Berĕshith (Genesis) 41
41
1And it came to be, at the end of two years’ time, that Pharaoh had a dream, and saw him standing by the river,
2and saw seven cows coming up out of the river, beautiful looking and fat, and they fed amongst the reeds,
3then saw seven other cows coming up after them out of the river, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.
4And the ugly and lean of flesh cows ate up the seven beautiful looking and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.
5And he slept and dreamed a second time and saw seven heads of grain coming up on one stalk, plump and good,
6and saw seven lean heads, scorched by the east wind, coming up after them.
7And the seven lean heads swallowed the seven plump and complete heads. Then Pharaoh awoke and saw it was a dream.
8And it came to be in the morning that his spirit was moved, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Mitsrayim and all its wise men. And Pharaoh related to them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.
9Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my crimes this day.
10“When Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker,
11each one of us dreamed a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.
12“And there was with us a Hebrew youth, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we related to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each man he interpreted according to his own dream.
13And it came to be, as he interpreted for us, so it came to be. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.
14Then Pharaoh sent and called Yosĕph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon. And he shaved and changed his garments, and came to Pharaoh.
15And Pharaoh said to Yosĕph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one to interpret it. Now I myself have heard it said of you that you understand a dream, to interpret it.”
16And Yosĕph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me, let Elohim answer Pharaoh with peace.”
17And Pharaoh said to Yosĕph, “See, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river
18and saw seven cows coming up out of the river, beautiful looking and fat, and they fed amongst the reeds,
19then saw seven other cows coming up after them, poor and very ugly and lean of flesh, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Mitsrayim.
20“And the lean of flesh and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows.
21“Yet when they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke.
22“Also, I looked in my dream and saw seven heads coming up on one stalk, complete and good,
23then saw seven heads, withered, lean, scorched by the east wind, coming up after them.
24“And the lean heads swallowed the seven good heads. And I spoke to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”
25And Yosĕph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. Elohim has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do:
26“The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years – it is one dream.
27“And the seven lean and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads scorched by the east wind are seven years of scarcity of food.
28“This is the word which I spoke to Pharaoh: Elohim has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29See, seven years of great plenty are coming in all the land of Mitsrayim,”
30but after them seven years of scarcity of food shall arise and all the plenty be forgotten in the land of Mitsrayim. And the scarcity of food shall destroy the land,
31and the plenty shall not be remembered in the land, because of the scarcity of food following, for it is very severe.
32“And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the word is established by Elohim, and Elohim is hastening to do it.
33“And now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Mitsrayim.
34“Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, to take up one-fifth of the land of Mitsrayim in the seven years of plenty.
35“And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
36And the food shall be for a store for the land for the seven years of scarcity of food which shall be in the land of Mitsrayim, and do not let the land be cut off by the scarcity of food.
37And the word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
38And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Could we find another like him, a man in whom is the Spirit of Elohim?”
39Then Pharaoh said to Yosĕph, “Since Elohim has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
40Be over my house, you yourself, and at your mouth all my people shall kiss – only in the throne I am greater than you.
41And Pharaoh said to Yosĕph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Mitsrayim.”
42And Pharaoh took his seal-ring off his hand and put it on Yosĕph’s hand. And he dressed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.
43And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had. And they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Mitsrayim.
44And Pharaoh said to Yosĕph, “I am Pharaoh, and without a word from you let no man lift his hand or foot in all the land of Mitsrayim.”
45And Pharaoh called Yosĕph’s name Zaphnath-Pa‛nĕaḥ. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. And Yosĕph went out over all the land of Mitsrayim.
46Now Yosĕph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim. And Yosĕph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Mitsrayim.
47And in the seven years of plenty the ground brought forth generously.
48And he gathered all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Mitsrayim, and laid up the food in the cities. He laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them.
49Thus Yosĕph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he ceased counting, for it was without number.
50And to Yosĕph were born two sons before the years of scarcity of food came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.
51And Yosĕph called the name of the first-born Menashsheh, “For Elohim has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”
52And the name of the second he called Ephrayim, “For Elohim has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53And the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Mitsrayim came to an end,
54and the seven years of scarcity of food began to come, as Yosĕph had said. And the scarcity of food was in all lands, but in all the land of Mitsrayim there was bread.
55But when all the land of Mitsrayim hungered, and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said to all the Mitsrites, “Go to Yosĕph, do whatever he says to you.”
56And the scarcity of food was over all the face of the earth, and Yosĕph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Mitsrites. And the scarcity of food was severe in the land of Mitsrayim.
57And all the earth came to Yosĕph in Mitsrayim to buy grain, because the scarcity of food was severe in all the earth.
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Berĕshith (Genesis) 41: TS2009
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Genesis 41
41
Pharaoh’s Dreams
1Two years later Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River. 2In the dream, seven cows came out of the river and stood there eating grass. They were healthy, good-looking cows. 3Then seven more cows came out of the river and stood on the bank of the river by the healthy cows. But these cows were thin and looked sick. 4The seven sick cows ate the seven healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5Pharaoh went back to sleep and began dreaming again. This time he dreamed that he saw seven heads of grain growing on one plant. They were healthy and full of grain. 6Then he saw seven more heads of grain sprouting, but they were thin and scorched by the hot wind. 7The thin heads of grain ate the seven good heads of grain. Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was only a dream. 8The next morning Pharaoh was worried about these dreams, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told these men the dreams, but none of them could explain the dreams.
The Servant Tells Pharaoh About Joseph
9Then the wine servant remembered Joseph and said to Pharaoh, “I remember something that happened to me. 10You were angry with the baker and me, and you put us in prison. 11Then one night he and I had a dream. Each dream had a different meaning. 12There was a young Hebrew man in prison with us. He was a servant of the commander of the guards. We told him our dreams, and he explained them to us. He told us the meaning of each dream, 13and what he said came true. He said I would be free and have my old job back, and it happened. He also said the baker would die, and it happened!”
Joseph Is Called to Explain the Dreams
14So Pharaoh called Joseph from the prison. The guards quickly got Joseph out of prison. Joseph shaved, put on some clean clothes, and went to see Pharaoh. 15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can explain it for me. I heard that you can explain dreams when someone tells you about them.”
16Joseph answered, “I cannot! But God can explain the dream for you, Pharaoh.”
17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing by the Nile River. 18Seven cows came up out of the river and stood there eating the grass. They were healthy, good-looking cows. 19Then I saw seven more cows come up out of the river after them, but these cows were thin and looked sick. They were the worst cows I had ever seen anywhere in Egypt! 20The thin, sick cows ate the first healthy cows, 21but they still looked thin and sick. You couldn’t even tell they had eaten the healthy cows. They looked as thin and sick as they did in the beginning. Then I woke up.
22“In my next dream I saw seven heads of grain growing on one plant. They were healthy and full of grain. 23And then seven more heads of grain grew after them, but they were thin and scorched by the hot wind. 24Then the thin heads of grain ate the seven good heads of grain.
“I told these dreams to my magicians. But no one could explain the dreams to me. What do they mean?”
Joseph Explains the Dream
25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both of these dreams have the same meaning. God is telling you what will happen soon. 26The seven good cows and the seven good heads of grain are seven good years. 27And the seven thin, sick-looking cows and the seven thin heads of grain mean that there will be seven years of hunger in this area. These seven bad years will come after the seven good years. 28God has shown you what will happen soon. He will make these things happen just as I told you. 29For seven years there will be plenty of food in Egypt. 30But then there will be seven years of hunger. The people will forget how much food there had been in Egypt before. This famine will ruin the country. 31It will be so bad that people will forget what it was like to have plenty of food.
32“Pharaoh, you had two dreams about the same thing. That means God wanted to show you that he really will make this happen, and he will make it happen soon! 33So, Pharaoh, you should choose a wise, intelligent man and put him in charge of Egypt. 34Then you should choose other men to collect food from the people. During the seven good years, the people must give them one-fifth of all the food they grow. 35In this way these men will collect all the food during the seven good years and store it in the cities until it is needed. Pharaoh, this food will be under your control. 36Then during the seven years of hunger, there will be food for the country of Egypt. And Egypt will not be destroyed by the famine.”
37This seemed like a very good idea to Pharaoh, and all his officials agreed. 38Then Pharaoh told them, “I don’t think we can find anyone better than Joseph to take this job! God’s Spirit is in him, making him very wise!”
39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “God showed these things to you, so you must be the wisest man. 40I will put you in charge of my country, and the people will obey all your commands. I will be the only one more powerful than you.”
41Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I now make you governor over all of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh gave his special ring to Joseph. The royal seal was on this ring. Pharaoh also gave Joseph a fine linen robe and put a gold chain around his neck. 43Then he told Joseph to ride in his second chariot. Pharaoh’s officials said, “Let him be the governor over the whole land of Egypt!”#41:43 Or “Then Pharaoh had Joseph ride in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they said, ‘Bow before Joseph.’ In this way Joseph became the governor over all of Egypt.”
44Then Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, the king over everyone in Egypt, but no one else in Egypt can lift a hand or move a foot unless you say he can.” 45Then Pharaoh gave Joseph another name, Zaphenath Paneah.#41:45 Zaphenath Paneah This Egyptian name probably means “sustainer of life,” but it is like Hebrew words meaning “a person who explains secret things.” He also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, a priest in the city of On. So Joseph became the governor over the whole country of Egypt.
46Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving the king of Egypt. He traveled throughout the country of Egypt. 47During the seven good years, the crops in Egypt grew very well. 48Joseph saved the food in Egypt during those seven years and stored the food in the cities. In every city he stored grain that grew in the fields around the city. 49Joseph stored so much grain that it was like the sands of the sea. He stored so much grain that it could not be measured.
50Joseph’s wife, Asenath, was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest in the city of On. Before the first year of hunger came, Joseph and Asenath had two sons. 51Joseph named the first son Manasseh.#41:51 Manasseh This is like the Hebrew word meaning “to forget.” He was given this name because Joseph said, “God made me forget all my hard work and everything back home in my father’s house.” 52Joseph named the second son Ephraim.#41:52 Ephraim This name is like the Hebrew word meaning “twice fruitful.” Joseph gave him this name because he said, “I had great troubles, but God has made me successful in everything.”
The Famine Begins
53For seven years people had all the food they needed, but those years ended. 54Then the seven years of hunger began, just as Joseph had said. No food grew anywhere in any of the countries in that area. But in Egypt people had plenty to eat because Joseph had stored the grain. 55The famine began, and the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to the Egyptian people, “Go ask Joseph what to do.”
56There was famine everywhere, so Joseph gave the people grain from the warehouses. He sold the stored grain to the people of Egypt. The famine was bad in Egypt, 57but the famine was bad everywhere. So people from the countries around Egypt had to come to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain.
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