88 | Genesis 41:21
fat cows that came up first. 21 But even af ter they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as be fore. Then I woke up.
22“ In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, grow ing on a sin gle stalk. 23 Af ter them, seven other heads sprouted— with ered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swal lowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magi cians, but none of them could ex plain it to me. q”
25 Then Jo seph said to Phar aoh,“ The dreams of Phar aoh are one and the same. God has re vealed to Phar aoh what he is about to do. r 26 The seven good cows s are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up af ter ward are seven years, and so are the seven worth less heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of fam ine. t
28“ It is just as I said to Phar aoh: God has shown Phar aoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abun dance u are com ing through out the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of fam ine v will fol low them. Then all the abun dance in Egypt will be for got ten, and the fam ine will rav age the land. w 31 The abun dance in the land will not be re mem bered, because the fam ine that fol lows it will be so se vere. 32 The rea son the dream was given to Phar aoh in two forms is that the mat ter has been firmly de cided x by God, and God will do it soon.
33“ And now let Phar aoh look for a dis cern ing and wise man y and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Phar aoh ap point com mis sion ers over the land to take a fifth z of the har vest of Egypt dur ing the seven years of abun dance. a 35 They should col lect all the food of these good years that are com ing and store up the grain un der the au thor ity of Phar aoh, to be kept in the cit ies for food. b 36 This food should be held in re serve for the coun try, to be used dur ing the seven years of fam ine that will come upon Egypt, c so that the coun try may not be ru ined by the fam ine.”
37 The plan seemed good to Phar aoh and to all his of fi cials. d 38 So Phar aoh asked them,“ Can we find any one like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God a?” e
39 Then Phar aoh said to Jo seph,“ Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so dis cern ing and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my pal ace, and all my peo ple are to sub mit to your or ders. f Only with re spect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
41:24 q ver 8 41:25 r Da 2:45 41:26 s ver 2
41:27 t Ge 12:10; 2Ki 8:1
41:29 u ver 47
41:30 v ver 54; Ge 47:13 w ver 56
41:32 x Nu 23:19; Isa 46:10‐11
41:33 y ver 39
41:34 z 1Sa 8:15 a ver 48
41:35 b ver 48 41:36 c ver 56 41:37 d Ge 45:16
41:38 e Nu 27:18; Job 32:8; Da 4:8-9, 18; 5:11, 14
41:40 f Ps 105:21-22; Ac 7:10
41:41 g Ge 42:6; Da 6:3
41:42 h Est 3:10 i Da 5:7, 16, 29
41:43 j Est 6:9 41:44 k Ps 105:22
41:45 l ver 50; Ge 46:20, 27
41:46 m Ge 37:2 n 1Sa 16:21; Da 1:19
Joseph in Charge of Egypt
41 So Phar aoh said to Jo seph,“ I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” g 42 Then Phar aoh took his sig net ring h from his fin ger and put it on Jo seph’ s fin ger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. i 43 He had him ride in a char iot as his sec ond-in-com mand, b and peo ple shouted be fore him,“ Make way c!” j Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
44 Then Phar aoh said to Jo seph,“ I am Phar aoh, but with out your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” k 45 Phar aoh gave Jo seph the name Zaph e nath-Pa neah and gave him As e nath daugh ter of Po tiph era, priest of On, d to be his wife. l And Jo seph went through out the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old m when he en tered the ser vice n of Phar aoh king of Egypt. And Jo seph went out from Phar aoh’ s pres ence and trav eled through out Egypt. 47 During the seven years of abun dance the land pro duced plen ti fully. 48 Jo seph col lected all the food pro duced in those seven years of abun dance in Egypt and stored it in the cit ies. In each city he put the food grown in the fields sur round ing it. 49 Jo seph stored up huge quan ti ties of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keep ing rec ords be cause it was beyond measure.
a 38 Or of the gods b 43 Or in the chariot of his second-in-command; or in his second chariot c 43 Or Bow down d 45 That is, Heliopolis; also in verse 50
41:24 magicians. See note on v. 8. 41:25 – 32 Joseph explains Phar aoh’ s dreams, underlining that they reveal what God is“ about to do”( v. 25). 41:33 – 36 Joseph goes beyond interpreting Phar aoh’ s dreams to offering a plan of action for addressing the forthcoming situation. 41:34 a fifth of the harvest. This probably takes into account loss due to their storing harvested grain“ in reserve for the country”( v. 36) over a longer period of time. 41:38 Joseph deeply impresses Phar aoh. in whom is the spirit of God. See NIV text note. This does not necessarily refer to the Holy Spirit, although God’ s Spirit may well have enabled Joseph to interpret dreams. Phar aoh’ s remark may be of a more general nature, recognizing Joseph’ s God-orientated nature. Readers of Genesis, however, may have interpreted Phar aoh’ s remark as consistent with how God empowered particular individuals by his Spirit to undertake special duties on his behalf, especially those in positions of leadership( Judg 3:10; 6:34; 1 Sam 16:13). 41:41 – 57 Joseph in Charge of Egypt. This short passage covers seven years, from Joseph’ s appointment as Phar aoh’ s deputy to the start of the famine in Egypt. 41:42 – 43 Phar aoh dresses and honors Joseph as befits Joseph’ s new status as Phar aoh’ s“ second-in-command”( v. 43). 41:45 Zaphenath-Paneah. The process of integrating Joseph, a Hebrew, into the mainstream of Egyptian life involves renaming him. His marriage to the daughter of a prominent priest would also have assisted Joseph’ s integration. The text does not indicate, however, that Joseph’ s marriage involved any religious compromise on his part. Toward the end of his life, he clearly identifies with the spiritual aspirations of Abraham and his descendants( 50:24 – 25). 41:46 thirty years old. Joseph has been in Egypt for 12 or 13 years( see 37:2).