Genesis 41:1-57
1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, ranka and good.
6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
8 And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker:
11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
12 And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
18 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
20 And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
23 And, behold, seven ears, withered,b thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
27 And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
28 This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.c
32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is establishedd by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officerse over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perishf not through the famine.
37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled:g only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah;h and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.
49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priesti of On bare unto him.
51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh:j For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim:k For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
53 And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.
54 And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
56 And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and soldl unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.
57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
Genesis 41:1. Pharaoh dreamed. See on Isaiah 4:2. Whatever be the pleas of atheism and materialism against dreams of a prophetic character, it is evident enough from the gentile mythology, and from profane history, that they were fully accredited by the best and wisest of men. Cicero dreamed that while wandering in a solitary place, and much depressed in spirit, C. Marius came to him, and asked, why are you so dejected? To whom he replied, “It is because I have been unjustly driven out of my native country.” De Devinat. lib. 1. Now, this dream came out when Clodius, in the forty ninth year of his age, banished him from Rome. In Josephus, and in Plutarch, we have many dreams of a very striking nature. It is no way credible that a poor Hebrew servant could have been elevated, as Joseph was, without a special interposition of providence.
Genesis 41:2. The river favoured kine. The Nile, as Pliny correctly states, rises often twelve cubits and sometimes thirteen, or 24 feet, which usually indicates great plenty. The kine then fed in pastures adjacent, and at a distance not only in the Delta, but on the west of the river, which is now a desert of sands, blown in clouds by the western winds.
Genesis 41:8. His spirit was troubled. Two dreams so much alike, and so deeply impressed on his mind, very sensibly affected him. Magicians, that is, wise men, astrologers, philosophers, naturalists, and diviners. The priests of the nation were generally included under these names.
Genesis 41:16. It is not in me. Joseph here ascribes to God the whole glory of his wisdom and skill; he saw God's hand in this dream, and was confident of the answer.
Genesis 41:25. The dream of Pharaoh is one. It was repeated in the corn, and in the kine, or heifers, to show that the famine would affect both man and beast.
Genesis 41:34. The fifth part. The tenth part is supposed to have been due to Pharaoh; now the earth bringing forth double, this proportion, Joseph saw, would be sufficient for times of scarcity.
Genesis 41:35. Lay up corn. Granaries are among the wisest precautions of society, where a country, like Africa, is so variable in its seasons. Had this been a general practice, myriads of Ham's race might have been saved from perishing of hunger.
Genesis 41:38. The Spirit of God. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is gradually unfolded from the beginning. Genesis 1:2; Genesis 6:3. The Holy Spirit inspires, teaches and guides; for futurity is to him without a veil.
Genesis 41:42. Pharaoh took off his ring. How much preferable were these honours to all the seductions of uncleanness he had so lately escaped; and oh how happy shall that soul be, how highly honoured of the King of glory, when by the grace of God, he shall have overcome the beguiling snares of vice.
Genesis 41:43. Bow the knee. אברךְ Abrac, which in hiphil is to bow the knee. Critics lose their way in the etymon of this word, by confounding it with ab, a father. Many towns in a low situation have the same root in their name; as Abraconium, a town situate on a river in Turcomania, Abraconis in the same province, Abrante on the right shore of the Tagus, and Abrambou on the river Volta, lat. 7, on the gold coast. The French abas, and the verb, to abate, seem to resolve themselves into the same primitive.
Genesis 41:44. Pharaoh, the name of all the Egyptian kings for 1400 years. The name of Ptolemy was the next in succession.
Genesis 41:45. Zaphnath-paaneah. Most critics interpret this name, a revealer of secrets, others an interpreter of dreams, and a few, a saviour of the land. It is much to be regretted that they have varied so much in giving the import of Hebrew names; but this being an Egyptian name, it has not been well understood. One well acquainted with Egyptian literature reads it, “the first of lords.” Priest of On; that is, Heliopolis, or the city of the sun, two or three leagues north east of Cairo. The celebrated obelisk was there, which reflected the solar rays. Joseph being ennobled by Pharaoh, became by this marriage ennobled in his connections. Perhaps this priest was pious, if we may so speak, where partial idolatry existed, as was the case with the adjacent priests of Midian. And if marriage so much augmented the happiness of the holy patriarchs and prophets, why should Rome deny it to her priests? Three of the apostles, as Eusebius states, were married. It is true, that those who first planted christianity were for the most part single, because of their mission, and because of their incessant persecutions. But why should a voluntary sacrifice for the glory of the work be unnaturally imposed on the best of men in the time of peace? What political good has accrued to Spain, or any other nation, by the celibacy of the priests? See on Exodus 1:11.
REFLECTIONS.
What a reverse of fortune did this afflicted man experience, and in a single day. What an elevation from the dungeon to the right hand of Pharaoh: not to destroy nations, but to preserve life. How astonishingly did the long dark and lowering clouds brighten all at once. With what admiration could he now review a well connected chain of vast events! He would see first of all, God's design to afflict a voluptuous age with famine, and to instruct them anew in the belief of his particular providence: for man, carnal and brutish man, is apt to regard the succession of fruitful seasons merely as a well constructed machine which moves without a mover. He stops at nature, rests in second causes, nor looks so high as nature's God. With this view the Lord caused abundance to overflow the land, as the waters of the Nile, and that for seven successive years. He then gave repose to nature, and famine ensued. The nations almost perished, who did not discern his way, and provide for future wants.
Joseph could now trace also the mysterious steps which had led him to his elevated station. He could now see the whole chain extended, and strange to say, the foulest of crimes as well as the greatest of virtues alike contributing to fulfil the designs of providence, and to prepare for the Messiah's coming and kingdom. He saw God's hand in permitting him to remain seventeen years with his father, till he had become acquainted with the maxims and religion of the patriarchs. He saw next the honour of his dreams provoking the envy and hatred of his brethren, and providence availing itself of their hatred, of his mistress's temptations, of his master's anger, of the butler's ingratitude, and lastly of Pharaoh's dreams to accomplish its wise designs. What a chain: and God is seen in every link! How grateful would he now be for each of his calamities. The wheel which had hurled him into the dirt of the dungeon, next elevated him to the verge of the throne, after he had been qualified by reflection and solitude for the greatness of such a change. Let us learn not to be discouraged when we suffer in a righteous cause. God's eye is over us, his way is perfect, and whenever we are permitted to review his designs, our souls shall cordially approve of all the bitter he has poured into our cup. In a word, suffering virtue and innocence oppressed can have no finer model nor stronger example of support, than is here presented in the patriarch Joseph. We may farther observe, that if wisdom and virtue exalt an individual, it is singularly happy for a nation when the throne is surrounded by men of integrity and sound wisdom. The wicked are kept in awe by their controul: and the country rises to distinction among the nations, by the superiority of its wisdom and the vigour of its operation.
The subject strongly recommends all young men to study the character of Joseph, with a view to learn the importance of early piety. By this he became a prophet before he was seventeen years of age. By piety he acquired the first place in his father's affections, escaped the most dangerous snares of vice, and supported his great afflictions. By piety he was raised to the right hand of Pharaoh, and we may add, to the right hand of God; for he died in the faith, giving commandment concerning his bones. He lived to see both his dreams accomplished, and to tell every future age, that they who trust in the Lord shall never be confounded.