Genesis 41

1 After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river,

2 Out of which came up seven kine, very beautiful and fat: and they fed in marshy places.

3 Other seven also came up out of the river, ill favoured, and lean fleshed: and they fed on the very bank of the river, in green places:

4 And they devoured them, whose bodies were very beautiful and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke.

5 He slept again, and dreamed another dream: Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk full and fair:

6 Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted,

7 And devoured all the beauty of the former. Pharao awaked after his rest:

8 And when morning was come, being struck with fear, he sent to all the interpreters of Egypt, and to all the wise men: and they being called for, he told them his dream, and there was not any one that could interpret it.

9 Then at length the chief butler remembering, said: I confess my sin:

10 The king being angry with his servants, commanded me and the chief baker to be cast into the prison of the captain of the soldiers.

11 Where in one night both of us dreamed a dream foreboding things to come.

12 There was there a young man a Hebrew, servant to the same captain of the soldiers: to whom we told our dreams,

13 And we heard what afterwards the event of the thing proved to be so. For I was restored to my office: and he was hanged upon a gibbet.

14 Forthwith at the king’s command Joseph was brought out of the prison, and they shaved him: and changing his apparel brought him in to him.

15 And he said to him: I have dreamed dreams, and there is no one that can expound them: Now I have heard that thou art very wise at interpreting them:

16 Joseph answered: Without me, God shall give Pharao a prosperous answer.

17 So Pharao told what he had dreamed: Me thought I stood upon the bank of the river,

18 And seven kine came up out of the river, exceeding beautiful and full of flesh: and they grazed on green places in a marshy pasture.

19 And behold, there followed these, other seven kine, so very ill favoured and lean, that I never saw the like in the land of Egypt:

20 And they devoured and consumed the former,

21 And yet gave no mark of their being full: but were as lean and ill favoured as before. I awoke, and then fell asleep again,

22 And dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn grew up upon one stalk, full and very fair.

23 Other seven also thin and blasted, sprung of the stalk:

24 And they devoured the beauty of the former: I told this dream to the conjecturers, and there is no man that can expound it.

25 Joseph answered: The king’s dream is one: God hath shewn to Pharao what he is about to do.

26 The seven beautiful kine, and the seven full ears, are seven years of plenty: and both contain the same meaning of the dream.

27 And the seven lean and thin kine that came up after them, and the seven thin ears that were blasted with the burning wind, are seven years of famine to come:

28 Which shall be fulfilled in this order.

29 Behold, there shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt:

30 After which shall follow other seven years of so great scarcity, that all the abundance before shall be forgotten: for the famine shall consume all the land,

31 And the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the greatness of the plenty.

32 And for that thou didst see the second time a dream pertaining to the same thing: it is a token of the certainty, and that the word of God cometh to pass, and is fulfilled speedily.

33 Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt:

34 That he may appoint overseers over all the countries: and gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits, during the seven fruitful years,

35 That shall now presently ensue: and let all the corn be laid up, under Pharao’s hands, and be reserved in the cities.

36 And let it be in readiness, against the famine of seven years to come, which shall oppress Egypt, and the land shall not be consumed with scarcity.

37 The counsel pleased Pharao, and all his servants.

38 And he said to them: Can we find such another man, that is full of the spirit of God?

39 He said therefore to Joseph: Seeing God hath shewn thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee?

40 Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee.

41 And again Pharao said to Joseph: Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt.

42 And he took his ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand: and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold about his neck.

43 And he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt.

44 And the king said to Joseph: I am Pharao: without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

45 And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue the saviour of the world. And he gave him to wife Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis. Then Joseph went out to the land of Egypt.

46 (Now he was thirty years old when he stood before king Pharao), and he went round all the countries of Egypt.

47 And the fruitfulness of the seven years came: and the corn being bound up into sheaves, was gathered together into the barns of Egypt.

48 And all the abundance of grain was laid up in every city.

49 And there was so great abundance of wheat, that it was equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded measure.

50 And before the famine came, Joseph had two sons born: whom Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis, bore unto him.

51 And he called the name of the firstborn Manasses, saying: God hath made me to forget all my labours, and my father’s house.

52 And he named the second Ephraim, saying: God hath made me to grow in the land of my poverty.

53 Now when the seven years of plenty that had been in Egypt were passed:

54 The seven years of scarcity, which Joseph had foretold, began to come: and the famine prevailed in the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.

55 And when there also they began to be famished, the people cried to Pharao, for food. And he said to them: Go to Joseph: and do all that he shall say to you.

56 And the famine increased daily in all the land: and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold to the Egyptians: for the famine had oppressed them also.

57 And all provinces came into Egypt, to buy food, and to seek some relief of their want.

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.