Discovery BoxGenesis 41:45-46 
Context41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. 1 He also gave him Asenath 2 daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, 3 to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of 4 all the land of Egypt.
41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old 5 when he began serving 6 Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by 7 Pharaoh and was in charge of 8 all the land of Egypt.
1 sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]: 41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861 s.v. צָפְנָת פַּעְנֵחַ); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] áIp-àankh” (K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 1262).
2 sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 74 s.v. אָֽסְנַת). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph – a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.
3 sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
4 tn Heb “and he passed through.”
5 tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”
6 tn Heb “when he stood before.”
7 tn Heb “went out from before.”
8 tn Heb “and he passed through all the land of Egypt”; this phrase is interpreted by JPS to mean that Joseph “emerged in charge of the whole land.”
