Genesis 41

1 After two years had passed, the king of Egypt dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River,

2 when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began to feed on the grass.

3 Then seven other cows came up; they were thin and bony. They came and stood by the other cows on the riverbank,

4 and the thin cows ate up the fat cows. Then the king woke up.

5 He fell asleep again and had another dream. Seven heads of grain, full and ripe, were growing on one stalk.

6 Then seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the desert wind,

7 and the thin heads of grain swallowed the full ones. The king woke up and realized that he had been dreaming.

8 In the morning he was worried, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. He told them his dreams, but no one could explain them to him. ¹

9 Then the wine steward said to the king, "I must confess today that I have done wrong.

10 You were angry with the chief baker and me, and you put us in prison in the house of the captain of the guard.

11 One night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.

12 A young Hebrew was there with us, a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us.

13 Things turned out just as he said: you restored me to my position, but you executed the baker."

14 The king sent for Joseph, and he was immediately brought from the prison. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came into the king's presence.

15 The king said to him, "I have had a dream, and no one can explain it. I have been told that you can interpret dreams."

16 Joseph answered, "I cannot, Your Majesty, but God will give a favorable interpretation."

17 The king said, "I dreamed that I was standing on the bank of the Nile,

18 when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began feeding on the grass.

19 Then seven other cows came up which were thin and bony. They were the poorest cows I have ever seen anywhere in Egypt.

20 The thin cows ate up the fat ones,

21 but no one would have known it, because they looked just as bad as before. Then I woke up.

22 I also dreamed that I saw seven heads of grain which were full and ripe, growing on one stalk.

23 Then seven heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the desert wind,

24 and the thin heads of grain swallowed the full ones. I told the dreams to the magicians, but none of them could explain them to me."

25 Joseph said to the king, "The two dreams mean the same thing; God has told you what he is going to do.

26 The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven full heads of grain are also seven years; they have the same meaning.

27 The seven thin cows which came up later and the seven thin heads of grain scorched by the desert wind are seven years of famine.

28 It is just as I told you - God has shown you what he is going to do.

29 There will be seven years of great plenty in all the land of Egypt.

30 After that, there will be seven years of famine, and all the good years will be forgotten, because the famine will ruin the country.

31 The time of plenty will be entirely forgotten, because the famine which follows will be so terrible.

32 The repetition of your dream means that the matter is fixed by God and that he will make it happen in the near future.

33 "Now you should choose some man with wisdom and insight and put him in charge of the country.

34 You must also appoint other officials and take a fifth of the crops during the seven years of plenty.

35 Order them to collect all the food during the good years that are coming, and give them authority to store up grain in the cities and guard it.

36 The food will be a reserve supply for the country during the seven years of famine which are going to come on Egypt. In this way the people will not starve."

37 The king and his officials approved this plan,

38 and he said to them, "We will never find a better man than Joseph, a man who has God's spirit in him."

39 The king said to Joseph, "God has shown you all this, so it is obvious that you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else.

40 I will put you in charge of my country, and all my people will obey your orders. Your authority will be second only to mine. ²

41 I now appoint you governor over all Egypt."

42 The king removed from his finger the ring engraved with the royal seal and put it on Joseph's finger. He put a fine linen robe on him, and placed a gold chain around his neck. ³

43 He gave him the second royal chariot to ride in, and his guard of honor went ahead of him and cried out, "Make way! Make way!" And so Joseph was appointed governor over all Egypt.

44 The king said to him, "I am the king - and no one in all Egypt shall so much as lift a hand or a foot without your permission."

45 He gave Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphenath Paneah, and he gave him a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest in the city of Heliopolis. Joseph was thirty years old when he began to serve the king of Egypt. He left the king's court and traveled all over the land.

47 During the seven years of plenty the land produced abundant crops,

48 all of which Joseph collected and stored in the cities. In each city he stored the food from the fields around it.

49 There was so much grain that Joseph stopped measuring it - it was like the sand of the sea.

50 Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons by Asenath.

51 He said, "God has made me forget all my sufferings and all my father's family"; so he named his first son Manasseh.

52 He also said, "God has given me children in the land of my trouble"; so he named his second son Ephraim.

53 The seven years of plenty that the land of Egypt had enjoyed came to an end,

54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every other country, but there was food throughout Egypt. ⁴

55 When the Egyptians began to be hungry, they cried out to the king for food. So he ordered them to go to Joseph and do what he told them. ⁵

56 The famine grew worse and spread over the whole country, so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians.

57 People came to Egypt from all over the world to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

Genesis 41 Commentary

Chapter 41

Pharaoh's dreams. (1-8) Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams. (9-32) Joseph's counsel, He is highly advanced. (33-45) Joseph's children, The beginning of the famine. (46-57)

Verses 1-8 The means of Joseph's being freed from prison were Pharaoh's dreams, as here related. Now that God no longer speaks to us in that way, it is no matter how little we either heed dreams, or tell them. The telling of foolish dreams can make no better than foolish talk. But these dreams showed that they were sent of God; when he awoke, Pharaoh's spirit was troubled.

Verses 9-32 God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time. If the chief butler had got Joseph to be released from prison, it is probable he would have gone back to the land of the Hebrews. Then he had neither been so blessed himself, nor such a blessing to his family, as afterwards he proved. Joseph, when introduced to Pharaoh, gives honour to God. Pharaoh had dreamed that he stood upon the bank of the river Nile, and saw the kine, both the fat ones, and the lean ones, come out of the river. Egypt has no rain, but the plenty of the year depends upon the overflowing of the river Nile. See how many ways Providence has of dispensing its gifts; yet our dependence is still the same upon the First Cause, who makes every creature what it is to us, be it rain or river. See to what changes the comforts of this life are subject. We cannot be sure that to-morrow shall be as this day, or next year as this. We must learn how to want, as well as how to abound. Mark the goodness of God in sending the seven years of plenty before those of famine, that provision might be made. The produce of the earth is sometimes more, and sometimes less; yet, take one with another, he that gathers much, has nothing over; and he that gathers little, has no lack, ( Exodus 16:18 ) . And see the perishing nature of our worldly enjoyments. The great harvests of the years of plenty were quite lost, and swallowed up in the years of famine; and that which seemed very much, yet did but just serve to keep the people alive. There is bread which lasts to eternal life, which it is worth while to labour for. They that make the things of this world their good things, will find little pleasure in remembering that they have received them.

Verses 33-45 Joseph gave good advice to Pharaoh. Fair warning should always be followed by good counsel. God has in his word told us of a day of trial before us, when we shall need all the grace we can have. Now, therefore, provide accordingly. Pharaoh gave Joseph an honourable testimony. He is a man in whom the spirit of God is; and such men ought to be valued. Pharaoh puts upon Joseph marks of honour. He gave him such a name as spoke the value he had for him, Zaphnath-paaneah, "a revealer of secrets." This preferment of Joseph encourages all to trust in God. Some translate Joseph's new name, "the saviour of the world." The brightest glories, even of the upper world, are put upon Christ, the highest trust lodged in his hand, and all power given him, both in heaven and earth.

Verses 46-57 In the names of his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph owned the Divine providence. 1. He was made to forget his misery. 2. He was made fruitful in the land of his affliction. The seven plenteous years came, and were ended. We ought to look forward to the end of the days, both of our prosperity and of our opportunity. We must not be secure in prosperity, nor slothful in making good use of opportunity. Years of plenty will end; what thy hand finds to do, do it; and gather in gathering time. The dearth came, and the famine was not only in Egypt, but in other lands. Joseph was diligent in laying up, while the plenty lasted. He was prudent and careful in giving out, when the famine came. Joseph was engaged in useful and important labours. Yet it was in the midst of this his activity that his father Jacob said, Joseph is not! What a large portion of our troubles would be done away if we knew the whole truth! Let these events lead us to Jesus. There is a famine of the bread of life throughout the whole earth. Go to Jesus, and what he bids you, do. Attend to His voice, apply to him; he will open his treasures, and satisfy with goodness the hungry soul of every age and nation, without money and without price. But those who slight this provision must starve, and his enemies will be destroyed.

Cross References

• 1. 41.8Daniel 2.2.
• 2. 41.40Acts 7.10.
• 3. 41.42Daniel 5.29.
• 4. 41.54Acts 7.11.
• 5. 41.55John 2.5.

Footnotes

• [a]. manasseh: [This name sounds like the Hebrew for "cause to forget."]
• [b]. ephraim: [This name sounds like the Hebrew for "give children."]

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 41

In this chapter are related Pharaoh's dreams, which his magicians could not interpret, Ge 41:1-9, upon which the chief butler now remembering Joseph, recommended him to Pharaoh as an interpreter, having had an happy experience of him as such himself, Ge 41:10-13, when Joseph was sent for out of prison; and Pharaoh having related his dreams, he interpreted them of seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine, that should be in the land of Egypt, Ge 41:14-32; and having done, he gave his advice to provide in the years of plenty against the years of famine, and proposed a scheme for doing it, which was approved of by Pharaoh and his ministers, Ge 41:33-37; and Joseph himself was pitched upon as the most proper person to execute it, and was appointed chief over the kingdom next to Pharaoh, who gave him a new name and a wife upon this occasion, Ge 41:38-45; accordingly, in the years of plenty he took a tour throughout the whole land, and gathered and laid up food in vast quantities in every city, Ge 41:46-49; an account is given of two sons born to Joseph, and of their names, Ge 41:50-52; and of the seven years of famine, beginning to come on at the end of the seven years of plenty, which brought great distress on the land of Egypt, and the countries round about, who all came to Joseph to buy corn, Ge 41:53-57.