Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt. Sermons | Joseph's Adoption of Egyptian Manners | A. Maclaren, D. D. | Genesis 41:45 | | Joseph's New Name | W. M. Taylor, D. D. | Genesis 41:45 | | Ability Discovered | One Thousand New lllustrations | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Egyptian-Fine Linen | Things Not Generally Known. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | From Prison to Palace | A. Maclaren, D. D. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Governor of Egypt | Prof. Hilprecht. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | High Endowments Qualify for Respect | G. Lawson, D. D. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Joseph, the Wise Ruler | D. O. Mears. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Joseph, the Wise Ruler | D. G. Hughes, M. A. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Joseph's Exaltation | | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Joseph's Exaltation | J. C. Gray. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Joseph's Promotion in Egypt | Homilist | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Joseph's Qualification for Ruling | F. W. Robertson, M. A. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Leaders of Men | Vinet. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Pharaoh Accepts Joseph's Advice | T. H. Leale. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Pharaoh and Joseph | A. P. Foster, D. D. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | Pharaoh's Prime Minister | W. S. Smith, B. D. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | The Secret of Joseph's Elevation | W. M. Taylor, D. D. | Genesis 41:37-45 | | The Tried Man | R.A. Redford | Genesis 41 |
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. Sudden elevations are often the precursors of sudden falls. It was not so with Joseph. He filled satisfactorily his position, retaining it to the end of life. He made himself indispensable to Pharaoh and to the country. He was a man of decision. Seeing what had to be done, he hesitated not in commencing it. Going from the presence of Pharaoh, he passed throughout the land, arranging for granaries and appointing officers to grapple with the seven years of famine which were imminent. Doubtless he felt the weight of responsibility resting upon him, and would have many restless nights in calculating how by means of the money then in the treasury and by forced loans to meet the expenditure for granaries, grain, and official salaries. He superintended everything. By method he mastered detail. I. CONSIDER THE POLICY OF THIS EGYPTIAN PRIME MINISTER. Many things we admire in Joseph, but we must not be blind to the fact that he thought more of binding the people to the throne than of benefiting the people themselves. He was the first statesman of that day. His policy determined in great measure what should be the standard of internal prosperity, and what position the country should hold in the eyes of other nations. He sought to make Pharaoh's rule absolute. He gave no benefit without payment, no supplies without sacrifice. He took all the money first (Genesis 47:14), then the cattle (ibid. ver. 16), then the lands and their persons (ibid. ver. 23). He thus reduced the people of Egypt to the position of slaves. He made all the land crown lands. Thus the monarch was pleased, and the priests, being exempt, were flattered. It is possible that in this Joseph laid the foundation of that system of mismanagement, which has made the most flourishing spot in the world the basest of kingdoms. He seems also to have striven to give some sort of preeminence to his brethren, and to advance them. Exempt from the burdens pressing on others, they gained power, and would have become eventually the dominant race in Egypt, but that another Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph, i.e. who, although he knew of his having lived and served the nation, yet recognized not his policy. The state to which Joseph reduced the Egyptians was that to which afterwards his own descendants were reduced. Thus our plans are overthrown. Time tries success, and by removing dimness from our vision enables us to test it better. II. CONSIDER THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THIS EGYPTIAN PRIME MINISTER, He was soon led to conform to the spirit and practice of an ungodly nation. He used a divining cup (Genesis 44:15, 16), took his meals apart (Genesis 43:32), recognizing and sustaining class distinctions. He learned the mode of speech common among the Egyptians, swore by the life of Pharaoh (Genesis 42:15), and was affianced to an idolatress, probably a priestess (Genesis 41:45). He made no effort to return to his own land, or to the pastoral life of his fathers. It was in his power also for nine years to have sent to make search for his father, who was sorrowing for him as dead, but he sent not. Not until trouble, by an apparent chance, drove his brethren to him did he appear to think of them, or of home and Jacob. When they came he was very slow to make known himself, as though he feared it might compromise him in the eyes of the Egyptians to be known to have relatives who were shepherds, an occupation which was abominable to the Egyptians (Genesis 46:34). When he revealed himself to them, it was without the knowledge or presence of the Egyptians. He removed his brethren also to a distant part of Egypt: that they might not constantly, by their presence, remind him and others of his origin. We fancy that Joseph had weaknesses and imperfections such as other men had. He had dwelt in Egypt and caught its spirit. In the names he gave to his children there seems some indication of regret at his forgetfulness and wonder at his fruitfulness. Amid views that might depress there is some brightness. His forgiveness of his brethren was noble. His affection for his father returned. His faith in God was pure at last. Dying, he "gave commandment concerning his bones." He showed that though outwardly an Egyptian, he was inwardly an Israelite. - H. Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah. Besides other marks of honour, Joseph received a new name from the king — analogous to those which Daniel and his friends received, in a later age, from Nebuchadnezzar, and having some special appropriateness to the work which be was to perform. Different explanations have been given of its meaning. Some, like those who drew up the marginal readings of our Bible, understand by it "a revealer of secrets," but others, viewing the term as really an Egyptian word in Hebrew letters, have put it back again into its Egyptian form, getting, according to Brugsch, the meaning, "the governor of the abode of him who lives"; or, according to Canon Cooke, whose dissertation in the "Speaker's Commentary" on the Egyptian words in the Pentateuch is of very great value, "the food of life," or "the food of the living." I am, of course, incompetent to judge between these scholars, but I wish you to note, as a mark of the age of this history, that we have here imbedded in the Hebrew text Egyptian words in Hebrew letters, to which, in this ]ate day, our Egyptologists, who have learned the language from the inscriptions on the monuments, are able to give very definite and intelligible translations — a fact which scarcely comports with the notion now so popular with some, that this book is only a production of a very late date, composed, perhaps, eight hundred years after the events. But similar conformation of the age of this record may be found in the description of Joseph's investiture with office as compared with the representation of such ceremonies found upon the monuments. () A question may arise in reference to the complete adoption by Joseph of Egyptian manners. His name is changed. According to the high authority of Brugsch, his new name means "governor of the district of the dwelling-place of the living one," and thus includes as one of its elements the name of an Egyptian god, Ankh, worshipped at Pithom. Other Egyptian scholars, however, render it "storehouse of the house of life." But, in any case, the Egyptian name implies a complete identification with Egypt. His marriage to the daughter of a priest may not have involved adoption into the sacerdotal caste, nor participation in idolatrous worship, but is another mark, at least, of naturalization. It is difficult to recognize a son of Abraham in Pharaoh's minister; and his action sounds unpleasantly like that of the unworthy Englishmen whom one hears of in the Turkish service, with "pasha" at their names. But we may easily exaggerate the extent of Joseph's assimilation, and overrate the sharpness of the separation between that generation of the sons of the promise and the rest of the world. The Pharaoh with whom Joseph had to do was not a full-blooded Egyptian; and his predecessors, at all events, were not orthodox worshippers, according to Egyptian standards. He appears in verse 38 as recognizing one God; and we know that, in the opinion of competent authorities, the religion of Egypt had a monotheistic basis beneath all " the wood, hay, stubble" of legend and animal worship. Possibly we may see in this Hyksos king another instance, like those of Abimeleeh of Gerar and Melchizedek of Salem, which widens our conceptions of the extent of the early faith in one supreme God, and surprises with twinkling light where we had thought darkness reigned; but, whether this be so or no, Joseph did not give up his religion because he became an Egyptian in name, and married an Egyptian wife. The old faith in the Divine promise to his fathers lived on in his heart, and flamed out at last when he "gave commandment concerning his bones." So he teaches us the lesson of willing co-operation, so far as may be, in the charities and duties of life, with those who do not share our faith, and shows us that the firmer our hold of the truth and promise of God, the more safe and obligatory is it to become " all things to all men," that we may by all means help and "save some." No doubt that principle is often abused, and made an excuse for unhallowed mingling with the world; but it is a true principle for all that; and as long as Christian people seek to assimilate themselves to others, and to establish friendly relations for unselfish ends, and not from cowardice or a sneaking wish to be of the world, after all no harm will come of it. "Ye are the salt of the earth." Salt must be rubbed into the substance which it is to preserve from putrefaction. So Christian men are to go among those whom they would save; and remember that a greater than Joseph was called "a Friend of publicans and sinners." () People Asenath, Egyptians, Joseph, Manasseh, Pharaoh, Potipherah, ZaphnathpaaneahPlaces Egypt, Nile River, OnTopics Asenath, As'enath, Asnath, Calleth, Daughter, Egypt, Forth, Giveth, Joseph, Joseph's, Marriage, Named, Pharaoh, Potiphera, Poti'phera, Poti-phera, Potipherah, Poti-pherah, Priest, Throughout, Wife, Zaphenath-paneah, Zaph'enath-pane'ah, Zaphnathpaaneah, Zaphnath-paaneahOutline 1. Pharaoh has two dreams.
9. Joseph interprets them.
33. He gives Pharaoh counsel, and is highly advanced, and married.
46. The seven years of plenty.
50. He begets children.
53. The famine begins.
Dictionary of Bible Themes Genesis 41:45 5044 names, giving of
5711 marriage, restrictions Genesis 41:1-49 8131 guidance, results Genesis 41:41-45 5501 reward, human Genesis 41:41-49 5542 society, positive Library The Covenant of Works
Q-12: I proceed to the next question, WHAT SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE DID GOD EXERCISE TOWARDS MAN IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN HE WAS CREATED? A: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge upon pain of death. For this, consult with Gen 2:16, 17: And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt …
Thomas Watson—A Body of DivinityThe Earliest Chapters in Divine Revelation
[Sidenote: The nature of inspiration] Since the days of the Greek philosophers the subject of inspiration and revelation has been fertile theme for discussion and dispute among scholars and theologians. Many different theories have been advanced, and ultimately abandoned as untenable. In its simplest meaning and use, inspiration describes the personal influence of one individual upon the mind and spirit of another. Thus we often say, "That man inspired me." What we are or do under the influence …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
Syria: the part played by it in the ancient world--Babylon and the first Chaldaean empire--The dominion of the Hyksos: Ahmosis. Some countries seem destined from their origin to become the battle-fields of the contending nations which environ them. Into such regions, and to their cost, neighbouring peoples come from century to century to settle their quarrels and bring to an issue the questions of supremacy which disturb their little corner of the world. The nations around are eager for the possession …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 4 Second Great Group of Parables.
(Probably in Peræa.) Subdivision F. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. ^C Luke XVI. 19-31. [The parable we are about to study is a direct advance upon the thoughts in the previous section. We may say generally that if the parable of the unjust steward teaches how riches are to be used, this parable sets forth the terrible consequences of a failure to so use them. Each point of the previous discourse is covered in detail, as will be shown by the references in the discussion of the parable.] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Roman Pilgrimage: the Miracles which were Wrought in It.
[Sidenote: 1139] 33. (20). It seemed to him, however, that one could not go on doing these things with sufficient security without the authority of the Apostolic See; and for that reason he determined to set out for Rome, and most of all because the metropolitan see still lacked, and from the beginning had lacked, the use of the pall, which is the fullness of honour.[507] And it seemed good in his eyes[508] that the church for which he had laboured so much[509] should acquire, by his zeal and labour, …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Appendix 2 Extracts from the Babylon Talmud
Massecheth Berachoth, or Tractate on Benedictions [76] Mishnah--From what time is the "Shema" said in the evening? From the hour that the priests entered to eat of their therumah [77] until the end of the first night watch. [78] These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages say: Till midnight. Rabban Gamaliel says: Until the column of the morning (the dawn) rises. It happened, that his sons came back from a banquet. They said to him: "We have not said the Shema.'" He said to them, "If the column …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Genesis 41:45 NIV
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