Genesis 41:14-44

Joseph Interprets

14 Then Pharaoh sent and 1called for Joseph, and they 2hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, 3but no one can interpret it; and 4I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, "5It is not in me; 6God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
17 So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile;
18 and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.
19 "Lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt *, such as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt;
20 and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.
21 "Yet when they had devoured * them, it could not be detected that they had devoured * them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.
22 "I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk;
23 and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them;
24 and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then 7I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."
25 Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's dreams are one and the same; 8God has told to Pharaoh what * He is about to do.
26 "The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.
27 "The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind 9will be seven years of famine.
28 "It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: 10God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29 "Behold, 11seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;
30 and after them 12seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land.
31 "So the abundance will be unknown * in the land because * of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.
32 "Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that 13the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.
33 "Now let Pharaoh look for a man 14discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 "Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.
35 "Then let them 15gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh's authority, and let them guard it.
36 "Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine."
37 Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.

Joseph Is Made a Ruler of Egypt

38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, 16in whom is a divine spirit?"
39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so 17discerning and wise as you are.
40 "18You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you."
41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you 19over all the land of Egypt."
42 Then Pharaoh 20took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and 21put the gold necklace around his neck.
43 He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt.
44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Though I am Pharaoh, yet 22without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt."

Genesis 41:14-44 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 41

In this chapter are related Pharaoh's dreams, which his magicians could not interpret, Ge 41:1-9, upon which the chief butler now remembering Joseph, recommended him to Pharaoh as an interpreter, having had an happy experience of him as such himself, Ge 41:10-13, when Joseph was sent for out of prison; and Pharaoh having related his dreams, he interpreted them of seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine, that should be in the land of Egypt, Ge 41:14-32; and having done, he gave his advice to provide in the years of plenty against the years of famine, and proposed a scheme for doing it, which was approved of by Pharaoh and his ministers, Ge 41:33-37; and Joseph himself was pitched upon as the most proper person to execute it, and was appointed chief over the kingdom next to Pharaoh, who gave him a new name and a wife upon this occasion, Ge 41:38-45; accordingly, in the years of plenty he took a tour throughout the whole land, and gathered and laid up food in vast quantities in every city, Ge 41:46-49; an account is given of two sons born to Joseph, and of their names, Ge 41:50-52; and of the seven years of famine, beginning to come on at the end of the seven years of plenty, which brought great distress on the land of Egypt, and the countries round about, who all came to Joseph to buy corn, Ge 41:53-57.

Cross References 22

  • 1. Psalms 105:20
  • 2. Daniel 2:25
  • 3. Genesis 41:8
  • 4. Daniel 5:16
  • 5. Daniel 2:30; Zechariah 4:6; Acts 3:12; 2 Corinthians 3:5
  • 6. Genesis 40:8; Genesis 41:25, 28, 32; Deuteronomy 29:29; Daniel 2:22, 28, 47
  • 7. Isaiah 8:19; Daniel 4:7
  • 8. Genesis 41:28, 32; Dan 2:28, 29, 45
  • 9. 2 Kings 8:1
  • 10. Genesis 41:25, 32
  • 11. Genesis 41:47
  • 12. Genesis 41:54, 56; Genesis 47:13; Psalms 105:16
  • 13. Genesis 41:25, 28
  • 14. Genesis 41:39
  • 15. Genesis 41:48
  • 16. Job 32:8; Dan 4:8, 9, 18; Daniel 5:11, 14
  • 17. Genesis 41:33
  • 18. Psalms 105:21; Acts 7:10
  • 19. Genesis 42:6; Psalms 105:21; Daniel 6:3; Acts 7:10
  • 20. Esther 3:10; Esther 8:2
  • 21. Dan 5:7, 16, 29
  • 22. Psalms 105:22

Footnotes 28

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.