Genesis 41
41
1 At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river. 2Behold, seven cattle came up out of the river. They were sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass. 3Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river. 4The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke. 5He slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good. 6Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 7The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, 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. 10Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, with the chief baker. 11We dreamed a dream in one night, he and I. Each man dreamed according to the interpretation of his dream. 12There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. He interpreted to each man according to his dream. 13As he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh. 15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
17 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river; 18and behold, seven fat and sleek cattle came up out of the river. They fed in the marsh grass; 19and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. 20The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle; 21and when they had eaten them up, it couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good; 23and behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 24The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”
25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. 26The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one. 27The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine. 28That is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29Behold, seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt are coming. 30Seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous. 32The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33“Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt’s produce in the seven plenteous years. 35Let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and store grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36The food will be to supply the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; so that the land will not perish through the famine.”
37 The thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 38Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has shown you all of this, there is no one so discreet and wise as you. 40You shall be over my house. All my people will be ruled according to your word. Only in the throne I will be greater than you.” 41Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in robes of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. 43He made him ride in the second chariot which he had. They cried before him, “Bow the knee!” He set him over all the land of Egypt. 44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh. Without you, no man shall lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-Paneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47In the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly. 48He gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities. He stored food in each city from the fields around that city. 49Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it was without number. 50To Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. 51Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh,#41:51 “Manasseh” sounds like the Hebrew for “forget”. “For”, he said, “God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.” 52The name of the second, he called Ephraim:#41:52 “Ephraim” sounds like the Hebrew for “twice fruitful”. “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 The seven years of plenty, that were in the land of Egypt, came to an end. 54The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” 56The famine was over all the surface of the earth. Joseph opened all the store houses, and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57All countries came into Egypt, to Joseph, to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the earth.
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Genesis 41
41
Pharaoh had 2 dreams
12 years later, Pharaoh, the big boss of Egypt, he had a dream. In his dream, he stood next to the Nile River, 2and he saw 7 cows coming up from the river. Those 7 cows were good-looking and fat, and they started to eat the long grass that was beside the river. 3After that, another 7 cows came up from the river. Those other 7 cows were ugly and skinny, and they stood beside the river next to the 7 fat cows. 4Then those 7 ugly, skinny cows, they ate the 7 good-looking, fat cows. That was the end of Pharaoh’s dream, and he woke up.
5Then Pharaoh went to sleep again, and he had another dream. In his dream, he saw a plant that grows seeds for food, called wheat. That wheat plant had 1 stick part, and on top were 7 groups of wheat seeds growing on it. Each group had lots of good big seeds. 6After that, another 7 groups of seeds started to grow. But they were small and dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them. 7Then those 7 groups of small dry seeds, they ate the 7 groups of good big seeds, like a person eats food. That was the end of Pharaoh’s dream, and he thought it was real. Then he woke up, and he knew that it was a dream.
8The next morning, Pharaoh felt very worried, because he didn’t know what those 2 dreams meant. So he said to some of his workers, “You know, there are some men here in Egypt country that can do magic, and there are some other men that are really wise. Go and get all those men, and bring them here. I want somebody to tell me what my dreams mean.”#Daniel 2:2
So Pharaoh’s workers went and got all those men, and they brought them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh told them about those 2 dreams that he had. But none of those men understood what the dreams meant.
9Pharaoh’s wine-boss was there, and he remembered that time when he had a dream in the jail, and he remembered that Joseph told him what his dream meant. So that wine-boss said to Pharaoh, “Sir, now I remember a time that I did the wrong thing. 10You know, some time ago, you got really angry with me and your bread-boss. You put us in jail, and your most important soldier guarded us. 11Then one night, me and that bread-boss, we both had dreams. We knew that those dreams showed things that will happen later on, but we didn’t know what they meant. 12But there was a young man with us in the jail. He was from the Hebrew tribe, and he worked for that important soldier, the one that guarded us. We told that young man about our dreams, and he told us what they meant. He said to me, ‘Your dream shows that Pharaoh will get you to work for him again.’ And he said to the bread-boss, ‘Your dream shows that Pharaoh will get his soldiers to kill you.’ 13And everything happened just like that young man said. Soon after that, you got me to work for you again. But you got your soldiers to kill the bread-boss and hang his body on a pole.”
Joseph told Pharaoh what his dreams meant
14Then Pharaoh sent some of his workers to go and get Joseph. Those workers quickly went and took Joseph out of the jail. Then Joseph got ready to go and see Pharaoh. He cut his hair, and he shaved his beard, and he put on clean clothes. Then he went and stood in front of Pharaoh.
15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and nobody can tell me what it means. But somebody told me that you can understand dreams. They said that if somebody tells you about their dream, you can say what it means.”
16Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, I can’t do that by myself. God is the one that lets me understand people’s dreams. He will show me what your dream means, and it will be good for you to hear it.”
17So Pharaoh told Joseph about his dream. He said, “In my dream, I stood next to the Nile River. 18Then 7 cows came up from the river. Those 7 cows were good-looking and fat, and they started to eat the long grass that was beside the river. 19After that, another 7 cows came up from the river. Those other cows looked really weak and sick, and they were very ugly and skinny. They were more ugly and skinny than any cows I saw in Egypt country. 20Then those 7 ugly, skinny cows, they ate those 7 good-looking, fat cows, those ones that came up first from the river. 21But after that, those ugly, skinny cows looked just the same as before. They were still very ugly and skinny, even though they ate those fat cows. That was the end of my dream, and I woke up.”
22Then Pharaoh said, “I went to sleep again, and I had another dream. In my dream, I saw a wheat plant. That wheat plant had 1 stick part with 7 groups of wheat seeds growing on top, and they had lots of good big seeds. 23After that, another 7 groups of seeds started to grow. They were small and dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them. 24Then those 7 groups of small dry seeds, they ate the 7 groups of good big seeds, like a person eats food. That was the end of my dream.”
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I talked to the men that can do magic, and I told them about those dreams that I had. But they don’t know what my dreams mean.”
25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, both those dreams mean the same thing. God gave you those dreams to show you what he is going to do next.”
26Then Joseph told Pharaoh what those dreams meant. First Joseph said, “Those 7 good-looking, fat cows that you saw in your dream, they are like a picture of 7 good years. And those 7 groups of good big seeds on the wheat plant, they are like a picture of 7 good years too. Both those dreams mean the same thing.”
27Then Joseph said, “And you know those 7 ugly, skinny cows, those ones that came up from the river later on, they are like a picture of 7 dry years with no rain and no food plants growing. And you know those 7 small groups of seeds on the wheat plant. They were dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them. Well, they are like a picture of those 7 dry years too.”
28Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, God gave you those dreams to show you what he is going to do next, just like I said. 29For 7 years, there will be lots and lots of food everywhere in Egypt country. 30But after that, there will be 7 dry years. There will be no rain and no food plants growing anywhere in Egypt. Those dry years will be bad for the whole country. All the people in Egypt, they will forget about that time when there was lots and lots of food. 31Those dry years will be so bad, it will be just like those 7 good years never happened. 32Sir, God is going to make those things happen, for sure. And he’s going to make them happen soon. That’s the reason why he gave you 2 dreams about them.”
33Then Joseph said, “Sir, now I will tell you what you have to do. You have to pick a man that is really wise and thinks properly. And you have to put that man in charge of Egypt country. 34-35Then you have to pick some other men to work for him. And those men have to go all over Egypt country, and they have to gather up food from all the farms. Every time the farmers have food plants with seeds that are ready to make flour, those workers have to say to the farmers, ‘This is what Pharaoh says you have to do. Split up that food into 5 piles, and give one pile to us.’ Then those workers have to put that food in big sheds in the towns, and they have to look after it. They have to keep on doing that for 7 years, while there is lots and lots of food in Egypt country. 36At the end of those 7 good years, there will be 7 dry years. There will be no rain, and no food plants will grow in Egypt country. But all the people in Egypt country, they can eat the food that is in those sheds, and they can keep on doing that for those 7 dry years, so that they will not die.”
Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of Egypt country
37Pharaoh and all his workers listened to Joseph, and they all liked Joseph’s idea. 38And Pharaoh said to his workers, “Now I know that this man has God’s spirit in him. There isn’t anybody else like him.”
39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “God showed you what is going to happen, and he told you what to do. So I know that you are more wise than everybody else. You really know how to think properly. 40So now I will make you my most important worker, and all the people in Egypt will have to do what you say. I will be the only one that is more important than you, because I am the big boss.”#Acts 7:10
41After Pharaoh said those things, he said to Joseph, “Now I’m putting you in charge of all of Egypt country.”
42Pharaoh was wearing a ring with a special mark on it. That ring showed that Pharaoh was the big boss. So Pharaoh took off that special ring, and he put it on Joseph’s finger, to show that Joseph was in charge. And Pharaoh gave Joseph some new clothes to wear. Those clothes were made out of a really good cloth, called linen. And Pharaoh put a gold necklace around Joseph’s neck.#Daniel 5:29 43Then Pharaoh got a special trailer with horses pulling it, and he got Joseph to ride in that special trailer to show that he was the 2nd boss over Egypt country. Pharaoh’s soldiers went with Joseph, and they shouted out to all the people, “Joseph is coming. Show him respect.”
In that way, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt country.
44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am the big boss, and you are my most important worker. If anybody in Egypt country wants to do something, they have to ask you first, and you can say yes or no.”
45-46Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a name in the Egypt language. That name was Zafenath-Pania. Pharaoh also gave Joseph a woman to marry. That woman’s name was Asenath, and her father’s name was Potifera. He was a ceremony leader for the Egypt people, at the town called Onn.
That’s the story about how Joseph became Pharaoh’s most important worker, and he started to be in charge of Egypt country. At that time, Joseph was 30 years old. Then Joseph left Pharaoh’s house, and he went all around Egypt country.
Joseph got the Egypt people to put food in sheds
47The next 7 years were really good years in Egypt country, because lots and lots of food grew on the land. 48So for those 7 years, Joseph told the Egypt people to get food from the farms and take it into the towns. And the people did what Joseph said. Everywhere in Egypt country, the people got food from the farms, and they took that food into the towns that were near the farms. Then they put that food into big sheds, to keep it safe. 49There was so much food in those sheds that nobody could count it, just like nobody can count all those little bits of sand that are at the beaches by the sea.
Joseph had 2 sons
50Joseph’s wife was called Asenath, and her father’s name was Potifera. He was a ceremony leader for the Egypt people, at the town called Onn.
Joseph and Asenath had 2 sons. Both those sons were born at the time when there was still lots of food growing in Egypt country.
51Joseph named his 1st son Manasseh. That name means he let me forget. Joseph said, “You see, God was good to me. He let me forget about all that trouble I had, and he even let me forget that I miss my family.”
52Joseph named his 2nd son Ephraim. That name means he let me have kids. Joseph said, “You see, God was good to me. He let me have kids in this country, even though I had lots of trouble here.”
There was no rain and no food plants
53For those 7 years, lots and lots of food plants grew in Egypt country. But at the end of those 7 good years, the rain stopped coming. 54Then the 7 dry years started. There was no rain, and the food plants stopped growing. It happened just like Joseph said.#Acts 7:11
The same thing happened in all the other countries around Egypt too. There was no rain and no food plants growing in those countries, so the people in those countries didn’t have enough food. But there was still lots of food in those big sheds in Egypt.
55-56This is what happened in Egypt country at the time when the rain stopped coming. It got dry all over Egypt country, and the food plants everywhere stopped growing. It got really bad, and all the Egypt people started to get hungry. So they went to Pharaoh, and they said to him, “Please, please give us food.”
Then Pharaoh said to all the Egypt people, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”#John 2:5
So they went to Joseph, and they asked him for food. Then Joseph got his workers to go to all the towns in Egypt country and open those big sheds. There was lots of food in those sheds from the 7 good years. So Joseph’s workers started to sell that food to the Egypt people.
57And there was no rain in other countries too. It was really bad everywhere. So the people that lived in those other countries, they went to Egypt, and they bought food from Joseph’s workers too.
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