(BA) Genesis 41

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The text below is adapted from the ASV, with constant reference to the renderings chosen by the World English Bible (WEB).

1 Now, at the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and saw himself standing by the River. 2 And there he saw seven cattle coming up from the River, handsome and fat, feeding in the reed-grass. 3 And then came seven other cattle up after them out of the River, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the edge of the river. 4 And the ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven handsome and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke.

5 And he slept, and dreamed a second time, and there came up seven ears of grain on one stalk, fat and good. 6 And then seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprung up after them. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven fat and full ears. And Pharaoh woke, and saw that it was a dream.

8 Then, in the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told him his dream; but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief cup-bearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, I remember my faults today. 10 Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker. 11 And we dreamed a dream on one night, I and he, each of us dreamed a dream with its own interpretation. 12 And there was with us a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted for us our dreams; to each man he interpreted his own dream. 13 Then, as he interpreted to us, it came to pass: me he restored to my office, and him he hanged.

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon, and he shaved himself and changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. And I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.

16 And Joseph replied to Pharaoh, It is not me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

17 And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, In my dream, I saw myself standing on the edge of the river, 18 and I saw coming up from the river seven cattle, fat and handsome, feeding in the reed-grass. 19 And then there came up seven other cattle after them, poor and very ugly and thin, worse than any I have seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 And the lean and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle; 21 and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, but they were still as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

22 And I saw in my dream, and there were seven ears of grain coming up on one stalk, full and good; 23 but then seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted by the east wind, sprung up after them. 24 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.

25 And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one; what God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. 26 The seven good cattle are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; it is one dream. 27 And the seven lean and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind; they will be seven years of famine. 28 That is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh: what God is about to do he has showed to Pharaoh. 29 Indeed, there are coming seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. 30 But there will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will consume the land; 31 and the plenty will not be remembered in the land on account of the famine that follows, because it will be very severe. 32 And this is why the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, because this thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

33 Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take a fifth [in taxes] from the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and pile up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 And the food will serve as a supply for the land against the seven years of famine to come in the land of Egypt, so the land does not perish in the famine.

37 And this thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?

39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discreet and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my household, and by your command all the people will be ruled. Only as to the throne will I be above you.

41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. 42 And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in clothes of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he made him ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried out before him, Bow the knee! And he set him over all the land of Egypt.

44 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without your approval no man shall lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt. 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath Paneah, and he gave him as wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti Phera, priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 And in the seven plentiful years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and stored the food in the cities; in each city he put the food from the fields surrounding it. 49 And Joseph piled up grain like the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, because it was immeasurable.

50 And two sons were born to Joseph before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti Phera, priest of On, bore to him. 51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, For God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim, For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

53 And the seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt came to an end. 54 And the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, and there was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 And 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. Whatever he tells you, do it. 56 And the famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to all the Egyptians, and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 And all countries came into Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

(41:1) Pharaoh. As usual in Genesis, no specific Pharaoh is named. This is one of many ways in which the events of Genesis cannot be securely placed in any historical context.

(41:1) River. The Hebrew word "River" used here is the one typically used for the Nile.

(41:5) ears. Hebrew šibbolim, which I have translated throughout as "ears (of grain)". The World English Bible reads "heads of grain", except for one inconsistency in verse 7.

(41:6) blasted by. The WEB, archaically to my ears, reads "blasted with", and likewise throughout the chapter.

(41:7) ears. In the WEB, this word is translated inconsistently in this verse. The Hebrew šibbolim appears twice, but is translated the first time as heads of grain and the second time as ears.

(41:8) magicians. ASV marginal note, "Or, sacred scribes."

(41:8) his dream. Singular, as in the Hebrew. I wonder if the singular use here might be anticipating Joseph's insistence (verses 25 and 26) that the dream is one. Hebrew is fully capable of using a plural form of the word dream, as with Joseph's dreams in Genesis 37:8. The WEB reads dreams.

(41:11). each of us dreamed a dream with its own interpretation. I think this gives the sense of the Hebrew in better English than the WEB's Each man dreamed according to the interpretation of his dream. Even if one wanted to be woodenly literal, one wouldn't come up with the WEB interpretation here, but with something more like, each of us dreamed a dream according to an interpretation.

(41:12) his own dream. The WEB reads according to his own dream. But I do not see what translating the Hebrew k- as according to adds of use for the English-speaking Hebrew.

(41:31) severe. Literally, heavy. Here the WEB reads grievous.

(41:32) this is why the dream was given twice. More literally, upon the dream being given twice. But the WEB reads simply, The dream was doubled to Pharaoh.

(41:33) Bow the knee! The Hebrew word here translated as bow the knee is of uncertain meaning.

(41:35) pile up. This is a literal translation of the Hebrew term involved. The WEB reads it as store.

(41:48) stored. Literally, put. The WEB reads, laid up.

(41:49) piled up. This is the same Hebrew term used in vs. 35. The WEB translates it here as laid up; there as store.

(41:51) Manasseh. Hebrew menašeh, which the ASV marginal note interprets as Making to forget.

(41:52) Ephraim. According to the ASV notes, "From a Hebrew word signifying to be fruitful."

(41:53) plenty in the land of Egypt. In Hebrew, literally, plenty that was in the land of Egypt, but in English the "was" then appears to clash with the plural form of "seven years", making the verse awkward. I have simply omitted "that was", while the WEB has changed it to "that were".

(41:55) What he tells you, do it. I think this is smoother than the WEB's, What he says to you, do.

41:57) came into Egypt to buy grain from Joseph. Literally, came into Egypt to buy grain, to Joseph. The WEB reads, "came into Egypt, to Joseph, to buy grain".

ASV. The American Standard Version, as printed in 1901 by Thomas Nelson and Sons. This text serves as the basis of the text above, although I have made various alterations, often referring to the World English Bible while doing so.

WEB. The World English Bible has been compared verse by verse with my revision of the ASV here, and I have adopted its readings in a number of places.

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