Bereshis 41
41
[MIKETZ]
1And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed a chalom: and, hinei, he stood by haye'or (the River, i.e., the Nile).
2And, hinei, there came up out of haye'or (the River, i.e., the Nile) seven cows, fine in appearance and fat in basar; and they grazed on the riverbank.
3And, hinei, seven other cows came up after them out of the Nile, ra'ot mareh (ugly in appearance) and dakot basar (gaunt ones in flesh, lean-fleshed); and stood by the other cows upon the bank of the Nile.
4And the cows that were ra'ot hamareh and that were dakot habasar did devour the seven cows that were fine in appearance and fat. Then Pharaoh awoke.
5And he slept and dreamed a chalom the second time; and, hinei, sheva heads of grain came up upon one stalk, beri'ot (fat ones) and tovot.
6And, hinei, seven thin heads of grain scorched by the east wind tzomechot (sprung up) after them.
7And the seven thin heads of grain devoured the seven fat and mele'ot (full) heads of grain. And Pharaoh awoke; and, hinei, it was a chalom!
8And it came to pass in the boker that his ruach was troubled; and he sent and called for all the chartummei Mitzrayim (magicians of Egypt), and all the chachamim thereof; and Pharaoh told them his chalom; but there was no poter (interpreter) for Pharaoh.
9Then the sar hamashkim spoke unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day.
10Pharaoh was in wrath with his avadim, and put me b'mishmar (in custody) in the bais sar hatabbachim, both me and the sar ha'ofim;
11And we dreamed a chalom in the same lailah, I and he; and each chalom we dreamed had its own pitron (interpretation).
12And there was there with us a na'ar Ivri, eved to the sar hatabbachim; and we told him, and he interpreted to us chalomoteinu (our dreams); to each according to his chalom he did interpret.
13And it was, just as he interpreted to us, so it came to pass; me he restored unto mine ken (post), and him he hanged.
14Then Pharaoh sent and summoned Yosef, and they brought him hastily out of the bor (dungeon); and he shaved, and changed his clothes, and came in unto Pharaoh.
15And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, I have dreamed a chalom, and there is no poter (interpreter) for it; and I have heard it said of thee, that thou canst understand a chalom to interpret it.
16And Yosef answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me; Elohim shall give Pharaoh an answer of shalom.
17And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, In my chalom, hineni, I stood upon the bank of the Nile;
18And, hinei, there came up out of the Nile seven cows beri'ot basar (fat in body) and sleek of form; and they grazed by the riverbank.
19And, hinei, seven other cows came up after them, dalot (poor, scrawny, thin) and ra'ot to'ar me'od (very ugly in appearance) and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in kol Eretz Mitzrayim, unacceptably bad;
20And the lean and the ra'ot cows did eat up the first seven fat cows;
21And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still rah in appearance, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
22And I saw in my chalom, and, hinei, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, mele'ot (full) and tovot (good);
23And, hinei, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and scorched with the east wind, tzomechot (sprung up) after them;
24And the thin heads of grain devoured the seven tov heads of grain; and I told this unto the chartummim (magicians); but there was none that could explain it to me.
25And Yosef said unto Pharaoh, The chalom of Pharaoh is echad: HaElohim hath revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
26The seven good cows are seven shanim; and the seven good heads of grain are seven shanim. The chalom is echad.
27And the seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are sheva shanim; and the seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are sheva shnei ra'av (seven years of famine).
28This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh; What HaElohim is about to do He showeth unto Pharaoh.
29Hinei, there come sheva shanim of sava gadol (great fullness, plenty, abundance) throughout kol Eretz Mitzrayim.
30And there shall arise after them sheva shnei ra'av (seven years of famine) and kol hasava (all abundance) shall be forgotten in Eretz Mitzrayim; and the ra'av (famine) shall consume the land;
31And the sava shall not be known in the land by reason of that ra'av (famine) following; for it shall be kaved me'od (very grievous).
32And for that the chalom was doubled unto Pharaoh; it is because the thing is [decidedly] established by HaElohim, and HaElohim will shortly bring it to pass.
33Now therefore let Pharaoh select an ish navon and chochom (a man discerning and wise) and set him over Eretz Mitzrayim.
34Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint pekidim (officers, overseers, commissioners) over the land, and take up the fifth part [of the harvest] of Eretz Mitzrayim in the sheva shnei hasava.
35And let them gather kol ochel of those shanim hatovot that come, and store up grain under the yad Pharaoh, and let them be shomer over ochel in the cities.
36And that ochel shall be for reserves for the land against the sheva shnei hara'av, which shall be in Eretz Mitzrayim; that the land perish not through the ra'av.
37And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his avadim.
38And Pharaoh said unto his avadim, Can we find such an ish as this is, an ish in whom is the Ruach Elohim?
39And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, Forasmuch as Elohim hath showed thee all this, there is none so navon (discerning) and chochom (wise) as thou art;
40Thou shalt be over my bais (palace), and according unto thy mouth shall all my people order themselves; only with respect to the kisse will I be greater than thou.
41And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, See, I have set thee over kol Eretz Mitzrayim.
42And Pharaoh took off his taba'at (signet ring) from his yad, and put it upon yad Yosef, and arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a chain of zahav around his neck;
43And he made him to ride in the second merkavah which he had; and they cried before him, Avrech! And he put him over kol Eretz Mitzrayim.
44And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his yad or regel in kol Eretz Mitzrayim.
45And Pharaoh called shem Yosef Tzaphnat Pa'neach; and he gave him as isha Asenat Bat Poti Phera kohen of On. And Yosef went out over all Eretz Mitzrayim.
46And Yosef was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh Melech Mitzrayim. And Yosef went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout kol Eretz Mitzrayim.
47And in the sheva shnei hasava the land brought forth by handfuls.
48And he gathered up kol ochel of the sheva shanim, which were in Eretz Mitzrayim, and laid up the ochel in the cities; the ochel of the sadeh, which surrounded every city, laid he up in the same.
49And Yosef gathered grain as the chol (sand) of the yam, very much, until he stopped counting; for it was without mispar (number).
50And unto Yosef were born two banim before the shnat ra'av came, which Asenat Bat Poti Phera kohen of On bore unto him.
51And Yosef called the shem of the bechor Menasheh: For Elohim, said he nashani, (hath made me forget) all my amal, and kol bais Avi.
52And the shem of the second called he Ephrayim: For Elohim hifrani (hath caused me to be fruitful) in the eretz of my oni (suffering).
53And the sheva shnei hasava that was in Eretz Mitzrayim were ended.
54And the sheva shnei hara'av began to come, just as Yosef had said; and the ra'av was in all lands; but in kol Eretz Mitzrayim there was lechem.
55And when kol Eretz Mitzrayim was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for lechem; and Pharaoh said unto kol Mitzrayim, Go unto Yosef; what he saith to you, do.
56And the ra'av (famine) was over kol pnei ha'aretz; and Yosef opened all that was in them, and sold unto the Mitzrayim; and the ra'av (famine) became severe in Eretz Mitzrayim.
57And kol HaAretz (all the world) came into Mitzrayim to Yosef to buy grain; because that the ra'av (famine) was so chazak in kol HaAretz.
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Bereshis 41: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Genesis 41
41
1A full two years later, Pharaoh had a dream that he was standing beside the River Nile. 2He saw seven cows coming up from the river. They looked well-fed and healthy as they grazed among the reeds. 3Then he saw another seven cows that came up behind them. They looked ugly and skinny as they stood beside the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4Then the ugly, skinny cows ate the well-fed, healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5Pharaoh fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven heads of grain were growing on one stalk, ripe and healthy. 6Then seven heads of grain grew up after them, thin and dried by the east wind. 7The seven thin and dried heads of grain swallowed up the ripe and healthy ones. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized he'd been dreaming.
8The next morning Pharaoh was worried by his dreams,#41:8. “By his dreams”: supplied for clarity. so he sent for all the magicians and wise men in Egypt. Pharaoh told them about his dreams, but no one could interpret their meaning for him.
9But then the chief cupbearer spoke up. “Today I've just remembered a bad mistake I've made,” he explained. 10“Your Majesty was angry with some of your officials and you imprisoned me in the house of the commander of the guard, along with the chief baker. 11We each had a dream. They were different dreams, each with its own meaning. 12A young Hebrew was there with us, a slave of the commander of the guard. When we told him our dreams, he interpreted for us the meaning of our different dreams. 13Everything happened just as he said it would—I was given back my job and the baker was hanged.”
14Pharaoh summoned Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the prison. After he'd shaved and changed his clothes, he was presented to Pharaoh.
15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, but no one can interpret its meaning. But I've heard that when someone tells you a dream you know how to interpret it.”
16“It's not me who can do this,” Joseph replied. “But God will explain its meaning to set Your Majesty's mind at rest.”
17Pharaoh explained to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile. 18I saw seven cows coming up from the river. They looked well-fed and healthy as they grazed among the reeds. 19Then I saw another seven cows that came up behind them. They looked sickly and ugly and skinny—I've never seen such ugly cows in the whole of Egypt! 20These skinny, ugly cows ate the first seven healthy-looking cows. 21But afterwards you couldn't tell they'd eaten them because they looked just as skinny and ugly as before. Then I woke up.
22Then I fell asleep again. In my second dream I saw seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, ripe and healthy. 23Then seven heads of grain grew up after them, withered and thin and dried by the east wind. 24The seven thin heads of grain swallowed up the healthy ones. I told all this to the magicians, but none of them could explain its meaning to me.”
25“Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing,” Joseph responded. “God is telling Pharaoh what he is going to do. 26The seven good cows and the seven good heads of grain represent seven good years of harvest.#41:26. “Of harvest”: supplied for clarity. The dreams mean the same thing. 27The seven skinny and ugly cows that came after them and the seven thin heads of grain dried by the east wind represent seven years of famine. 28It's just as I told Your Majesty—God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do. 29There are going to be seven years with plenty of food produced throughout the whole country of Egypt. 30But after them will come seven years of famine. People will forget the time when there was plenty of food throughout Egypt. Famine will ruin the country. 31The time of plenty will be completely forgotten because the famine that follows it will be so terrible. 32The fact that the dream was repeated twice means that it has definitely been decided by God, and that God is going to do this soon.
33So Your Majesty should choose a man with insight and wisdom, and put him in charge of the whole country of Egypt. 34Your Majesty should also appoint officials to be in charge of the land, and have them collect one-fifth of the produce of the country during the seven years of plenty. 35They should collect all the food during the good years that are soon coming, and store the grain under Pharaoh's authority, keeping it under guard to provide food for the towns. 36This will be a food reserve for the country during the seven years of famine so that the people won't die of starvation.”
37Pharaoh and all his officials thought Joseph's proposal was a good idea. 38So Pharaoh asked them, “Where can we find a man like this who has the spirit of God in him?” 39Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, telling him, “Since God has revealed to you all this, and there's no one like you with such insight and wisdom, 40you will be in charge of all my affairs, and all my people will obey your orders. Only I with my status as king#41:40. “My status as king”: literally “the throne.” will be greater than you.”
41Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Look, I'm putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.” 42Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothes and placed a golden chain around his neck. 43He had Joseph ride in the chariot designated for his second-in-command while his attendants went ahead, shouting, “Bow down!”#41:43. “Bow down!” This Egyptian loan word is variously translated: “Attention!” “Make way!” “Praise!” “Do homage!” All relate to honoring a dignitary. This is how Pharaoh gave Joseph authority over all of Egypt.
44Then Pharaoh told Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission nobody will lift a hand or a foot anywhere in the whole country.” 45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah,#41:45. Meaning “The God speaks and he (the subject) lives.” and arranged for him to marry Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. This is how Joseph rose to power over the whole of Egypt.
46Joseph was thirty when he started working for Pharaoh, king of Egypt. After he had left Pharaoh, Joseph traveled on an inspection tour#41:46. “On an inspection tour”: supplied for clarity. throughout Egypt. 47During the seven years of good harvests, the land produced plenty of food. 48He collected all the food during the seven good years, and he stored the grain produced in the local fields in each town. 49Joseph piled up so much grain that it was like the sand of the seashore. Eventually he stopped keeping records because there was just so much!
50It was during this time, before the years of famine came, that Joseph had two sons by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh,#41:51. “Manasseh” means “cause to forget.” because he said, “The Lord has made me forget all my troubles and all my father's family.” 52His second son he named Ephraim,#41:52. “Ephraim” means “fruitful.” because he said, “God has made me fruitful in the country of my misery.”
53The seven years of plenty in Egypt came to an end, 54and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other countries but the whole of Egypt had food. 55When all of Egypt was hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, and he told everyone, “Go and see Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” 56The famine had spread all over the country so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the people of Egypt. The famine was very bad in Egypt, 57in fact the famine was very bad everywhere, so people from other countries all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com