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 ).