Gen 41 | NASB2020 | 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 behold, from the Nile seven cows came up, fine-looking 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 thin of flesh}thin, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 Then the ugly and ^{▼▼Lit thin of flesh}thin cows ate the seven fine-looking and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. 5 But 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 And the thin ears swallowed 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 messengers and called for all the ^fsoothsayer priests of Egypt, and all its ^gwise men. And Pharaoh told them his ^{▼▼Lit dream}dreams, but ⁱthere was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of ^jmy own ^{▼▼Or sins}offenses. 10 Pharaoh was ^lfurious with his servants, and ^mhe put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. 11 Then ⁿwe had a dream one 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 there with us, a ^pservant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we told him the dreams, and ^qhe interpreted our dreams for us. For each man he interpreted according to his own dream. 13 And just ^ras he interpreted for us, so it happened; Pharaoh restored me in my office, but he hanged ^{▼▼Lit him}the chief baker.”

Joseph Interprets

14 Then Pharaoh sent word and ^tcalled for Joseph, and they ^uhurriedly 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, ^vbut no one can interpret it; and ^wI 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
,} ^aaIt has nothing to do with me; ^abGod will ^{▼▼Lit answer the peace of Pharaoh}give Pharaoh an answer for his own good.” 17 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, there I was, standing on the bank of the Nile; 18 and behold, seven cows, ^{▼▼Lit fat of flesh}fat and fine-looking came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass. 19 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ^{▼▼Lit bad}ugly and ^{▼▼Lit thin of flesh}thin, such as I had never seen for ^{▼▼Lit badness}ugliness in all the land of Egypt; 20 and the thin and ugly cows ate 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 of grain, full and good, came up on a single stalk; 23 and behold, 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 ^amI told it to the soothsayer priests, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

25 And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s ^{▼▼Lit dream is}dreams are one and the same; ^aoGod 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 thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind ^aqwill be seven years of famine. 28 ^{▼▼Lit That is the thing which I spoke}It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: ^asGod has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 Behold, ^atseven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; 30 and after them ^auseven 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 ^axthe matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about. 33 So now let Pharaoh look for a man ^aydiscerning and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers ^{▼▼Lit over}in charge of the land, and let him take a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt as a tax in the seven years of abundance. 35 Then have them ^bacollect 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 have them guard it. 36 Let the food be used 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, ^bein whom there is a divine spirit?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one as ^bfdiscerning and wise as you are. 40 ^bgYou shall be ^{▼▼Lit over}in charge of my house, and all my people shall ^{▼▼Lit kiss your mouth; LXX obey at your command}be obedient to you; only regarding the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you ^bjover all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh ^bktook off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and ^blput the gold necklace around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in ^{▼▼Lit the second...which was his}his second chariot; and they proclaimed ahead of him, “ ^{▼▼Or Make way}Bow the knee!” And he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet ^bowithout ^{▼▼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 ^{▼▼Prob. Egyptian for “God speaks; he lives”}Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of ^{▼▼Or Heliopolis
,} ^bsOn, to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46 Now Joseph was ^btthirty years old when he ^{▼▼Or entered the service of}stood in the presence of 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 produced ^{▼▼Lit by handfuls}abundantly. 48 So he collected all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities; he put in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. 49 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, ^bztwo 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 of my father’s household.” 52 And he named the second ^{▼▼I.e., fruitfulness}Ephraim; “For,” he said, “ ^cdGod has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

53 When the seven years of plenty which had taken place in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and ^cethe 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 suffered famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ^cfwhatever he says to you, you shall do.” 56 When the famine was spread over the entire face of the earth, then Joseph opened all ^{▼▼Lit that which was in them}the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Then the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because ^chthe famine was severe in all the earth.