And it came to pass after this, that Joseph saw Osnath, the daughter of Potipharah, a pearl among the beauties of the land, and he loved her and she became his wife. And Joseph was but thirty years old when he was elevated to his honourable and trustworthy position. He built for himself a palace, elegant and complete in its details and surroundings, so elaborate that three years’ time was required for its completion. And the Lord was with Joseph, and increased his wisdom and understanding, and blessed him with manners so affable and deserving that he quickly won the love and favour of all the inhabitants of the country. And during seven years, as Joseph had foretold, the Lord increased the produce of Egypt sevenfold. And Joseph appointed officers to gather up the plenty. They built huge storehouses[92] and heaped up corn during the seven years of plenty, till the amount stored grew so great that no man could number it. And Joseph and his officers were watchful and diligent that their stores of grain should not suffer from moth or mould. The people of the land, too, stored up their surplus crop, but they were not as careful and watchful as was Joseph and his assistants. And the wife of Joseph bore him two sons, Manassah and Ephraim, and their father taught them diligently the way of truth; they listened to his words and departed not from the paths of pleasantness either to the right hand or to the left. They grew up bright and intelligent lads, and were honoured among the people as were the children of the King. But the seven years of plenty drew to an end, and the fields became barren and the trees gave forth no fruit, and the famine which Joseph had predicted threw its gloomy shadow and threatening presence over the once fruitful land. And when the people opened their storehouses, they found to their sorrow that moth and mould had taken advantage of their neglect. And they cried aloud to Pharaoh, “Give us food; let us not die of hunger before thee, we and our children; give to us, we pray thee, from the plenty of thy storehouses.”[93] And Pharaoh answered, “Why cry ye unto me, O careless people? did Joseph not tell ye of the famine which has come upon us? Why did ye not hearken to his voice, and obey his commands to be frugal and painstaking?” “By thy life, our lord,” replied the people, “as Joseph spoke, so did we, and gathered in our corn during the years of plenty, but lo, when the pangs of hunger and the barrenness of the land bid us open our granaries, the moth had destroyed the provisions which we had garnered.” The King became alarmed lest all their precaution should prove unavailing against the famine’s blight, and he bade the people to go to Joseph. “Obey his commands and rebel not against his words.” And the people repeated to Joseph the cry for food they had addressed to Pharaoh.