33“Accordingly, let Pharaoh find a man of discernment and wisdom, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34And let Pharaoh take steps to appoint overseers over the land, and organizea the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty. 35Let all the food of these good years that are coming be gathered, and let the grain be collected under Pharaoh’s authority as food to be stored in the cities. 36Let that food be a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will come upon the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish in the famine.”
37The plan pleased Pharaoh and all his courtiers. 38And Pharaoh said to his courtiers, “Could we find another like him, a man in whom is the spirit of God?” 39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is none so discerning and wise as you. 40You shall be in charge of my court, and by your command shall all my people be directed;b only with respect to the throne shall I be superior to you.” 41Pharaoh further said to Joseph, “See, I put you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” 42And removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; and he had him dressed in robes of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. 43He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they cried before him, “Abrek!”c Thus he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh; yet without you, no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45Pharaoh then gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah;d and he gave him for a wife Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On. Thus Joseph emerged in charge of the land of Egypt.—46Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt.—Leaving Pharaoh’s presence, Joseph traveled through all the land of Egypt.
47During the seven years of plenty, the land produced in abundance. 48And he gathered all the grain of e-the seven years that the land of Egypt was enjoying,-e and stored the grain in the cities; he put in each city the grain of the fields around it. 49So Joseph collected produce in very large quantity, like the sands of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
50Before the years of famine came, Joseph became the father of two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, bore to him. 51Joseph named the first-born Manasseh, meaning, “God has made me forgetf completely my hardship and my parental home.” 52And the second he named Ephraim, meaning, “God has made me fertileg in the land of my affliction.”
53The seven years of abundance that the land of Egypt enjoyed came to an end, 54and the seven years of famine set in, just as Joseph had foretold. There was famine in all lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread. 55And when all the land of Egypt felt the hunger, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he tells you, you shall do.”—56 Accordingly, when the famine became severe in the land of Egypt, Joseph laid open all that was within, and rationed out grain to the Egyptians. The famine, however, spread over the whole world. 57So all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to procure rations, for the famine had become severe throughout the world.
42 When Jacob saw that there were food rations to be had in Egypt, hea said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another? 2Now I hear,” he went on, “that there are rations to be had in Egypt. Go down and procure rations for us there, that we may live and not die.” 3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to get grain rations in Egypt; 4for Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, since he feared that he might meet with disaster. 5Thus the sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations, for the famine extended to the land of Canaan.
6Now Joseph was the vizier of the land; it was he who dispensed rations to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed low to him, with their faces to the ground. 7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them; but he acted like a stranger toward them and spoke harshly to them. He asked them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to procure food.” 8For though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9Recalling the dreams that he had dreamed about them, Joseph said to them, “You are spies, you have come to see the land in its nakedness.” 10But they said to him, “No, my lord! Truly, your servants have come to procure food. 11We are all of us sons of the same man; we are honest men; your servants have never been spies!” 12And he said to them, “No, you have come to see the land in its nakedness!” 13And they replied, “We your servants were twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.” 14But Joseph said to them, “It is just as I have told you: You are spies! 15By this you shall be put to the test: unless your youngest brother comes here, by Pharaoh, you shall not depart from this place! 16Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of you remain confined, that your words may be put to the test whether there is truth in you. Else, by Pharaoh, you are nothing but spics!” 17And he confined them in the guardhouse for three days.
18On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you shall live, for I am a God-fearing man. 19If you are honest men, let one of you brothers be held in your place of detention, while the rest of you go and take home rations for your starving households; 20but you must bring me your youngest brother, that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” And they did accordingly. 21They said to one another, “Alas, we are being punished on account of our brother, because we looked on at his anguish, yet paid no heed as he pleaded with us. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22Then Reuben spoke up and said to them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do no wrong to the boy’? But you paid no heed. Now comes the reckoning for his blood.” 23They did not know that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between him and them. 24He turned away from them and wept. But he came back to them and spoke to them; and he took Simeon from among them and had him bound before their eyes. 25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, return each one’s money to his sack, and give them provisions for the journey; and this was done for them. 26So they loaded their asses with the rations and departed from there.
27As one of them was opening his sack to give feed to his ass at the night encampment, he saw his money right there at the mouth of his bag. 28And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! It is here in my bag!” Their hearts sank; and, trembling, they turned to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had befallen them, saying, 30“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the land. 31We said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies! 32There were twelve of us brothers, sons by the same father; but one is no more, and te youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33But the man who is lord of the land said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take something for your starving households and be off. 34And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know that you are not spies but honest men. I will then restore your brother to you, and you shall be free to move about in the land.’ ”
35As they were emptying their sacks, there, in each one’s sack, was his money-bag! When they and their father saw their
