Genesis 41:37-45

"And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou: thou shall be over my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him ride in the second chariot which he had: and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt."

It is obvious that no human source whatever lies behind this amazing narrative. If any man had written it, would there not have been a mention of the wife of Potiphar, or any other of those amazing events so closely connected with Joseph's history? What countless questions press themselves upon all who read these lines.

"Bow the knee ..." This is from a Hebrew term [~'abrek],"[14] which is usually classified by scholars has having no certain meaning. However, Dummelow pointed out that, "Throughout Egypt until today, this very word is used as a cry for the camel to kneel!"[15] This goes a long way toward establishing the validity of our translation here, "Bow the knee."

"Zaphenath-paneah ..." This new name conferred upon Joseph by Pharaoh is also one with disputed meanings, but one of the alternatives mentioned by Skinner was chosen by Whitelaw as a reasonable and probable meaning. It is "Salvator Mundi", as in the Septuagint (LXX) and followed by the Vulgate, meaning "Salvation of the World,"[16] which, in a sense, Joseph surely was.

"Priest of On ..." "On is Heliopolis, seven miles northeast of Cairo, anciently a center of the worship of the sun-god Re."[17]

"Asenath ..." has the meaning of, "She who is of Neith, the Minerva of the Egyptians."[18] Thus Joseph's marriage was to the daughter of a pagan priest, she herself being named after one of the pagan goddesses of Egypt. We agree with Francisco that, "This marriage was disastrous in its ultimate consequences. The lines of Ephraim and Manasseh were later leaders in Israel's idolatry."[19] There can be little doubt that the idolatrous tendencies of Joseph's sons had originated with Asenath.