Genesis 41
1 Two complete years later, the king of Egypt had a dream. In the dream, he was standing alongside the Nile [River].
After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river,
2 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows come up out of the river. They started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
Out of which came up seven kine, very beautiful and fat: and they fed in marshy places.
3 Soon seven other cows, unhealthy-looking and thin, came up behind them from the Nile [River]. They stood alongside the fat cows that were on the riverbank.
Other seven also came up out of the river, ill favoured, and leanfleshed: and they fed on the very bank of the river, in green places:
4 Then the unhealthy thin cows ate the seven healthy fat cows. And then the king woke up.
And they devoured them, whose bodies were very beautiful and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke.
5 The king went to sleep again, and he had another dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain that were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and all growing on one stalk.
He slept again, and dreamed another dream: Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk full and fair:
6 After that, the king saw that seven other heads of grain sprouted on that (OR, on another) stalk. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted,
7 Then the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven ripe full heads. Then the king woke up. He realized that he had been dreaming.
And devoured all the beauty of the former. Pharao awaked after his rest:
8 But the next morning he was worried about the meaning of the dream. So he summoned all the magicians and wise men who lived in Egypt. He told them what he had dreamed, but none of them could tell him the meaning of the two dreams.
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 the chief drink-server said to the king, “Now I remember something that I should have told you! I made a mistake by forgetting to tell it to you.
Then at length the chief butler remembering, said: I confess my sin:
10 One time you were angry with two of us. So you put me and the chief baker in the prison in the house of the captain of the palace guards.
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 While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
Where in one night both of us dreamed a dream foreboding things to come.
12 There was a young Hebrew man there with us. He was a servant of the captain of the palace guards. We told him what we had dreamed, and he told us what our dreams meant. He told each of us the meaning of our dreams.
There was there a young man a Hebrew, servant to the same captain of the soldiers: to whom we told our dreams,
13 And what happened was exactly the same as the meanings that he told us: You said I could have my previous job again, but the other man was killed by being hanged. [The Hebrew man’s name was Joseph].”
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 When the king heard that, he told some servants to bring Joseph to him, and they quickly brought Joseph out of the prison. Joseph shaved and put on better clothes, and then he went and stood in front of the king.
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 The king said to Joseph, “I had two dreams, and no one can tell me what they mean. But someone told me that when you hear someone tell about a dream he has had, you can tell that person what the dream means.”
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 But Joseph replied to the king, “No, I cannot do that. It is God who knows the meaning of dreams, but he will enable me to tell you their meaning, and they will mean something good.”
Joseph answered: Without me, God shall give Pharao a prosperous answer.
17 The king said to Joseph, “In my first dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile [River].
So Pharao told what he had dreamed: Methought I stood upon the bank of the river,
18 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows came up out of the river, and they started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
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 Soon seven other cows, ugly and thin ones, came up behind them from the river. I never saw such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!
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 The thin ugly cows ate the seven fat cows that came up first.
And they devoured and consumed the former,
21 But afterwards, no one would have known that the thin cows ate them, because they were just as ugly as they were before. Then I woke up.
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 Then I had another dream. I saw seven heads of grain. They were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and they were all growing on one stalk.
And dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn grew upon one stalk, full and very fair.
23 Then [to my surprise] I saw seven other heads of grain that sprouted. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
Other seven also thin and blasted, sprung of the stock:
24 The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but none of them could explain to me what they meant.”
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 Then Joseph said to the king, “Both your dreams have the same meaning. God is revealing to you in your dreams what he is about to do.
Joseph answered: The king’s dream is one: God hath shewn to Pharao what he is about to do.
26 The seven healthy cows represent seven years. The seven good heads of grain also represent seven years. The two dreams both have the same meaning.
The seven beautiful kine, and the seven full ears, are seven years of plenty: and both contain the same meaning of the dream.
27 The seven thin ugly cows that came up behind them and the seven worthless heads of grain that were dried up by the hot east wind each represent seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce).
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 It will happen just as I have told you, because God has revealed to you what he is about to do.
Which shall be fulfilled in this order:
29 There will be seven years in which there will be plenty of food throughout the land of Egypt,
Behold, there shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt:
30 but after that there will be seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce). Then people will forget all the years when there was plenty of food, because the famine that will come afterward will ruin the country.
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 The people will forget how plentiful food was previously, because the famine will be very terrible.
And the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the greatness of the plenty.
32 The reason God gave to you two dreams is that he [wants you to know] that this will happen, and he will cause it to happen very soon.
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 I suggest that you should choose a man who is wise and can make good decisions. I suggest that you appoint him to direct the affairs of the whole country.
Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt:
34 You should also appoint supervisors over the country, in order that they can arrange to collect one-fifth of all the grain that is harvested during the seven years when food is plentiful.
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 They should collect this amount of grain during those seven years that are coming, when there will be plenty of food. You should supervise them as they store it in the cities.
That shall now presently ensue: and let all the corn be laid up under Pharao’s hands and be reserved in the cities.
36 This grain should be stored so that it can be eaten during the seven years when there will be a famine here in Egypt, so that the people in this country will not die from hunger.”
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 king and his officials thought that this would be a good plan.
The counsel pleased Pharao and all his servants.
38 So the king said to them, “(Can we find any other man like Joseph, a man to whom God has given his Spirit?/It is not likely that we will find another man like this man, one to whom God has given his Spirit!)” [RHQ]
And he said to them: Can we find such another man, that is full of the spirit of God?
39 Then the king said to Joseph, “Because God has revealed all this to you, it seems to me that there is no one who is as wise as you and who can decide wisely about things.
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 So I will put you in charge of everything in my palace. All the people here in Egypt must obey what you command. Only because I am king [MTY] will I have more authority than you.”
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 Then the king said to Joseph, “I am now putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
And again Pharao said to Joseph: Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt.
42 The king took from his finger the ring that had his seal on it, and he put it on Joseph’s finger. He put robes made of fine linen on him, and he put a gold chain around his neck.
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 Then he arranged for Joseph to ride around in the chariot [that showed that he was] the second-most important man in the country. When Joseph rode in the chariot, men shouted to the people who were on the road in front of him, “Get off the road!” So the king put Joseph in charge of everything in the country.
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 The king said to Joseph, “I am the king, but no one in the whole land of Egypt will do anything [IDM] if you do not permit them to do it.”
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 The king gave Joseph a new name, Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath to be his wife. She was the daughter of Potiphera, who was a priest in a temple in On [city]. Then Joseph became known (OR, traveled) through all the land of Egypt.
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 Joseph was 30 years old when he started to work for the king of Egypt. To do his work, he left the king’s palace and traveled throughout Egypt.
(Now he was thirty years old when he stood before king Pharao) and he went round all the countries of Egypt.
47 During the next seven years, the land produced abundant crops, so there was plenty of food.
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 As Joseph supervised them, his helpers collected one-fifth of all the grain that was produced during those years, and stored it in the cities. In each city, he had his helpers store up the grain that was grown in the fields that surrounded that city.
And all the abundance of grain was laid up in every city.
49 Joseph had them store up a huge amount of grain. It looked as plentiful as the sand on the seashore. There was so much grain that after a while they stopped keeping records of how much grain was stored, because there was more grain than they could measure.
And there was so great abundance of wheat, that it was equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded measure.
50 Before the seven years of famine started, Joseph’s wife Asenath gave birth to two sons.
And before the famine came, Joseph had two sons born: whom Aseneth the daughter of Putiphare priest of Heliopolis bore unto him.
51 Joseph named the first one Manasseh, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘forget]’, because, he said, “God has caused me to forget all my troubles and all my father’s family.”
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 He named his second son Ephraim, [which means ‘to have children]’, because, he said, “God has given me children here in this land where I have suffered.”
And he named the second Ephraim, saying: God hath made me to grow in the land of my poverty.
53 Finally the seven years in which there was plenty of food ended.
Now when the seven years of the plenty that had been in Egypt were past:
54 Then the seven years of famine started, just as Joseph had predicted. There was also a famine in all the other nearby lands, but although the crops did not grow, there was food everywhere in Egypt, because of the grain they had stored up in the cities.
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 When all the people of [MTY] Egypt had eaten all of their own food and were still hungry, they begged the king for food. So the king told all the people of Egypt, “Go to Joseph, and do what he tells you to do.”
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 When the famine was very bad throughout the whole country, Joseph ordered his helpers to open the storehouses. Then they sold the grain in the storehouses to the people of Egypt, because the famine was very severe all over Egypt.
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 people from many [HYP] nearby countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was very severe everywhere [HYP].
And all provinces came into Egypt, to buy food, and to seek some relief of their want.
