Genesis 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Joseph	וּלְיוֹסֵ֤ף u.le.yo.Sef	H3130	Joseph · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a man's name
born	יֻלַּד֙ yu.Lad	H3205	to bear young · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
two	שְׁנֵ֣י she.Nei	H8147	two · cardinal number, both genders dual construct
sons	בָנִ֔ים va.Nim	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
years	שְׁנַ֣ת she.Nat	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common feminine singular construct
famine	הָרָעָ֑ב ha.ra.'Av	H7458	hunger (more or less extensive) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
came	תָּב֖וֹא ta.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Asenath	אָֽסְנַ֔ת 'a.se.Nat	H621	Asenath · proper noun, a woman's name
daughter	בַּת bat-	H1323	a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine singular construct
Poti-pherah	פּ֥וֹטִי Po.ti	H6319	Poti-Phera · proper noun, a man's name
priest	כֹּהֵ֥ן ko.Hen	H3548	literally one officiating · noun, common masculine singular construct
On	אֽוֹן 'on	H204	On · proper noun, a place name
bare	יָֽלְדָה Yal.dah-	H3205	to bear young · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 46:20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him.
Genesis 48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as…
Genesis 41:45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went…
2 Samuel 8:18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 41:46–end

Observe here, I. The building of Joseph's family in the birth of two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, Gen 41:50-52. In the names he gave them, he owned the divine Providence giving this happy turn to his affairs, 1. He was made to forget his misery, Job 11:16. We should bear our afflictions when they are present as those that know not but Providence may so outweigh them by after-comforts as that we may even forget them when they are past. But could he be so unnatural as to forget all his father's house? He means the unkindness he received from his brethren, or perhaps the wealth and honour he expected from his father, with the birthright. The robes he now wore made him forget the coat of divers c…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 41:50

unto Joseph were born two sons--These domestic events, which increased his temporal happiness, develop the piety of his character in the names conferred upon his children.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 41:50

Two sons - Whom he called by names expressive of God's particular and bountiful providence towards him. Manasseh, מנשה menashsheh, signifies forgetfulness, from נשה nashah, to forget; and Ephraim, אפרים ephrayim, fruitfulness, from פרה 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.

John Gill on Genesis 41:50

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,…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 50 and following) And Joseph had two sons before the years of famine came, whom Aseneth, the daughter of Potipherah, the priest of On, bore to him. And Joseph called the name of his firstborn son 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 made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. Note, however, regarding the question that will be posed shortly about Joseph's sons, that before the time of famine, when Jacob entered Egypt, Joseph had only two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasse, calling him because he has forgotten his labors. For in Hebrew, forgetfulness is called oblivio. Ephraim, because God has made him fruitful. And from this word, the increase is transferred into our language.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Asenath — An Egyptian name, meaning “gift of the sun-god”, daughter of Potipherah, priest of On or Heliopolis, wife of Joseph (Gen. 41:45). She was the mother of Manasseh and Ephraim (50-52; 46:20).
Ephraim — Double fruitfulness (“for God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction”). The second son of Joseph, born in Egypt (Gen. 41:52; 46:20). The first incident recorded regarding him is his…
Famine — The first mentioned in Scripture was so grievous as to compel Abraham to go down to the land of Egypt (Gen. 26:1). Another is mentioned as having occurred in the days of Isaac, causing him to go to…
Joseph — Remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add…
Kine — (Heb. sing. parah, i.e., “fruitful”), mentioned in Pharaoh’s dream (Gen. 41: 18). Here the word denotes “buffaloes,” which fed on the reeds and sedge by the river’s brink.
On — Light; the sun, (Gen. 41:45, 50), the great seat of sun-worship, called also Bethshemesh (Jer. 43:13) and Aven (Ezek. 30:17), stood on the east bank of the Nile, a few miles north of Memphis, and…
Pharaoh — The official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to the time when that country was conquered by the Greeks. (See EGYPT.) The name is a compound, as some think, of the words Ra, the “sun” or…
Potipherah, Or Potipherah — was priest or prince of On, and his daughter Asenath was given Joseph to wife by Pharaoh. (Genesis 41:45,50; 46:20) (B.C. 1715.)
Asenath · Wife of Joseph — Wife of Joseph
Economics · POLITI — POLITI
Egypt · History of Israel in: Joseph’s successful provision against the years of famine

Genesis 41:50

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 41:46–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 41:50

Adam Clarke on Genesis 41:50

John Gill on Genesis 41:50

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 41:50

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 41:46–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 41:50

Adam Clarke on Genesis 41:50

John Gill on Genesis 41:50

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 41:50-52

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 41:50-51

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 41:50-52

Rashi on Genesis 41:45