Genesis 41:51
in Genesis 41Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.
KJV
And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
3 notes on this verseIt had been the land of his affliction, and in some sense it was still so, for it was not Canaan, the land of promise. His distance from his father was still his affliction. Note, Light is sometimes sown for the righteous in a barren and unlikely soil; and yet if God sow it, and water it, it will come up again.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Consider the man's God-fearing attitude. By recording the memory of everything by the name of his son, Joseph purposely expressed his constant thankfulness. He did so that the one born to him might be in a position to know from his own name the trials and endurance that characterized the good man and so brought Joseph to such prominence. "Because he made me forget all my hardships and all those of my father." What is the meaning of "all those of my father"? Here I think there is reference to the former enslavement and the latter, as well as the deprivation in prison. "All those of my father" means the separation he endured in being away from his father's embrace and the fact that, being raised with such care, at a tender age he exchanged freedom for slavery.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh,....
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| יוֹסֵ֛ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵׁ֥ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַבְּכ֖וֹר | habekhor | the firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| מְנַשֶּׁ֑ה | menasheh | Manasseh | H4519 → | 146 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נַשַּׁ֤נִי | nashani | he has made forget me | H5382 → | |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲמָלִ֔י | ʾamali | trouble my | H5999 → | |
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] household of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אָבִֽי׃ | ʾavi | father my | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
יוֹסֵ֛ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵׁ֥ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
הַבְּכ֖וֹרthe firstborn
habekhorH1060 →122 times
מְנַשֶּׁ֑הManasseh
menashehH4519 →146 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נַשַּׁ֤נִיhe has made forget me
nashaniH5382 →
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲמָלִ֔יtrouble my
ʾamaliH5999 →
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] household of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אָבִֽי׃father my
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 30:5For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
it leads to
- Isaiah 54:7–8
“For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- Psalms 126:5–6
Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
- Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- John 16:20–22
Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
- Isaiah 54:7–8
Through
Psalms 30:11You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:4
Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- Jeremiah 31:13–14
Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.
- Jeremiah 31:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJosephThe rejected-then-exalted son — Genesis's great Christ-type; preserver of his family and of Egypt; the bridge into Exodus.
- PersonLate monarchyManassehJudah's longest-reigning and worst king, who filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; the book names his apostasy as the cause of 586…
This page draws on John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 64.2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.