“And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, (what a wonderful time in the life of our young Joseph 😃, a time of great Faith, of hard-, but deeply gratifying work, of new young love, of exaltation, promotion and finally a time of the glorious Joys of fatherhood: all in all a time of fruitfulness in every sense of the word 😄; preceding the more pressing years of great famine and affliction of the land he now calls home and is proud to rule over well, combined with the pain of doing the emotionally burdensome work of seeking closure from the past) whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. (It is evident that young Asenath was an Egyptian lady, as one can gather from the root words in her father’s name similar to say that of Potiphar’s. What the role of an Egyptian priest such as he consisted of in the day remains unclear; what is clear however is that Asenath was familiar with the principles of religion and faith, if not Faith and Devotion to the One True God. Having grown up in the type of household that reveres the spiritual, she was perfectly positioned to enter into the True Faith as one selected by the Lord for such a time as this to be the helpmate and support of not only His beloved Child Joseph, but also the practical ruler of all Egypt, and Mother to the heirs of the promise: Ephraim and Manasseh. The fact that Pharaoh in his wisdom selected her for Joseph specifically, once again frames him as a symbol or prototype of God Himself in the narrative.) Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” (What a precious testimony to this happy season in Joseph’s life! For even though we know he will have to pass through the anguish, even torment, of being reconciled with the pain of “his father’s house” in the future – and will eventually have to reopen old wounds, learn the value of true Forgiveness and Loving one’s enemies – during this season it is evident however that God allows for Joseph to enjoy the full measure of his Joyful, Blessed Harvest, following many years of Faithfulness against all odds, Obedience, Sanctification and Holy Suffering. Joseph is well and truly invited by the Lord to revel in his new-found happiness to the fullest extent without being infringed upon by the sorrows of the past until, the pre-appointed, God-ordained time for dealing with such things once and for all, arrives.) And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” (How truly interesting to see that Joseph can barely name the suffering he endured in his father’s house and is all too grateful to forget it completely, yet is quite frank and open about his more recent times of suffering in the land of Egypt, namely the afflictions of slavery and imprisonment. It is such a peculiar, but seemingly timeless, principle, that the abuse we suffered, more often than not as children, at the hands of those who were supposed to love us most, is so much more enduring, scarring and deeply painful. It is almost as if the suffering we endured as adults at the hands of foreigners and strangers seem more impersonal and therefore far more manageable than that which we suffered at the hands of our very own flesh and blood. Joseph is consequently able to recognise the value of his affliction here in Egypt much more easily and can be all the more objective in recognising the hand of the Lord in overturning his situation, in that the very place where he was injured becomes the very place of his greatest fruitfulness.)

“⁵⁰And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” ⁵²And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

– Genesis 41:50-52 (NKJV)