(E (JP).) Joseph and Pharaoh's Dreams This is a continuation of ch. 40, and is mainly derived from E. In this section Joseph as the servant of God is not only rescued from the position of a slave, but exalted to be the first minister in Egypt. Pharaoh's dreams offer the occasion for Joseph's libera... [ Continue Reading ]
Pharaoh's Dreams 1. _two full years_ i.e. from the execution of the chief baker. _river_ Heb. _Yeor_, i.e. the Nile, as always in the O.T., except Job 28:10; Isaiah 33:21; Daniel 12:5-6. The Heb. word reproduces the Egyptian. According to Egyptologists it stands for the Egyptian _aur_, "stream," o... [ Continue Reading ]
_out of the river_ The Nile is the source of the fertility and wealth of Egypt. The cows issuing from the Nile would be a symbol of fertility. The Egyptian goddess Hathor is represented with the head of a cow. _seven kine_ The number "seven" is commonly employed for the purposes of symbolism. The g... [ Continue Reading ]
_did eat up_ The fantastic side of the dream. Cf. Genesis 40:11; Genesis 40:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a second time_ Here, as in Genesis 37:9 and Genesis 40:16, the duplication of the dream seems to place its significance beyond dispute. The resemblance of the dreams is found in (1) the number "seven"; (2) in the good products being consumed by the bad. The first dream was concerned with the sacred... [ Continue Reading ]
_blasted with the east wind_ The east wind in the O.T. is always a synonym for dryness, parching heat, and violence. Cf. Ezekiel 17:10; Ezekiel 19:12; Hosea 13:15; Jonah 4:8. In Egypt the S.E. wind is the dreaded _khamsin_, which brings the sandstorms in the spring, Ar. _sirocco_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Joseph as Interpreter 8. _his spirit was troubled_ Compare the effect of the dreams in Genesis 40:6; Daniel 2:1-3. _all the magicians_ or, as R.V. marg., _sacred scribes_. The Heb. _ḥartummim_used in this chapter and Exodus 7-9 probably designates the priestly class, which was credited with the kno... [ Continue Reading ]
_I do remember_ R.V. marg., _will make mention of_, gives the right meaning of the Heb. LXX ἀναμιμνήσκω, Lat. _confiteor_. _my faults_ Lit. "my sins" (cf. Genesis 40:1). He is not referring to his forgetfulness (Genesis 40:23), but to his offences against Pharaoh.... [ Continue Reading ]
_servant to the captain of the guard_ It will be remembered that, in the E story, Joseph is the slave of the captain, and not a fellow-prisoner of the chief butler.... [ Continue Reading ]
_me he restored … and him he hanged_ R.V. marg. _I was restored … and he was hanged_. Probably, the construction in the original is impersonal, i.e. "me they restored, and him they hanged." In addressing Pharaoh, and in alluding to Pharaoh's actions, this impersonal use of the 3rd pers. sing. is dou... [ Continue Reading ]
_and they … dungeon_ A clause probably introduced, like that in Genesis 40:15, in order to harmonize the E with the J version. In E, Joseph is a slave, not a prisoner: in J he is a prisoner, cf. Genesis 39:21-23. _shaved himself_ The Egyptians paid extreme care to matters of cleanliness. They were... [ Continue Reading ]
_It is not in me_ Rather, "nay, far from it," as in Genesis 14:24. Joseph, as in Genesis 40:8, disclaims any power in himself. God's servant may be His _propheta_, or spokesman; but he is not as God, nor is he a magician. _an answer of peace_ Joseph replies, with suitable courtesy, literally, "God... [ Continue Reading ]
_withered_ The Hebrew word occurs here only in O.T., and is omitted by LXX and Lat.... [ Continue Reading ]
_is about to do_ Lit. "is doing." Lat. _facturus est_. Joseph's interpretation of the two dreams is the same.... [ Continue Reading ]
_doubled … twice_ This is a literal rendering. The repetition of the dream shewed emphatically that the thing was "established," i.e. made fixed and sure, by the decree of God. Cf. Psalms 93:2, "Thy throne is established"; Hosea 6:3, "sure as the morning." _will shortly bring it to pass_ Lit. "hast... [ Continue Reading ]
Joseph's Counsel 33. _let Pharaoh_, &c. Joseph leaves the office of interpreter, and takes upon himself to give political counsel to the king of Egypt.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let Pharaoh do this_ Joseph's advice is (1) to appoint a "grain administrator," _praefectus rei frumentariae_; (2) to appoint local officers, "over-seers," LXX τοπάρχαι, for the various districts of Egypt; (3) to exact for the crown 20 per cent., "the fifth part," of the grain of the country. Some... [ Continue Reading ]
_let them gather all the food_ This is rhetorical, and need not be pressed as contradicting the exaction of the one-fifth in Genesis 41:34. But see Genesis 41:48. _lay up corn_ i.e. store up the grain in the keeping of the king's officers. The establishment of state granaries appears here for the f... [ Continue Reading ]
_for a store_ i.e. a reserve. The Hebrew narrative is proud to attribute to Joseph the origination of the granaries, which formed part of the elaborate organization of the Egyptian kingdom, and must have profoundly impressed the simpler Israelite people.... [ Continue Reading ]
Joseph as Grand Vizier 38. _such a one as this_ Pharaoh and his servants are represented as discerning in Joseph the supreme gifts of one who combined the supernatural power of interpreting dreams with the practical wisdom and sagacity of a statesman. _in whom the spirit of God is_ The same phrase... [ Continue Reading ]
_Forasmuch as_ Lit. "after that.... [ Continue Reading ]
_over my house_ Pharaoh exalts the Hebrew slave at one step to become his Grand Vizier; cf. Psalms 105:21; 1Ma 2:53. Whether there was a vacancy in this office into which Joseph was promoted, or whether he displaced an existing official, the tradition does not record. "My house" seems to mean "my pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_signet ring_ i.e. the official ring with which state documents would be sealed. The king thus symbolically transferred to Joseph absolute authority. Cf. 1Ma 6:15, "gave him his diadem and his robe and his signet ring." See also the use of the king's ring in Esther 3:10; Esther 3:12; Esther 8:2; Est... [ Continue Reading ]
_the second chariot_ It has been objected that horses and chariots first appear in Egyptian inscriptions in the 18th Dynasty (1580 1350 b.c.). But they were introduced into use in Egypt under the rule of the Hyksos (13th to 17th Dynasty). The Egyptian word for "chariot," _mrkbt_, is borrowed from th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Zaphenath-paneah_ An Egyptian name for which the meaning is given by some Egyptologists "God speaks, and He lives," i.e. _De-pnute-ef-ônch_. A proper name of this form does not as yet however appear to have been found in the Egyptian inscriptions before the 20th Dynasty, i.e. the 13th century b.c.... [ Continue Reading ]
_thirty years old_ This verse probably contains the brief record of P; according to which Joseph had spent thirteen years in Egypt before his elevation, and was aged seventeen when he was brought into Egypt, Genesis 37:2. There elapsed seven years of plenty and two of the years of famine, before his... [ Continue Reading ]
(J, E). The seven Good Years 48. _of the seven years_ Probably we should add here, with LXX and Sam., "of plenty," which seems to have dropped out of the Hebrew text. _laid up the food_ On the state granaries of Egypt and the duties of the official who supervised them, the student is referred to E... [ Continue Reading ]
_as the sand, of the sea_ For this comparison cf. Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
(E). Joseph's Sons 51. _Manasseh_ That is, _Making to forget_. There is to be no thought of return to his father's house. The name makes us ask the question why Joseph, when supreme in Egypt, sent no message to his father, who was living in a region distant only a few days" journey. That there were... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ephraim_ For the Hebrew word _to be fruitful_, cf. Genesis 28:3; Genesis 35:11; Genesis 48:4. There is a play on the resemblance in the sound of the name to the Hebrew root (_prh_) meaning "fruitfulness." The same play on the two words is found in Hosea 13:15, "fruitful among his brethren," referri... [ Continue Reading ]
The Years of Famine 54. _all lands_ Cf. Genesis 41:57. The famine is represented as afflicting not only Egypt, but all the neighbouring lands which constituted the known world of the Israelites. Cf. Genesis 43:1. For a similar hyperbole, cf. "all the world" (Luke 2:1; John 21:25); "a great famine o... [ Continue Reading ]
_all the storehouses_ The Hebrew text is in error: lit. "all that was in them." The versions have supplied the right meaning. LXX πάντας τοὺς σιτοβολῶνας, Lat. _universa horrea_, i.e. "all the granaries.... [ Continue Reading ]
_all countries_ Cf. Genesis 41:52, as we should say, "the whole world." This verse prepares us for the crisis in the Joseph narrative recorded in the following chapter.... [ Continue Reading ]