16c-17, and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” So he put them all together in prison three days.
In 1A, Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphnath-Paaneah, is paired with Pharaoh’s question about the man in whom is the Spirit of God. The name is a Hebrew transliteration of Egyptian; Strong’s H6847, meaning, savior of the age/ revealer of the secret. So the meaning of his Egyptian name affirms that he is the one in whom is the Spirit of God, who is wise and discerning.
Theme of the parashah
Pharaoh made Joseph governor over all the land of Egypt + gathered immeasurable grain
Finding Messiah in Torah
In today’s reading Joseph was elevated to a position of glory as Ruler over the land of Egypt, so that only in regard to the throne would Pharaoh be greater than Joseph. As Ruler, Joseph deals wisely and provides life for the people, in providing them grain, who should have suffered death due to the severity of the famine. Joseph’s life prophesies of the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah, in that Joseph suffered a type of death as a slave in Egypt. He furthermore suffered a type of “burial” as he was hidden away in prison for a time. He was raised to new life in glory, when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. But these same events also prophesy of the first and second comings of Messiah. His first coming is as a slave or servant of all; He is hidden away for a time following His ascension (the time in which we are currently living); and His second coming is in glory as Ruler of all.
Additional readings for this parashah
Psa 35 (my notes) | Isa 11 (my notes) | Act 7 (my notes)
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