Exit Parallel Mode
 

Genesis 41

41
1And it cometh to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and lo, he is standing by the River,
2and lo, from the River coming up are seven kine, of fair appearance, and fat [in] flesh, and they feed among the reeds;
3and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them out of the River, of bad appearance, and lean [in] flesh, and they stand near the kine on the edge of the River,
4and the kine of bad appearance and lean [in] flesh eat up the seven kine of fair appearance, and fat — and Pharaoh awaketh.
5And he sleepeth, and dreameth a second time, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, fat and good,
6and lo, seven ears, thin, and blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;
7and the thin ears swallow the seven fat and full ears — and Pharaoh awaketh, and lo, a dream.
8And it cometh to pass in the morning, that his spirit is moved, and he sendeth and calleth all the scribes of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh recounteth to them his dream, and there is no interpreter of them to Pharaoh.
9And the chief of the butlers speaketh with Pharaoh, saying, ‘My sin I mention this day:
10Pharaoh hath been wroth against his servants, and giveth me into charge in the house of the chief of the executioners, me and the chief of the bakers;
11and we dream a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we have dreamed.
12And there [is] with us a youth, a Hebrew, servant to the chief of the executioners, and we recount to him, and he interpreteth to us our dreams, [to] each according to his dream hath he interpreted,
13and it cometh to pass, as he hath interpreted to us so it hath been, me he put back on my station, and him he hanged.’
14And Pharaoh sendeth and calleth Joseph, and they cause him to run out of the pit, and he shaveth, and changeth his garments, and cometh in unto Pharaoh.
15And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, ‘A dream I have dreamed, and there is no interpreter of it, and I — I have heard concerning thee, saying, Thou understandest a dream to interpret it,’
16and Joseph answereth Pharaoh, saying, ‘Without me — God doth answer Pharaoh with peace.’
17And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph: ‘In my dream, lo, I am standing by the edge of the River,
18and lo, out of the River coming up are seven kine, fat [in] flesh, and of fair form, and they feed among the reeds;
19and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them, thin, and of very bad form, and lean [in] flesh; I have not seen like these in all the land of Egypt for badness.
20‘And the lean and the bad kine eat up the first seven fat kine,
21and they come in unto their midst, and it hath not been known that they have come in unto their midst, and their appearance [is] bad as at the commencement; and I awake.
22‘And I see in my dream, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, full and good;
23and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;
24and the thin ears swallow the seven good ears; and I tell unto the scribes, and there is none declaring to me.’
25And Joseph saith unto Pharaoh, ‘The dream of Pharaoh is one: that which God is doing he hath declared to Pharaoh;
26the seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years, the dream is one;
27and the seven thin and bad kine which are coming up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears, blasted with an east wind, are seven years of famine;
28this [is] the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: That which God is doing, he hath shewn Pharaoh.
29‘Lo, seven years are coming of great abundance in all the land of Egypt,
30and seven years of famine have arisen after them, and all the plenty is forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine hath finished the land,
31and the plenty is not known in the land because of that famine afterwards, for it [is] very grievous.
32‘And because of the repeating of the dream unto Pharaoh twice, surely the thing is established by God, and God is hastening to do it.
33‘And now, let Pharaoh provide a man, intelligent and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt;
34let Pharaoh make and appoint overseers over the land, and receive a fifth of the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty,
35and they gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and heap up corn under the hand of Pharaoh — food in the cities; and they have kept [it],
36and the food hath been for a store for the land, for the seven years of famine which are in the land of Egypt; and the land is cut off by the famine.’
37And the thing is good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants,
38and Pharaoh saith unto his servants, ‘Do we find like this, a man in whom the spirit of God [is]?’
39and Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, ‘After God's causing thee to know all this, there is none intelligent and wise as thou;
40thou — thou art over my house, and at thy mouth do all my people kiss; only in the throne I am greater than thou.’
41And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, ‘See, I have put thee over all the land of Egypt.’
42And Pharaoh turneth aside his seal-ring from off his hand, and putteth it on the hand of Joseph, and clotheth him [with] garments of fine linen, and placeth a chain of gold on his neck,
43and causeth him to ride in the second chariot which he hath, and they proclaim before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ and — to put him over all the land of Egypt.
44And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, ‘I [am] Pharaoh, and without thee a man doth not lift up his hand and his foot in all the land of Egypt;’
45and Pharaoh calleth Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah, and he giveth to him Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, for a wife, and Joseph goeth out over the land of Egypt.
46And Joseph [is] a son of thirty years in his standing before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Joseph goeth out from the presence of Pharaoh, and passeth over through all the land of Egypt;
47and the land maketh in the seven years of plenty by handfuls.
48And he gathereth all the food of the seven years which have been in the land of Egypt, and putteth food in the cities; the food of the field which [is] round about [each] city hath he put in its midst;
49and Joseph gathereth corn as sand of the sea, multiplying exceedingly, until that he hath ceased to number, for there is no number.
50And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine cometh, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, hath borne to him,
51and Joseph calleth the name of the first-born Manasseh: ‘for, God hath made me to forget all my labour, and all the house of my father;’
52and the name of the second he hath called Ephraim: ‘for, God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of mine affliction.’
53And the seven years of plenty are completed which have been in the land of Egypt,
54and the seven years of famine begin to come, as Joseph said, and famine is in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt hath been bread;
55and all the land of Egypt is famished, and the people crieth unto Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh saith to all the Egyptians, ‘Go unto Joseph; that which he saith to you — do.’
56And the famine has been over all the face of the land, and Joseph openeth all [places] which have [corn] in them, and selleth to the Egyptians; and the famine is severe in the land of Egypt,
57and all the earth hath come to Egypt, to buy, unto Joseph, for the famine was severe in all the earth.

Genesis 41

41
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams
1At the end of two years Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,#Gn 41:17–23 2when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds. 3After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside those cows along the bank of the Nile. 4The sickly, thin cows ate the healthy, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and good, came up on one stalk. 6After them, seven heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up. 7The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, full ones. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it was only a dream.
8When morning came, he was troubled,#Dn 2:1,3 so he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men.#Ex 7:11,22; Dn 1:20; 2:2 Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I remember my faults. 10Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guards. 11He and I had dreams on the same night; each dream had its own meaning. 12Now a young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, he interpreted our dreams for us, and each had its own interpretation. 13It turned out just the way he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”#Gn 40:1–22
14Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon.#41:14 Or pit, or cistern#Ps 105:20 He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh.#Dn 2:25
15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.”#Dn 5:16
16“I am not able to,”#Dn 2:30 Joseph answered Pharaoh. “It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”#41:16 Or “God will answer Pharaoh with peace of mind.”#Gn 40:8; Dn 2:22,28,47
17So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18when seven well-fed, healthy-looking cows came up from the Nile and grazed among the reeds. 19After them, seven other cows — weak, very sickly, and thin — came up. I’ve never seen such sickly ones as these in all the land of Egypt. 20Then the thin, sickly cows ate the first seven well-fed cows. 21When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up. 22In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stalk. 23After them, seven heads of grain — withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind — sprouted up. 24The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good ones. I told this to the magicians, but no one can tell me what it means.”#Is 8:19; Dn 4:7
25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.#Dn 2:28–29,45; Rv 4:1 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing. 27The seven thin, sickly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind are seven years of famine.#2Kg 8:1
28“It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. 30After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land.#Gn 41:54,56; 47:13; Ps 105:16 31The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe. 32Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and he will carry it out soon.
33“So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh do this: Let him appoint overseers over the land and take a fifth of the harvest of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh’s authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food. 36The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine.”
Joseph Exalted
37The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants, 38and he said to them, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit#41:38 Or the spirit of the gods, or a god’s spirit in him?” #Jb 32:8; Dn 4:8,9,18; 5:11,14 39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are. 40You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands.#41:40 Lit will kiss your mouth#Ps 105:21; Ac 7:10 Only I, as king,#41:40 Lit Only the throne I will be greater than you.” 41Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I am placing you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, clothed him with fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck.#Est 3:10; 8:2; Dn 5:7,16,29 43He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, and servants called out before him, “Make way!” #41:43 Or “Kneel!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh and no one will be able to raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt without your permission.” 45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah and gave him a wife, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On.#41:45 Or Heliopolis, also in v. 50 And Joseph went throughout#41:45 Or Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.
Joseph’s Administration
46Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.
47During the seven years of abundance the land produced outstanding harvests. 48Joseph gathered all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and put it in the cities. He put the food in every city from the fields around it. 49So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance — like the sand of the sea — that he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure.
50Two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine arrived.#Gn 46:20; 48:5 Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On, bore them to him. 51Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh#41:51 In Hb, the name Manasseh sounds like the verb “forget.” and said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and my whole family.” 52And the second son he named Ephraim#41:52 In Hb, the name Ephraim sounds like the word for “fruitful.” and said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every land, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55When the whole land of Egypt was stricken with famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh told all Egypt, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” 56Now the famine had spread across the whole region, so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57Every land came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine was severe in every land.#Gn 12:10