Gen 41 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream , and behold , he was standing by the Nile .

Genesis 41

Pharaoh’s Dream

1 Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. 2 And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and ^{▼▼ Lit fat of flesh}fat; and they grazed in the ^bmarsh grass. 3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and ^{▼▼ Lit lean of flesh}gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 The ugly and ^{▼▼ Lit lean of flesh}gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. 5 He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. 6 Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. 7 The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 Now in the morning ^ehis spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the ^{▼▼ Or soothsayer priests
,} ^gmagicians of Egypt, and all its ^hwise men. And Pharaoh told them his ^{▼▼ Lit dream}dreams, but ^jthere was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of ^kmy own ^{▼▼ Or sins}offenses. 10 “Pharaoh was ^mfurious with his servants, and ⁿhe put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. 11 ^o“We had a dream ^{▼▼ Lit one night}on the same night, ^{▼▼ Lit I and he}he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 12 “Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a ^rservant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and ^she interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream. 13 “And just ^tas he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my ^{▼▼ Lit place}office, but he hanged him.”

Joseph Interprets

14 Then Pharaoh sent and ^vcalled for Joseph, and they ^whurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, ^xbut no one can interpret it; and ^yI have heard ^{▼▼ Lit about you, saying}it said about you, that ^{▼▼ Lit you hear a dream to interpret it}when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, ^{▼▼ Lit Apart from me
,} ^ac“It is not in me; ^adGod will ^{▼▼ Lit answer the peace of Pharaoh}give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” 17 So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile; 18 and behold, seven cows, ^{▼▼ Lit fat of flesh}fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass. 19 “Lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and ^{▼▼ Lit lean of flesh}gaunt, such as I had never seen for ^{▼▼ Lit badness}ugliness in all the land of Egypt; 20 and the lean and ^{▼▼ Lit bad}ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows. 21 “Yet when they had ^{▼▼ Lit entered their inward parts}devoured them, it could not be ^{▼▼ Or known}detected that they had ^{▼▼ Lit entered their inward parts}devoured them, ^{▼▼ Lit and}for they were just as ugly as ^{▼▼ Lit in the beginning}before. Then I awoke. 22 “I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk; 23 and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them; 24 and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then ^aoI told it to the ^{▼▼ Or soothsayer priests}magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

25 Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s ^{▼▼ Lit dream is}dreams are one and the same; ^arGod has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do. 26 “The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the ^{▼▼ Lit dream is}dreams are one and the same. 27 “The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind ^atwill be seven years of famine. 28 ^{▼▼ Lit That is the thing which I spoke}“It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: ^avGod has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 “Behold, ^awseven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; 30 and after them ^axseven years of famine will ^{▼▼ Lit arise}come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ^{▼▼ Lit destroy}ravage the land. 31 “So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe. 32 “Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that ^bathe matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about. 33 “Now let Pharaoh look for a man ^bbdiscerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 “Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers ^{▼▼ Lit over}in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. 35 “Then let them ^bdgather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it. 36 “Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”

37 Now the ^{▼▼ Lit word}proposal seemed good ^{▼▼ Lit in the sight of}to Pharaoh and ^{▼▼ Lit in the sight of}to all his servants.

Joseph Is Made a Ruler of Egypt

38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, ^bhin whom is a divine spirit?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so ^bidiscerning and wise as you are. 40 ^bj“You shall be over my house, and according to your ^{▼▼ Lit mouth}command all my people shall ^{▼▼ Lit kiss}do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” 41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you ^bmover all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh ^bntook off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and ^boput the gold necklace around his neck. 43 He had him ride in ^{▼▼ Lit the second...which was his}his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, ^{▼▼ Heb Abreck: Attention or Make way}“Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet ^brwithout ^{▼▼ Lit you no one}your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 Then Pharaoh named Joseph ^{▼▼ Probably Egyptian for “God speaks; he lives”}Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of ^{▼▼ Or Heliopolis
,} ^bvOn, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.

46 Now Joseph was ^bwthirty years old when he ^{▼▼ Or entered the service of}stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth ^{▼▼ Lit by handfuls}abundantly. 48 So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. 49 Thus Joseph stored up grain ^{▼▼ Lit very much}in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped ^{▼▼ Lit numbering}measuring it, for it was ^{▼▼ Or without number}beyond measure.

The Sons of Joseph

50 Now before the year of famine came, ^cctwo sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of ^{▼▼ Or Heliopolis}On, bore to him. 51 Joseph named the firstborn ^{▼▼ I.e. making to forget}Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 He named the second ^{▼▼ I.e. fruitfulness}Ephraim, “For,” he said, ^cg“God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

53 When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and ^chthe seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ^ciwhatever he says to you, you shall do.” 56 When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all ^{▼▼ Lit that which was in them}the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because ^ckthe famine was severe in all the earth.