Genesis 45:7-8

45:7 God sent me ¹  ahead of you to preserve you ²  on the earth and to save your lives ³  by a great deliverance. 45:8 So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser ⁴  to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

[45:7]  ¹ sn God sent me. The repetition of this theme that God sent Joseph is reminiscent of commission narratives in which the leader could announce that God sent him (e.g., Exod 3:15).

[45:7]  ² tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition לְ (lÿ), means “to make.”

[45:7]  ³ tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.

[45:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.