Genesis 41–50

Pharaoh’s Dreams

41Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that ^aPharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. ²Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. ³Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. ⁴And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. ⁵He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. ⁶Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the ^beast wind, sprang up after them. ⁷And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. ⁸Now it came to pass in the morning ^cthat his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all ^dthe magicians of Egypt and all its ^ewise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹Then the ^fchief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. ¹⁰When Pharaoh was ^gangry with his servants, ^hand put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, ¹¹ⁱwe each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. ¹²Now there was a young ^jHebrew man with us there, a ^kservant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he ^linterpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. ¹³And it came to pass, just ^mas he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

¹⁴ⁿThen Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they ^obrought him quickly ^pout of the dungeon; and he shaved, ^qchanged his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. ^rBut I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

¹⁶So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ^s“It is not in me; ^tGod will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, ^uin my dream I stood on the bank of the river. ¹⁸Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. ¹⁹Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. ²¹When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. ²²Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven ¹heads came up on one stalk, full and good. ²³Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. ²⁴And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So ^vI told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; ^wGod has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: ²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ²heads are seven years; the dreams are one. ²⁷And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are ^xseven years of famine. ^28yThis is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹Indeed ^zseven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; ³⁰but after them seven years of famine will ^aarise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine ^bwill deplete the land. ³¹So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. ³²And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the ^cthing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint ³officers over the land, ^dto collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. ³⁵And ^elet them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the ⁴authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. ³⁶Then that food shall be as a ⁵reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land ^fmay not ⁶perish during the famine.”

Joseph’s Rise to Power

³⁷So ^gthe advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man ^hin whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ⁱYou shall be ⁷over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have ^jset you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴²Then Pharaoh ^ktook his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he ^lclothed him in garments of fine linen ^mand put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³And he had him ride in the second ⁿchariot which he had; ^oand they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him ^pover all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name ⁸Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife ^qAsenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he ^rstood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth ⁹abundantly. ⁴⁸So 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; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. ⁴⁹Joseph gathered very much grain, ^sas the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

^50tAnd to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹Joseph called the name of the firstborn ¹Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my ^ufather’s house.” ⁵²And the name of the second he called ²Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be ^vfruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, ^54wand the seven years of famine began to come, ^xas Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ^ywhatever he says to you, do.” ⁵⁶The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened ³all the storehouses and ^zsold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ^57aSo all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to ^bbuy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42When ^aJacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ²And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may ^blive and not die.”

³So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, ^c“Lest some calamity befall him.” ⁵And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was ^din the land of Canaan.

⁶Now Joseph was governor ^eover the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ^fbowed down before him with their faces to the earth. ⁷Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as ^ga stranger to them and spoke ¹roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?”

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹Then Joseph ^hremembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the ²nakedness of the land!”

¹⁰And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

¹²But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

¹³And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one ⁱis no more.”

¹⁴But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ ¹⁵In this manner you shall be tested: ^jBy the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be ³kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” ¹⁷So he ⁴put them all together in prison ^kthree days.

¹⁸Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, ^lfor I fear God: ¹⁹If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. ²⁰And ^mbring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

And they did so. ²¹Then they said to one another, ⁿ“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; ^otherefore this distress has come upon us.”

²²And Reuben answered them, saying, ^p“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the…