And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The name of the second, he called Ephraim: “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
- KJV And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
- NKJV And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
- NASB And he named the second Ephraim; “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
- NLT Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He names his second son Ephraim, saying God made him fruitful in the land of his affliction.
Overview
The name Ephraim ('fruitfulness') confesses that God blessed Joseph even in the place of his suffering. Joseph sees God's grace bringing fruit out of affliction. This testifies that God can turn suffering into blessing for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gen 49:22Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
- Gen 50:23He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.
- Gen 17:6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
- Amos 6:6You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
- Gen 28:3May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
- Ps 105:17–18He sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave.
- Isa 40:1–2“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
- Gen 29:32–35And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Gen 48:16–19the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
- Acts 7:10and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
- Gen 30:6–13Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 41:52 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.