the Third Week after Easter
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Literal Standard Version
Genesis 41:1
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It happened at the end of two full years, that Par`oh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
And it happened that after two full years Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
Two years later the king dreamed he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.
At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile,
Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile.
Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
And two yeeres after, Pharaoh also dreamed, and beholde, he stoode by a riuer,
Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
Two years later the king of Egypt dreamed he was standing beside the Nile River.
At the end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing beside the Nile River;
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river.
Two years later Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River.
After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,
AND it came to pass, two years later, Pharaoh dreamed; and he was standing by the river.
After two years had passed, the king of Egypt dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River,
At the end of two years Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
And it happened at the end of two years of days, Pharaoh was dreaming. And, lo, he was standing by the River.
And after two yeares Pharao had a dreame, how that he stode by a water syde: and beholde, out of the water there came seuen
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;
And after two yeres Pharao dreamed, and beholde, he thought that he stoode by a ryuers syde.
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
And it came to passe at the end of two ful yeeres, that Pharaoh dreamed: and beholde, hee stood by the riuer.
And it came to pass after two full years that Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood upon the bank of the river.
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
Aftir twei yeer Farao seiy a dreem; he gesside that he stood on a flood,
And it cometh to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and lo, he is standing by the River,
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, look, he stood by the river.
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river.
It happened at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.
Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.
After two years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream. He dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River.
After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,
And it came to pass at the end of two years of days, that, Pharaoh, was dreaming, when lo! he was standing by the river (Nile);
After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river,
After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,
Two years passed and Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile River. Seven cows came up out of the Nile, all shimmering with health, and grazed on the marsh grass. Then seven other cows, all skin and bones, came up out of the river after them and stood by them on the bank of the Nile. The skinny cows ate the seven healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
am 2289, bc 1715
two full years: Shenathayim yamim, "two years of days," two complete solar revolutions; as a month of days is a full month. Genesis 29:14
that Pharaoh: Genesis 20:3, Genesis 37:5-10, Genesis 40:5, Judges 7:13, Judges 7:14, Esther 6:1, Job 33:15, Job 33:16, Daniel 2:1-3, Daniel 4:5-18, Daniel 7:1 - Daniel 8:27, Matthew 27:19
the river: Genesis 31:21, Exodus 1:22, Exodus 4:9, Deuteronomy 11:10, Isaiah 19:5, Ezekiel 29:3, Ezekiel 29:9
Reciprocal: Genesis 12:15 - princes Genesis 31:24 - dream Genesis 41:17 - General
Cross-References
And God comes to Abimelech in a dream of the night and says to him, "Behold, you [are] a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken—and she married to a husband."
and Laban says to him, "You [are] surely my bone and my flesh"; and he dwells with him a month of days.
and he flees, he and all that he has, and rises, and passes over the River, and sets his face [toward] the Mount of Gilead.
And they dream a dream both of them, each his dream in one night, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker whom the king of Egypt has, who [are] prisoners in the round-house.
And it comes to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and behold, he is standing by the River,
and behold, seven other cows are coming up after them out of the River, of bad appearance, and lean [in] flesh, and they stand near the cows on the edge of the River,
And he sleeps, and dreams a second time, and behold, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, fat and good,
And it comes to pass in the morning, that his spirit is moved, and he sends and calls all the enchanters of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh recounts to them his dream, and there is no interpreter of them to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh has been angry against his servants, and puts me in confinement in the house of the chief of the executioners, me and the chief of the bakers;
and it comes to pass, as he has interpreted to us so it has been, me he put back on my station, and him he hanged."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And it came to pass at the end of two full years,.... It is not a clear case, as Aben Ezra observes, from whence these years are to be reckoned, whether from the time of Joseph's being put into prison, or from the time that the chief butler was taken out of it; the latter seems more probable, and better connects this and the preceding chapter:
that Pharaoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood by the river; it seemed to him, in his dream, as if he stood near the river Nile, or some canal or flow of water cut out of that river.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Joseph Was Exalted
1. ××ר ye'or, âriver, canal,â mostly applied to the Nile. Some suppose the word to be Coptic.
2. ×××Ö¼ 'aÌchuÌ, âsedge, reed-grass, marsh-grass.â This word is probably Coptic.
8. ×ר×××× chartÌ£umıÌym, εÌξηγηÏÎ±Î¹Ì exeÌgeÌtai, ιÌεÏογÏαμμαÏειÍÏ hierogrammateis, âsacred scribes, hieroglyphs.â ××¨× cheretÌ£ âstylus,â a graving tool.
43. ×××¨× 'abreÌk âbend the knee.â In this sense it is put for ×××¨× habreÌk imperative hiphil of ××¨× baÌrak. Those who take the word to be Coptic render it variously - âbow all, bow the head, cast thyself down.â
45. ×¤×¢× × <×¦×¤× ×ª tsaÌpenat-paâneÌach, Tsaphenath-paâneach, in the Septuagint Ïονθομ-ÏανηÌÏ Psonthom-FaneÌch. âRevelator occulti,â Kimchi. This is founded on an attempted Hebrew derivation. ΣÏÏηÌÏ ÎºÎ¿ÌÏÎ¼Î¿Ï SoÌteÌr kosmou in Oxford MS., âservator mundi,â Jerome. These point to a Coptic origin. Recent Egyptologists give P-sont-em-ph-anh, âthe-salvation-of-the-life or world.â This is a high-flowing title, in keeping with Eastern phraseology. ××¡× ×ª 'aÌsnath, Asenath, perhaps belonging to Neith, or worshipper of Neith, a goddess corresponding to Athene of the Greeks. פ××× ×¤×¨×¢ poÌṭıÌy-peraâ, Potipheraâ, seems to be a variation of פ×××פר PoÌṭıÌyphar, Potiphar Genesis 37:36. ×× 'oÌn or ××× 'oÌn, On =Oein, âlight, sun;â on the monuments TA-RA, âhouse of the sun.â ××תש×××©× beÌyth shemesh, Jeremiah 43:13, Heliopolis, north of Memphis, on the east bank of the Nile.
51. ×× ×©×× menasheh, Menasheh, âcausing to forget.â
52. ×פר×× 'epraÌyıÌm Ephraim, âdouble fruit.â
Here we have the double dream of Pharaoh interpreted by Joseph, in consequence of which he is elevated over all the land of Egypt.
Genesis 41:1-8
The dreams are recited. âBy the river.â In the dream Pharaoh supposes himself on the banks of the Nile. âOn rite green.â The original word denotes the reed, or marsh grass, on the banks of the Nile. The cow is a very significant emblem of fruitful nature among the Egyptians, the hieroglyphic symbol of the earth and of agriculture; and the form in which Isis the goddess of the earth was adored. âDreamed a second time.â The repetition is designed to confirm the warning given, as Joseph afterward explains Genesis 41:32. Corn (grain) is the natural emblem of fertility and nurture. âBlasted with the east wind The east windâ. The east wind is any wind coming from the east of the meridian, and may be a southeast or a northeast, as well as a direct east. The Hebrews were accustomed to speak only of the four winds, and, therefore, must have used the name of each with great latitude. The blasting wind in Egypt is said to be usually from the southeast. âAnd, behold, it was a dream.â The impression was so distinct as to be taken for the reality, until he awoke and perceived that it was only a dream. âHis spirit was troubled.â Like the officers in the prison Genesis 40:6, he could not get rid of the feeling that the twofold dream portended some momentous event. âThe scribesâ - the hieroglyphs, who belonged to the priestly caste, and whose primary business was to make hieroglyphic and other inscriptions; while they were accustomed to consult the stars, interpret dreams, practise soothsaying, and pursue the other occult arts. The sages; whose chief business was the cultivation of the various arts above mentioned, while the engraving or inscribing department strictly belonged to the hieroglyphs or scribes. âHis dream;â the twofold dream. âInterpreted themâ - the two dreams.
Genesis 41:9-13
The chief butler now calls Joseph to mind, and mentions his gift to Pharaoh. âMy sins.â His offence against Pharaoh. His ingratitude in forgetting Joseph for two years does not perhaps occur to him as a sin. âA Hebrew lad.â The Egyptians were evidently well acquainted with the Hebrew race, at a time when Israel had only a family. âHim he hanged.â The phrase is worthy of note, as a specimen of pithy brevioquence. Him he declared that the dream foreboded that Pharaoh would hang.
Genesis 41:14-24
Pharaoh sends for Joseph, who is hastily brought from the prison. âHe shaved.â The Egyptians were accustomed to shave the head and beard, except in times of mourning (Herod. 2:32). âCanst hear a dream to interpret itâ - needest only to hear in order to interpret it. âNot I God shall answer.â According to his uniform habit Joseph ascribes the gift that is in him to God. âTo the peace of Pharaohâ - so that Pharaoh may reap the advantage. In form. This takes the place of âin look,â in the former account. Other slight variations in the terms occur. âAnd they went into themâ - into their stomachs.
Genesis 41:25-36
Joseph now proceeds to interpret the dream, and offer counsel suitable to the emergency. âWhat the God is about to do.â The God, the one true, living, eternal God, in opposition to all false gods. âAnd because the dream was repeated.â This is explained to denote the certainty and immediateness of the event. The beautiful elucidation of the dream needs no comment. Joseph now naturally passes from the interpreter to the adviser. He is all himself on this critical occasion. His presence of mind never forsakes him. The openness of heart and readiness of speech, for which he was early distinguished, now stand him in good stead. His thorough self-command arises from spontaneously throwing himself, with all his heart, into the great national emergency which is before his mind. And his native simplicity of heart, practical good sense, anti force of character break forth into unasked, but not unaccepted counsel. âA man discreetâ - intelligent, capable of understanding the occasion; wise, prudent, capable of acting accordingly. âLet Pharaoh proceedâ - take the following steps: âTake the fifthâ of the produce of the land. âUnder the hand of Pharaoh.â Under his supreme control.
The measures here suggested to Pharaoh were, we must suppose in conformity with the civil institutions of the country. Thee exaction of a fifth, or two tithes, during the period of plenty, may have been an extraordinary measure, which the absolute power of the monarch enabled him to enforce for the public safety. The sovereign was probably dependent for his revenues on the produce of the crown lands, certain taxes on exports or imports, and occasional gifts or forced contributions from his subjects. This extraordinary fifth was, probably, of the last description, and was fully warranted by the coming emergency. The âgathering up of all the foodâ may imply that, in addition to the fifth, large purchases of corn were made by the government out of the surplus produce of the country.
Genesis 41:37-46
Pharaoh approves of his counsel, and selects him as âthe discreet and wise manâ for carrying it into effect. âIn whom is the Spirit of God.â He acknowledges the gift that is in Joseph to be from God. âAll my people behaveâ - dispose or order their conduct, a special meaning of this word, which usually signifies to kiss. âHis ring.â His signet-ring gave Joseph the delegated power of the sovereign, and constituted him his prime minister or grand vizier. âVestures of fine linen.â Egypt was celebrated for its flax, and for the fineness of its textures. The priests were arrayed in official robes of linen, and no man was allowed to enter a temple in a woolen garment (Herodotus ii. 37, 81). âA gold chain about his neck.â This was a badge of office worn in Egypt by the judge and the prime minister. It had a similar use in Persia and Babylonia Daniel 5:7. âThe second chariot.â Egypt was noted for chariots, both for peaceful and for warlike purposes (Herodotus ii. 108). The second in the public procession was assigned to Joseph. âBow the knee.â The various explications of this proclamation agree in denoting a form of obeisance, with which Joseph was to be honored. I am Pharaoh, the king Genesis 12:15. âWithout thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot.â Thou art next to me, and without thee no man shall act or move. âZaphenath-paneah.â Pharaoh designates him the preserver of life, as the interpreter of the dream and the proposer of the plan by which the country was saved from famine. He thus naturalizes him so far as to render his civil status compatible with his official rank. âAsenath.â The priests were the highest and most privileged class in Egypt. Intermarriage with this caste at once determined the social position of the wonderous foreigner. His father-in-law was priest of On, a city dedicated to the worship of the sun.
With our Western and modern habit we may at the first glance be surprised to find a stranger of a despised race suddenly elevated to the second place in the kingdom. But in ancient and Eastern governments, which were of a despotic character, such changes, depending on the will of the sovereign, were by no means unusual. Secondly, the conviction that âthe Spirit of God was inâ the mysterious stranger, was sufficient to overbear all opposing feelings or customs. And, lastly, it was assumed and acted on, as a self-evident fact, that the illustrious stranger could have no possible objection to be incorporated into the most ancient of nations, and allied with its noblest families. We may imagine that Joseph would find an insuperable difficulty in becoming a citizen of Egypt or a son-in-law of the priest of the sun. But we should not forget that the world was yet too young to have arrived at the rigid and sharplydefined systems of polytheism or allotheism to which we are accustomed. Some gray streaks of a pure monotheism, of the knowledge of the one true God, still gleamed across the sky of human memory. Some faint traces of one common brotherhood among mankind still lingered in the recollections of the past. The Pharaoh of Abrahamâs day feels the power of him whose name is Yahweh Genesis 12:17. Abimelek acknowledges the God of Abraham and Isaac Genesis 20:3-7; Genesis 21:22-23; Genesis 26:28-29. And while Joseph is frank and faithful in acknowledging the true God before the king of Egypt, Pharaoh himself is not slow to recognize the man in whom the Spirit of God is. Having experienced the omniscience and omnipotence of Josephâs God, he was prepared, no doubt, not only himself to offer him such adoration as he was accustomed to pay to his national gods, but also to allow Joseph full liberty to worship the God of his fathers, and to bring up his family in that faith.
Joseph was now in his thirtieth year, and had consequently been thirteen years in Egypt, most part of which interval he had probably spent in prison. This was the age for manly service Numbers 4:3. He immediately enters upon his office.
Genesis 41:47-49
The fulfillment of the dream here commences. âBy handfuls.â Not in single stalks or grains, but in handfuls compared with the former yield. It is probable that a fifth of the present unprecedented yield was sufficient for the sustenance of the inhabitants. Another fifth was rendered to the government, and the remaining three fifths were stored up or sold to the state or the foreign broker at a low price. âHe left numbering because there was no number.â This denotes that the store was immense, and not perhaps that modes of expressing the number failed.
Genesis 41:50-52
Two sons were born to Joseph during the seven years of plenty. âMenasseh.â God made him forget his toil and his fatherâs house. Neither absolutely. He remembered his toils in the very utterance of this sentence. And he tenderly and intensely remembered his fatherâs house. But he is grateful to God, who builds him a home, with all its soothing joys, even in the land of his exile. His heart again responds to long untasted joys. âFruitful in the land of my affliction.â It is still, we perceive, the land of his affliction. But why does no message go from Joseph to his mourning father? For many reasons. First, he does not know the state of things at home. Secondly, he may not wish to open up the dark and bloody treachery of his brothers to his aged parent. But, thirdly, he bears in mind those early dreams of his childhood. All his subsequent experience has confirmed him in the belief that they will one day be fulfilled. But that fulfillment implies the submission not only of his brothers, but of his father. This is too delicate a matter for him to interfere in. He will leave it entirely to the all-wise providence of his God to bring about that strange issue. Joseph, therefore, is true to his life-long character. He leaves all in the hand of God, and awaits in anxious, but silent hope, the days when he will see his father and his brethren.
Genesis 41:53-57
The commencement and the extent of the famine are now noted. âAs Joseph had said.â The fulfillment is as perfect in the one part as in the other. âIn all the landsâ - all the lands adjacent to Egypt; such as Arabia and Palestine. The word all in popular discourse is taken in a relative sense, to be ascertained by the context. We are not aware that this famine was felt beyond the distance of Hebron. âGo unto Josephâ Pharaoh has had reason to trust Joseph more and more, and now he adheres to his purpose of sending his people to him. âAll the face of the land of Egypt.â âAnd Joseph opened all places in which there was foodâ - all the stores in every city. âAnd sold unto Mizaim.â The stores under Pharaohâs hand were public property, obtained either by lawful taxation or by purchase. It was a great public benefit to sell this grain, that had been providently kept in store, at a moderate price, and thus preserve the lives of a nation during a seven yearsâ famine. âAll the land.â This is to be understood of the countries in the neighborhood of Egypt. Famines in these countries were not unusual. We have read already of two famines in Palestine that did not extend to Egypt Genesis 12:10; Genesis 26:1.
The fertility of Egypt depends on the rise of the waters of the Nile to a certain point, at which they will reach all the country. If it fall short of that point, there will be a deficiency in the crops proportioned to the deficiency in the rise. The rise of the Nile depends on the tropical rains by which the lake is supplied from which it flows. These rains depend on the clouds wafted by the winds from the basin of the Mediterranean Sea. The amount of these piles of vapor will depend on the access and strength of the solar heat producing evaporation from the surface of that inland sea. The same cause, therefore, may withhold rain from central Africa, and from all the lands that are watered from the Mediterranean. The duration of the extraordinary plenty was indeed wonderful. But such periods of excess are generally followed by corresponding periods of deficiency over the same area. This prepares the way for the arrival of Josephâs kindred in Egypt.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER XLI
Pharaoh's dream of the seven well-favoured and seven
ill-favoured kine, 1-4.
His dream of the seven full and seven thin ears of corn, 5-7.
The magicians and wise men applied to for the interpretation
of them, but could give no solution, 8.
The chief butler recollects and recommends Joseph, 9-13.
Pharaoh commands him to be brought out of prison, 14.
Joseph appears before Pharaoh, 15, 16.
Pharaoh repeats his dreams, 17-24.
Joseph interprets them, 25-32,
and gives Pharaoh directions how to provide against the
approaching scarcity, 33-36.
Pharaoh, pleased with the counsel, appoints Joseph to be
superintendent of all his affairs, 37-41.
Joseph receives the badges of his new office, 42, 43,
and has his powers defined, 44;
receives a new name, and marries Asenath, daughter of
Poti-Pherah, priest of ON, 45.
Joseph's age when brought before Pharaoh, 46.
Great fertility of Egypt in the seven plenteous years, 47.
Joseph hoards up the grain, 48, 49.
Ephraim and Manasseh born, 50-52.
The seven years of famine commence with great rigour, 53-55.
Joseph opens the storehouses to the Egyptians, 56.
People from the neighbouring countries come to Egypt to
buy corn, the famine being in all those lands, 57.
NOTES ON CHAP. XLI
Verse Genesis 41:1. Two full years — ×©× ×ª×× ×××× shenathayim yamim, two years of days, two complete solar revolutions, after the events mentioned in the preceding chapter.
The river. — The Nile, the cause of the fertility of Egypt.
