Genesis 41

1 After two years Pharaoh saw a dream; he guessed that he stood on a river, (Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream; he saw that he stood by a river,)
2 from which seven fair kine and full fat went up (from which seven cows, sleek and very fat, came out), and [they] were fed in the places of (the) marshes;
3 and (an)other seven, foul and lean, came out of the river, and were fed in that brink of the water, in green places; (and then seven others, foul and lean, came out of the river, and were fed on the bank of the river, in the green places;)
4 and those (foul and lean) kine devoured those kine of which the fairness and comeliness of (their) bodies were wonderful. (And) Pharaoh waked,
5 and slept again, and he saw another dream; seven ears of corn, full and fair, came forth in one stalk, (and then he slept again, and he had another dream; seven ears of corn, full and ripe, came forth on one stalk,)
6 and (then) others, as many ears of corn, (but) thin and smitten with (the) corruption of (the) burning wind, came forth,
7 devouring all the fairness of the first. (And) Pharaoh waked after this rest,
8 and when the morrowtide was made, he was afeared by inward dread, and he sent to all the expounders of Egypt, and to all the wise men; and when they were called, he told the dream, and none was that expounded it. (and when the morning came, he was greatly afraid, and he sent for all the dream readers of Egypt, and for all the wise men; and when they came to him, he told his dreams to them, but no one could interpret them.)
9 Then at the last, the master butler bethought (to) him(self), and said (to Pharaoh), I acknowledge my sin (at last);
10 the king was wroth to his servants, and commanded me and the master baker to be cast down into the prison of the prince of knights, (for the king was angry with his servants, and commanded me and the master baker to be throw into the prison of the captain of the guard,)
11 where we both saw a dream in one night, before-showing of things to come. (and one night we both had a dream, a fore-telling of things to come.)
12 An Hebrew child, servant of the same duke of knights, was there, to whom we told the dreams, and heard whatever thing the befalling of [the] thing proved afterward(s); (And a young Hebrew man, a slave of the same captain of the guard, was there, to whom we told our dreams, and then we heard from him what the befalling of the dreams later proved to be;)
13 for I am restored to mine office, and he was hanged in a cross. (for I was restored to my office, and he was hanged on a tree.)
14 Anon at the behest of the king, they polled Joseph (At once at the king's command, they shaved Joseph), (and) led (him) out of the prison, and when his clothing was changed, they brought him to the king.
15 To whom the king said, I saw dreams, and none [there] is that expoundeth those things that I saw; I have heard that thou expoundest such things most prudently. (To whom the king said, I had two dreams, and there is no one who can interpret what I saw; but I have heard that thou interpretest such things most prudently.)
16 Joseph answered, Without me, God shall answer prosperities to Pharaoh. (And Joseph answered, Not I, but God himself shall answer good things to Pharaoh.)
17 Therefore Pharaoh told that that he saw; I guessed that I stood on the brink of the flood, (And so Pharaoh told him what he had dreamed, saying, I stood on the bank of the river,)
18 and seven kine, full fair, with flesh able to eating, went up from the water, which kine gathered green sedges in the pasture of the marshes; (and seven cows, sleek and with flesh good for eating, came out of the water, and they gathered green sedges in the pasture of the marshes;)
19 and lo! seven other kine, so foul and lean, followed these, that I saw never such in the land of Egypt; (and lo! seven other cows followed them, so foul and lean, that I never before had seen such as these in all the land of Egypt;)
20 and when the former kine were devoured and wasted of the lean kine, (and when the first cows, the fat ones, were devoured and destroyed by the lean cows,)
21 the lean kine gave no step, or token, of fullness, but were slow, or feeble, by like leanness and paleness. I waked, (the lean cows gave no sign of fullness, but were as feeble, and with the same leanness and paleness, as before. I awakened,)
22 and again I was oppressed by sleep, and I saw a dream (and then again I was oppressed by sleep, and again I dreamed); seven ears of corn, full and most fair, came forth on one stalk,
23 and other seven (and seven others), thin and smitten with [a] burning wind, came forth (out) of the stubble,
24 which devoured the fairness of the former; I told this dream to [the] expounders, and no man there is that expoundeth it (I told these dreams to the interpreters, but there was no one who could interpret them for me).
25 Joseph answered, The dream of the king is one (The dreams of the king be one dream); God hath showed to Pharaoh what things he shall do.
26 Seven fair kine, and seven full ears of corn, be seven years of plenty, and the same things comprehend the strength of the dream; (The seven fat and sleek cows, and the seven full ears of corn, be seven years of plenty, and they tell the same thing, and so the dreams be one dream;)
27 and [the] seven kine, thin and lean, that went up after the fair kine, and the seven thin ears of corn, and smitten with [a] burning wind, be seven years of hunger to coming, (and the seven foul and lean cows, that came out after the good cows, and the seven thin ears of corn, that be struck by a burning wind, be seven years of famine to come,)
28 which shall be fulfilled by this order. (which shall be fulfilled in this order.)
29 Lo! seven years of great plenty in all the land of Egypt shall come, (Lo! seven years of great plenty shall come in all the land of Egypt,)
30 and seven other years of so great barrenness shall follow those, that all the abundance before shall be given to forgetting; for hunger shall waste all the land, (and then seven more years of such great famine shall follow them, that all the abundance of before shall be forgotten; for the famine shall destroy all the land,)
31 and the greatness of neediness shall waste the greatness of plenty.
32 Forsooth this that thou sawest the second time (in) a dream pertaining to the same thing (For what thou sawest in a second dream pertaining to the same thing), is (a) showing of firmness, that is, (a) confirming of the first, for the word of God shall be done, and it shall be [ful]filled full swiftly.
33 Now therefore purvey the king a wise man and a ready (one), and make the king him sovereign to the land of Egypt, (And so now, let the king find a wise and able man, and make him the ruler over all the land of Egypt,)
34 which man ordain governors by all countries, and gather he into barns the fifth part of fruits by [the] seven years of plenty, that shall come now; (and that man ordain governors over all the countryside, and gather he into the barns the fifth part of the harvest of the land during the seven years of plenty that shall now come;)
35 and all the wheat be kept under the power of Pharaoh (and let all the corn, or the grain, be kept under Pharaoh's power), and be it kept in [the] cities,
36 and be it made ready to the hunger to coming of the seven years that shall oppress Egypt, and the land be not wasted by poverty. (and have it made ready for the seven years of famine to come that shall oppress Egypt, and so the land shall not be destroyed by neediness.)
37 The counsel of Joseph pleased Pharaoh, and all his servants,
38 and he spake to them, Whether we be able to find such a man which is full of God's spirit? (and Pharaoh said to them, Could we find any other man who is so full of God's spirit as this man is?)
39 Therefore Pharaoh said to Joseph, For God hath showed to thee all things which thou hast spoken, whether I may find a wiser man than thou, and like to thee? (And so Pharaoh said to Joseph, For God hath shown to thee all the things which thou hast spoken, I know that I cannot find a wiser man than thou, or anyone even like thee!)
40 Therefore thou shalt be over mine house(hold), and all the people shall obey to the behest of thy mouth; I shall pass thee only by one throne of the realm (only by my throne of the kingdom shall I be greater than thee).
41 And again Pharaoh said to Joseph, Lo! I have ordained thee on all the land of Egypt. (And so Pharaoh said to Joseph, Lo! I ordain thee on all the land of Egypt.)
42 And Pharaoh took (off) the ring from his hand, and gave it in the hand of Joseph (and put it on Joseph's finger), and he clothed Joseph with a stole of bis, or of white silk, and he put a golden wreath about his neck;
43 and Pharaoh made Joseph to go upon his second chariot (and Pharaoh had Joseph ride upon his second chariot), while a beadle cried, that all men should kneel before him, and should know that he was (the) sovereign of all the land of Egypt.
44 And the king said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, (and) without thy behest no man shall stir hand either foot in all the land of Egypt.
45 And Pharaoh turned the name of Joseph, and called him by the Egyptian language, The Saviour of the World (And Pharaoh changed Joseph's name, and called him in the Egyptian language, Zaphnathpaaneah); and he gave to Joseph a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of Heliopolis, that is, The City of the Sun. And so Joseph went out (in)to the land of Egypt.
46 Forsooth Joseph was of thirty years, when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh, and compassed all the countries of Egypt. (And Joseph was thirty years old, when he stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and then went forth through all the countryside.)
47 And the plenty of [the] seven years came, and [the] ripe corns were bound into handfuls/into sheaves (and the harvest came forth in abundance),
48 and (they) were gathered into the barns of Egypt, also all the abundance of ripe corns was kept in all cities (and all the abundance of the harvest was kept in all the cities),
49 and so great abundance was of wheat (and there was such a great abundance of corn, or of grain), that it was made even to the gravel, (or the sand,) of the sea, and the plenty passed (any) measure.
50 Soothly two sons were born to Joseph before that the hunger came, which Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of Heliopolis, childed to him (bare for him).
51 And Joseph called the name of the first begotten son, Manasseh, and said, God hath made me to forget all my travails, and the house of my father; (And Joseph named his first-born son Manasseh, and said, For God hath made me forget all my travails, or all my troubles, and my father's household, or my family;)
52 and he called the name of the second son Ephraim, and said, God hath made me to increase in the land of my poverty. (and he named his second son Ephraim, and said, For God hath made me to be fruitful in the land of my tribulation.)
53 Therefore when (the) seven years of plenty that were (to come) in Egypt were passed,
54 [the] seven years of poverty began to come, which Joseph before-said, and hunger had the mastery in all the world; also hunger was in all the land of Egypt; (the seven years of famine began, which Joseph had forecast, and the famine had the mastery in all the rest of the world; but there was still bread in all the land of Egypt;)
55 and (finally) when that land hungered, the people cried to Pharaoh, and asked (for) meats (but when the famine finally reached Egypt, the people cried to Pharaoh, and asked for food); to whom he answered, Go ye to Joseph, and do ye whatever thing he saith to you.
56 Forsooth hunger increased each day in all the land, and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold corn to the Egyptians, for also hunger oppressed them; (And the famine increased each day in all the land, and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold corn, or grain, to the Egyptians, for now the famine oppressed them too;)
57 and all [the] provinces came into Egypt to buy corns, and to abate the evil of neediness. (and so the whole world came to Egypt to buy corn, or grain, for the famine was so severe.)

Genesis 41 Commentary

Chapter 41

Pharaoh's dreams. (1-8) Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams. (9-32) Joseph's counsel, He is highly advanced. (33-45) Joseph's children, The beginning of the famine. (46-57)

Verses 1-8 The means of Joseph's being freed from prison were Pharaoh's dreams, as here related. Now that God no longer speaks to us in that way, it is no matter how little we either heed dreams, or tell them. The telling of foolish dreams can make no better than foolish talk. But these dreams showed that they were sent of God; when he awoke, Pharaoh's spirit was troubled.

Verses 9-32 God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time. If the chief butler had got Joseph to be released from prison, it is probable he would have gone back to the land of the Hebrews. Then he had neither been so blessed himself, nor such a blessing to his family, as afterwards he proved. Joseph, when introduced to Pharaoh, gives honour to God. Pharaoh had dreamed that he stood upon the bank of the river Nile, and saw the kine, both the fat ones, and the lean ones, come out of the river. Egypt has no rain, but the plenty of the year depends upon the overflowing of the river Nile. See how many ways Providence has of dispensing its gifts; yet our dependence is still the same upon the First Cause, who makes every creature what it is to us, be it rain or river. See to what changes the comforts of this life are subject. We cannot be sure that to-morrow shall be as this day, or next year as this. We must learn how to want, as well as how to abound. Mark the goodness of God in sending the seven years of plenty before those of famine, that provision might be made. The produce of the earth is sometimes more, and sometimes less; yet, take one with another, he that gathers much, has nothing over; and he that gathers little, has no lack, ( Exodus 16:18 ) . And see the perishing nature of our worldly enjoyments. The great harvests of the years of plenty were quite lost, and swallowed up in the years of famine; and that which seemed very much, yet did but just serve to keep the people alive. There is bread which lasts to eternal life, which it is worth while to labour for. They that make the things of this world their good things, will find little pleasure in remembering that they have received them.

Verses 33-45 Joseph gave good advice to Pharaoh. Fair warning should always be followed by good counsel. God has in his word told us of a day of trial before us, when we shall need all the grace we can have. Now, therefore, provide accordingly. Pharaoh gave Joseph an honourable testimony. He is a man in whom the spirit of God is; and such men ought to be valued. Pharaoh puts upon Joseph marks of honour. He gave him such a name as spoke the value he had for him, Zaphnath-paaneah, "a revealer of secrets." This preferment of Joseph encourages all to trust in God. Some translate Joseph's new name, "the saviour of the world." The brightest glories, even of the upper world, are put upon Christ, the highest trust lodged in his hand, and all power given him, both in heaven and earth.

Verses 46-57 In the names of his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph owned the Divine providence. 1. He was made to forget his misery. 2. He was made fruitful in the land of his affliction. The seven plenteous years came, and were ended. We ought to look forward to the end of the days, both of our prosperity and of our opportunity. We must not be secure in prosperity, nor slothful in making good use of opportunity. Years of plenty will end; what thy hand finds to do, do it; and gather in gathering time. The dearth came, and the famine was not only in Egypt, but in other lands. Joseph was diligent in laying up, while the plenty lasted. He was prudent and careful in giving out, when the famine came. Joseph was engaged in useful and important labours. Yet it was in the midst of this his activity that his father Jacob said, Joseph is not! What a large portion of our troubles would be done away if we knew the whole truth! Let these events lead us to Jesus. There is a famine of the bread of life throughout the whole earth. Go to Jesus, and what he bids you, do. Attend to His voice, apply to him; he will open his treasures, and satisfy with goodness the hungry soul of every age and nation, without money and without price. But those who slight this provision must starve, and his enemies will be destroyed.

Chapter Summary

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.

Genesis 41 Commentaries

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.