Messianic Education Trust
		Always Being Ready     Mikketz   (Gen 41:1 - 44:17)

B'resheet/Genesis 41:46   And Yosef was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and Yosef went out from before Pharaoh and he passed through all the land of Egypt.

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Yosef has just delivered The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem's interpretation of Pharaoh's dual dream of cows and ears of grain signifying seven years of abundant plenty followed by seven years of extreme famine. Hard on its tail and without giving Pharaoh a chance to interrupt him, Yosef has then pitched for the job of grain commissioner to collect, store and manage Egypt's grain resources to feed everyone through the coming agricultural trauma. Probably much to the amazement of the court, Pharaoh hears and believes the truth of HaShem's words through Yosef and - on that basis - appoints Yosef to the number two position in the Egyptian empire, second only to Pharaoh himself when he rules ex cathedra, from his throne. Pharaoh tells Yosef, "I put you in charge of all the land of Egypt" (B'resheet 41:41, NJPS) and "without you, no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt" (v. 44, NJPS). Almost before Yosef can adapt to this rapid change from prison to nearly absolute power, Pharaoh has put his own signet ring on his finger, dressed him in fine linen robes and a gold chain, given him a chariot and driver, and a wife of rank to match his new status.

The first half of our text highlights the two problems that Yosef immediately faces: his age and his Hebrew appearance and manner. The first verb - בְּעָמְדוּ, the Qal infinitive of the root עמד, to stand, with a בְּ prepositional prefix usually translated 'when' and a 3ms possessive pronoun suffix, so literally "when his to stand" but more comfortably "when he stood" - anchors the first phrase. Gordon Wenham explains that "'stood before' means 'entered the service of'" rather than a moment of physical presence and points to another example when King Saul asks Jesse the Bethlehmite: "יַעֲמָד־נָא דָּוִד לְפָנַי Let David remain in my service" (1 Samuel 16:22, NJPS).¹ Who Is ...

Abravanel: Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508 CE), Statesman and biblical commentator; born in Lisbon, died in Venice; wrote commentaries on the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures
Abravanel reports that Yosef's age - just thirty years old - "was another handicap under which he laboured: thirty was considered young for a ruler in those days." On the other hand, the Who Is ...

The Rashbam: Rabbi Samuel ben Asher (1085-1174 CE), a grandson of Rashi; lived in Northern France; worked from the plain meaning of the Hebrew text even when this contradicted established rabbinic interpretaton
Rashbam counters with "thirty years old - and therefore fit for power." Walter Brueggemann addresses the second problem, Yosef's Hebrew status: "The entire procedure (vv. 41-45) appears to be proper Egyptian litany of installation. Yosef is now completely encapsulated in Egyptian reality. That is the intent of Pharaoh. He is fully Egyptian, easily accepting the role and authority of his new office."²

Now that Yosef is "in post", the second half of our text tells us what happened next. Once again, the two verbs are the essential starting point. The first one - וַיֵּצֵא, the Qal 3ms prefix form of the root יצא, to go out, with a vav-conversive, should be translated "and he went out" - is followed by the subject: Yosef. The vav-conversive marks the next event in the narrative sequence, so we can see that once Pharaoh's installation of Yosef was complete and everything had been set in hand, Yosef moved - and not before. "Yosef now goes into action, for there is much work to be done," Leon Kass reports, "Yosef now sets about the task of realising Pharaoh's dream by implementing the plan he proposed to Pharaoh."³ The second verb - וַיַּעֲבֹר, the Qal 3ms prefix form of the root עבר, to pass or cross through or over, again with a vav conversive denoting the next event in the narrative sequence - tells us what Yosef actually did: he passed through the whole land of Egypt. Terence Fretheim suggests that "he travels through the entire land so that people can recognise him in his new position."⁴ This looks very like HaShem's command to Avraham when he separated from Lot: "Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you" (B'resheet 13:17, ESV).

The Who Is ...

The Radak: Rabbi David Kimḥi (1160-1235 CE), rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher and grammarian; born in Narbonne, France; best known for his commentaries on the Prophets, he also wrote a philosphical commentary on Bresheet that makes extensive use of the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel; influenced by a strong supporter of Ibn Ezra and Maimonides
Radak explains that "[Yosef] 'left' Pharaoh's presence, not being required to attend Pharaoh as the other officials were." Whereas many of Pharaoh's courtiers and officials were employed to serve Pharaoh directly - in person, so to speak - Yosef's job was more or less by definition a roving position; he needed to be out and about to see people, inspect storage facilities, assess harvests and control the process of storing and administering the grain. Besides, since he couldn't cover the whole of Egypt by himself, Bruce Waltke surmises that "Yosef did so to familiarise himself with the land and to appoint local commissioners"⁵ in order to fulfil his own words to Pharaoh: "Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years" (B'resheet 41:34, NJPS). Nahum Sarna agrees, explaining that "Yosef loses no time in familiarising himself with local conditions preparatory to his main task of enabling the Egyptians to survive the expected famine."

Neither was this as strange an action as it might appear. Yosef was not just parading himself around in his chariot and robe so that everyone knew that he was a big man now. He was doing three critical things: firstly, making an in-person reconnaissance of the land and its facilities. He needed to know how big it was, where the grain was harvested and possible sites for storage that would be safe and secure; not to mention who the available personnel were and how competent and honest they might be. Secondly, by his visit, he needed to demonstrate that he - and behind him, Pharaoh - were serious about making this strange project work and were personally invested to make sure that not only was it was done at all, but that it was done right to safeguard the quality of the grain, to prevent pilfering and to feed the people at large in the years to come. Thirdly - and by no means the least important - Yosef proved that he was a real person, not just a name passed around in rumours and regulations; he got to shake lots of hands, kiss a few babies, drink altogether too much rather mediocre coffee and tell people face-to-face what was going to happen: this is our future now!

Ovadiah Who Is ...

Sforno: Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (1470-1550 CE), Italian rabbi, philosopher and physician; born in Cesena, he went to Rome to study medicine; left in 1525 and after some years of travel, settled in Bologna where he founded a yeshiva which he conducted until his death
Sforno sums up and provides a parallel example: Yosef went through the whole land "to attend to its affairs and make all necessary arrangements, as we find when Samuel was the judge of Israel - as long as he lived" - "Each year he made the rounds of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and acted as judge over Israel at all those places" (1 Samuel 7:16, NJPS). Samuel recognised that he needed to know the people and that they needed to know him. That was the way the social contract worked: real people in real relationship with each other. Samuel shows that, just like Yosef, he was ready to engage. Regularly and routinely, he got to work; he rolled up his sleeves, covered the miles and put in the time to show that he was already to engage with the people.

It is well known that Mark's favourite word is 'immediately', you might be surprised how often he uses it: at least thirty-five times in just sixteen chapters in his gospel, while Matthew's count is fourteen times in twenty-eight chapters and Luke twelve times in twenty-four chapters. Mark uses it - for example, "And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee ... And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching ... And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit" (Mark 11:20-23, ESV) - to show us how constantly dynamic Yeshua was and how ready He was to engage with the people and the situations that cropped up during His ministry years. While Yeshua did certainly seek lonely places where He could pray alone and interact with the Father, when people needed Him, He was always there, always ready to engage, to teach and to heal; He never rejected anyone who came to Him and always took the time to heal - demonstrating the gifts and power of the kingdom - and to teach: sharing the words, wisdom and rules of the kingdom.

Although 'immediately' only appears once in the Apostolic Writings after the book of Acts (in Galatians 1:16), Rav Sha'ul was a firm believer in always being ready to engage with people, with the plan of G-d and in conversation for the sake of heaven. After receiving a prophetic word at Caesarea that he would be bound in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles, Sha'ul declared, "I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Yeshua" (Acts 21:13, ESV). Luke tartly records that after the whole of his ministry team could not persuade him otherwise, "after these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem" (v. 15, ESV). Sha'ul was always ready to be obedient to "press on towards the goal for the prize of the upwards call of G-d in Messiah Yeshua" (Philippians 3:14, ESV), even at risk to his life and his freedom.

Later writing to Timothy, Rav Sha'ul will urge the rich among the disciples "to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share" (1 Timothy 6:18, ESV), the congregations as a whole "to be ready for every good work" (Titus 3:1, ESV). In particular, Timothy - in a phrase which is archetypal for all those in positions of leadership, but applies to all the followers of Yeshua throughout the ages - is personally told: "be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2, ESV). Always be ready to engage with people, even - or should that be 'especially' - when it is inconvenient or unexpected, to advance the work of the kingdom in dialogue with the people the Spirit puts in your path. That's a word for us today. Are we always ready to respond to the call of the Spirit?

1. - Gordon Wenham, Genesis 16-50, Word Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994), page 397.

2. - Walter Brueggemann, Genesis, Interpretation, (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1982), page 334.

3. - Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis (Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 2003), pages 569-570

4. - Terence Fretheim, "Genesis" in The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, Vol I, edited by Leander E. Keck, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2015), page 242.

5. - Bruce K. Waltke with Cathi J. Fredricks, Genesis: A Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), page 534.

Further Study: Psalm 119:173-176; Proverbs 24:27; Matthew 22:4-8; Titus 2:11-14

Application: What steps do you need to take to make sure that you are always ready: like Yosef, to get out and be seen; like Yeshua, to proclaim the kingdom whether in word or deed; and like Rav Sha'ul, ready to make a stand for Yeshua, no matter the cost. Ask the Boss today what that might mean for you, so that you don't miss a beat when the moment comes.

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© Jonathan Allen, 2025

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