Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 41:50
And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bore unto him.
Verse 50. Two sons] Whom he called by names expressive of God’s particular and bountiful providence towards him. MANASSEH, menashsheh, signifies forgetfulness, from nashah, to forget; and EPHRAIM, ephrayim, fruitfulness, from parah, to be fruitful; and he called his sons by these names, because God had enabled him to forget all his toil, disgrace, and affliction, and had made him fruitful in the very land in which he had suffered the greatest misfortune and indignities.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
50-52. unto Joseph were born twosonsThese domestic events, which increased his temporalhappiness, develop the piety of his character in the names conferredupon his children.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And unto Joseph were born two sons,…. The word for “born” is singular; hence Ben Melech conjectures that they were twins: and this was
before the years of famine came; or “the year of famine” q; the first year:
which Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah priest of On, bare unto him; which is observed, to show that he had them by his lawful wife; whom the Targum of Jonathan wrongly again makes the daughter of Dinah, and her father prince of Tanis, the same with Zoan; whereas this was “On” or “Heliopolis”, a very different place; so Artapanus says r, that Joseph married the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis, by whom he had children; and another Heathen writer s mentions their names, Ephraim and Manesseh.
q “annus famis”, Tigurine version, Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; “annus (primus) famis”, Schmidt. r Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 23. p. 429. s Polyhistor. apud ib. p. 424.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
During the fruitful years two sons were born to Joseph. The first-born he named Manasseh, i.e., causing to forget; “ for, he said, God hath made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house ( , an Aram. Piel form, for , on account of the resemblance in sound to ).” Haec pia est, ac sancta gratiarum actio, quod Deus oblivisci eum fecit pristinas omnes areumnas: sed nullus honor tanti esse debuit, ut desiderium et memoriam paternae domus ex animo deponeret ( Calvin). But the true answer to that question, whether it was a Christian boast for him to make, that he had forgotten father and mother, is given by Luther: “I see that God would take away the reliance which I placed upon my father; for God is a jealous God, and will not suffer the heart to have any other foundation to rely upon, but Him alone.” This also meets the objection raised by Theodoret, why Joseph did not inform his father of his life and promotion, but allowed so may years to pass away, until he was led to do so at last in consequence of the arrival of his brothers. The reason of this forgetfulness and silence can only be found in the fact, that through the wondrous alteration in his condition he had been led to see, that he was brought to Egypt according to the counsel of God, and was redeemed by God from slavery and prison, and had been exalted by Him to be lord over Egypt; so that, knowing he was in the hand of God, the firmness of his faith led him to renounce all wilful interference with the purposes of God, which pointed to a still broader and more glorious goal ( Baumgarten, Delitzsch).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
50. And unto Joseph were born two sons. Although the names which Joseph gave his sons in consequence of the issue of his affairs, breathe somewhat of piety, because in them he celebrates the kindness of God: yet the oblivion of his father’s house, which, he says, had been brought upon him, can scarcely be altogether excused. It was a pious and holy motive to gratitude, that God had caused him to “forget” all his former miseries; but no honor ought to have been so highly valued, as to displace from his mind the desire and the remembrance of his father’s house. Granted that he is Viceroy of Egypt, yet his condition is unhappy, as long as he is an exile from the Church. Some, in order to exculpate the holy man, explain the passage as meaning that he so rejoiced in the present favor of God, as to make him afterwards forgetful of the injuries inflicted upon him by his brethren; but this (in my judgment) is far too forced. And truly, we must not anxiously labor to excuse the sin of Joseph; but rather, I think, we are admonished how greatly we ought to be on our guard against the attractions of the world, lest our minds should be unduly gratified by them. Behold Joseph, although he purely worships God, is yet so captivated by the sweetness of honor, and has his mind so clouded, that he becomes indifferent to his father’s house, and pleases himself in Egypt. But this was almost to wander from the fold of God. It was, indeed, a becoming modesty, that from a desire of proclaiming the Divine goodness towards him, he was not ashamed to perpetuate a memorial of his depressed condition in the names of his sons. They who are raised on high, from an obscure and ignoble position, desire to extinguish the knowledge of their origin, because they deem it disgraceful to themselves. Joseph, however, regarded the commendation of Divine grace more highly than an ostentatious future nobility.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
‘And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, which Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for he said, “God has made me forget all my labour and all my father’s house.” And the name of the second he called Ephraim, “for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” ’
Not only was the land fruitful, but Joseph and his wife were fruitful as well, and they had two sons ‘before the year of famine came’.
“Potiphera”, a similar name to Potiphar. They were probably two renderings of the same not uncommon Egyptian name.
“Manasseh.” This means ‘making to forget’. This was because the joy of having a firstborn son, added to the privileged position he now enjoyed, enabled him to forget what had gone before.
“All my father” s house.’ He has also been able to forget the treatment at the hands of his brothers. But this does not mean that he totally forgot his home for, as we discover later, he had fond memories of his father and of Benjamin.
“Ephraim.” From the root ‘to be fruitful’. This demonstrated his joy in the fruitfulness of the land and in his own fruitfulness.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 41:50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
Ver. 50. Asenath the daughter of Potipherah. ] This was not Potiphar, Joseph’s master. Joseph would not marry the daughter of such a housewife. Partus fere siquitur ventrem. Ingenlum ipsum atque indoles (veluti conclusio sequitur inferiorem partem) plerumque matrissat.
But what a jest is that of Jonathan the Chaldee Paraphrast, Asenath quam pepererat Dina Sichemo, &c. Asenath was Sichem’s daughter by Dinah, but adopted and bred up by the wife of Potiphar! Audi hoc et ride, saith Drusius.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 41:50-52
50Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. 51Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52He named the second Ephraim, “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Gen 41:51 “Manasseh” This name (BDB 586) is related to the Hebrew VERB “to forget” (BDB 674, KB 728, Piel PARTICIPLE) by sound similarity. This is specifically related to the pain involved in the actions of his brothers. Later events in Genesis show that Joseph had not completely gotten over his brother’s hateful betrayal.
Gen 41:52 “Ephraim” This name (BDB 68) is related to a term “fruitfulness” or “double fruit” (BDB 826, cf. Gen 49:22) by popular wordplay. It is interesting to note that in modern Israel, Jewishness is determined by the Jewish mother. In reality, these two boys are not really Jewish! They will later become the half-tribes who will inherit Joseph’s double portion and will make up part of the twelve tribes (i.e., thirteen) of Israel. Levi will not be counted as a tribe for inheritance purposes (cf. Joshua).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
unto Joseph: Gen 46:20, Gen 48:5
Asenath: Gen 41:45, Gen 46:20
priest: or, prince, 2Sa 8:18
Reciprocal: Gen 47:22 – of the priests Gen 48:1 – his two sons Isa 24:2 – priest
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Section 4. (Gen 41:50-57; Gen 42:1-38; Gen 43:1-34; Gen 44:1-34; Gen 45:1-28; Gen 46:1-34; Gen 47:1-26.)
The Days of Famine.
Now comes the time of famine; and when God’s judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn righteousness. Not in the plenteous times of Christianity will the world as a whole turn to God; and therefore come drought and famine from the same hand which, unknown, bestowed the blessing. The present dispensation closed by the removal of the Church to be with her Lord, the times of the Gentiles will close, as the Lord Himself predicts (Luk 21:25-27): “And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon, and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory.”
Before He appears, and amid all the trial of a time such as the world has never seen, Israel will be preparing to recognize and receive her rejected Lord. And this is what we find typified in the chapters to which we have now come. The way in which it is expounded here shows surely the divine interest in their recovery, full of touching pathos as they are known to be.
The famine in all lands reaches Canaan also, and Joseph’s ten brethren come down to buy corn in Egypt. We are all familiar with what follows, and how their hearts and consciences are probed by one who knows and loves them well, but whom they know not. They obtain, indeed, a temporary supply for their necessities, but leave Simeon in prison, and are bidden not to appear again except they bring Benjamin with them. Famine again forces them to come down; and this time, Judah having undertaken for Benjamin with his father, they bring him also. They are feasted by Joseph, still unknown; are sent away with the cup in Benjamin’s sack; pursued, and brought back under the charge of theft; Benjamin is to remain as Joseph’s slave, but Judah, his heart fully reached, offers himself in his stead: then Joseph’s love bursts out; he makes himself known to them; they own their sin, are reconciled and comforted with his love.
In all this, it is plain how all turns upon Benjamin and their state toward him. This is made the test of their condition. The power for their deliverance lies in Joseph’s hand alone, however, and their exercises as to Benjamin all tend to awakening conscience and heart as to their sin against Joseph. The key of the typical interpretation is to be found in this:
Joseph is Christ as we know Him, once rejected and suffering, now exalted: this is He whom Israel does not know. A Christ triumphant simply, and reigning upon the earth, is the Benjamin who is found among them, whether in the days of the Lord’s rejection or the latter days. The Conqueror they were prepared for; the Sufferer who must go before Him -not knowing their own deep need, -they have refused. Yet the two are really one, and for them the Conqueror cannot be till they receive the Sufferer: not the faith of a Sufferer merely, but the One who has been this. Power lies with Joseph, not with Benjamin.
But Joseph’s heart longs after Benjamin, -that is, Christ longs to display this character of power for them; but for this they must be brought to repentance, and He uses their ideal, prophetical Messiah to bring their hearts back to Himself the true one.
Amid the sorrows of the last days, this will be accomplished for them. He who, unknown, is seeking them will make them realize their Benjamin as Benoni -“the son of my sorrow,” and that as the fruit of their own sin. (Gen 44:16.) Benjamin is taken from them: they have lost their part in Messiah as having rejected Him. All the depths of Judah’s heart are stirred; and in his agony for Benjamin, he is met and overwhelmed by the revelation of Joseph. They look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only son, and a fountain for sin and for uncleanness is opened to them. But this brings the whole nation into blessing under Christ.
After this, we read of the reduction of Egypt itself under the immediate authority of the throne. The people, bankrupt through the famine, receive back their lands from the bounty of the king, returning him one fifth of the produce as the token of their indebtedness to the grace from which they have received. It is thus that the world, under Christ, will find its place in true blessing before God. In the one fifth rendered, we are reminded once more of the Abrahamic 5, -the impotence of the creature and the omnipotence of God, -the one part a recognition of divine sovereignty. If we take it as two tenths, it may remind us of the double claim of God upon us -by creation and by redemption. This the world will acknowledge in the day to come.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Gen 41:50. Two sons In the names he gave them, he owned the divine providence giving this happy turn to his affairs. He was made to forget his misery, but could he be so unnatural as to forget all his fathers house? And he was made fruitful in the land of his affliction. It had been the land of his affliction, and, in some sense, it was still so, for his distance from his father was still his affliction. Ephraim signifies fruitfulness, and Manasseh, forgetfulness.