Theologische Nuggets IV (Genesis 34 - 44:26)

Genesis 41:41-42

Und weiter sprach der Pharao zu Josef: Siehe, ich habe dich über ganz Ägyptenland gesetzt.

Damit es dem Josef ganz klar ist und allen anderen auch stellt der Pharao es noch mal fest, was seine Entscheidung ist: Josef ist der höchste Mann in Ägypten nach dem Pharao selbst. 

Und er tat seinen Siegelring von seiner Hand und gab ihn Josef an seine Hand und kleidete ihn in kostbares Leinen und legte ihm eine goldene Kette um seinen Hals

Den Siegelring bekommt Josef, weil er damit Befehle versiegeln kann und somit seine Befehle gültig sind. An diesem Ring war dann wahrscheinlich ein Stein mit einem ägyptischen Symbol. Die Kleidung ist eine Kleidung die seinen neuen Rang aufzeigen soll und darauf hinweisen soll, dass man ihm respektieren soll. Die goldene Kette soll auch sein Status darstellen und sein Machtposition. 

Joseph's office as 'over the house' and second only to Pharaoh (40) is generally held to be that of vizier. The signet ring carried the king's authority, although this was delegated to more than one high officer (see footnote), and the fine linen (an Egyptian word) was court dress. A gold chain (or collar) was a customary mark of royal appreciation from a very early period: it was commonly a reward for past services, but it is shown also as a detail in a vizier's investiture in the reign of Sethos I (c. 1300). The value of the latter inscription (a tomb painting) for throwing light on Joseph's story, however, is disputable, since the occasion was some four hundred years later.
Derek Kidner, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary, Bd. 1 of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1967), 208.Although not shown in the KJV version of the first sentence of this text, "And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand," the ring that Pharaoh gave Joseph was a signet ring, as shown in most other versions. A signet is a seal, especially one used to authenticate official documents. A signet ring is a finger ring that bears an engraved seal. The ring was used much like a signature today, although seals are still sometimes used for important documents, and most often are impressed with a signet. At times it also identified the official position or level of the person who wore it.Rings and signetsA Pharaoh's ring carried the highest authority in Egypt and empowered subordinates to act for the king; in their positions of authority, they literally were the king.
James M. Freeman und Harold J. Chadwick, Manners & customs of the Bible (North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1998), 79.