Genesis 41:13-23

13 And it came about as he said: I was put back in my place, and the bread-maker was put to death by hanging.

14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they took him quickly out of prison; and when his hair had been cut and his dress changed, he came before Pharaoh.

15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and no one is able to give me the sense of it; now it has come to my ears that you are able to give the sense of a dream when it is put before you.

16 Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.

17 Then Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile:

18 And out of the Nile came seven cows, fat and good-looking, and their food was the river-grass;

19 Then after them came seven other cows, very thin and poor-looking, worse than any I ever saw in the land of Egypt;

20 And the thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows who came up first;

21 And even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep.

22 And again in a dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stem:

23 And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:

Genesis 41:13-23 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.