Recap: (see Genesis 35b) Judah became the forefather of David, and Jesus. Joseph was sold as a slave in Egypt, and after rejecting Potiphar’s wife, was put in prison where he interpreted the dreams of two prisoners.
Read Genesis 41:1-57
1 When two full years had passed,
Pharaoh’s cupbearer had forgotten Joseph, and Joseph must have felt that the Lord too, had forgotten him. How often we fret because God seems to move so slowly when we need an answer now! But if Joseph had been released earlier, in all probability it would have been either to his death, or to be sold as a slave elsewhere – he couldn’t return to his original position.
But the Lord had work for him, and that meant he had to be in the prison exactly when he was, and for as long as he was. And with Joseph in place, Pharaoh himself could be given two prophetic dreams.
Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the river-bank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: seven ears of corn, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other ears of corn sprouted – thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin ears of corn swallowed up the seven healthy, full ears. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.
8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
It is fascinating to see (v8) the sort of people that Pharaoh relied on: wise men, who dealt with facts and truth, and magicians, who dealt with trickery and subterfuge. Would some cynic suggest nothing changes?!
Usually among this group of people someone could be relied upon to come up with a plausible solution, but I think that this time the Lord made sure they all failed. They simply hadn’t a clue. The atmosphere would have been tense, and they all knew what happened to people who upset the Pharaoh.
Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, ‘Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.’
14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
As far as Joseph knew, there was a chance here that as a result of a favourable outcome he might be set free. So he asked that he first be allowed to smarten himself up in order to show no dishonour to Pharaoh (and at the same time to show himself in his best light – similar to the way an arrested man will suddenly take to wearing a suit for his court appearance).
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’
16 ‘I cannot do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh, ‘but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.’
It would have been so easy for Joseph to claim the glory in the hope that it might improve his prospects. But he knew that the interpretation would come from God and he was not afraid to say so.
It is all too easy to make the mistake of taking the glory due to God and thus destroying our opportunity for witness. We must learn to be bold and honest at all times if we are to be of use in Christ’s kingdom.
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up – scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.
What word does Pharaoh most often use to describe the lean cows?
Ugly. What an interesting choice of word, one that obviously best described them. There was something unusually repugnant about them and it had affected Pharaoh deeply – reed verses 19-21 again. For those used to living in a land of plenty, can pictures of famine truly be described as ugly?
22 ‘In my dream I saw seven ears of corn, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other ears sprouted – withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin ears of corn swallowed up the seven good ears. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.’
Cows eating cows was disconcerting to say the least, but ears of corn eating ears of corn? Truly the stuff of nightmares! No wonder Pharaoh’s ‘mind was troubled’ (v8).
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of corn are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterwards are seven years, and so are the seven worthless ears of corn scorched by the east wind: they are seven years of famine.
God’s revelation to Joseph meant that to him it was just so obvious! Seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
But there was a reason that Pharaoh had been given these prophetic dreams: it was that he had to act now in order to save his nation.
28 ‘It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
Joseph was now in full flow – he had moved on from interpreting the dream and now had assumed the role of advisor to Pharaoh:
33 ‘And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.’
I believe that this too was a revelation from God. Only God could have calculated how much harvest the ‘abundant’ years would produce, and how much of that would need to be stored to provide for the years of famine. (Not forgetting that surrounding countries would also come to Egypt for aid).
37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, ‘Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?’.
In the room were all the wisest men in Egypt, including the Pharaoh himself. He had nowhere else to look! But more than that, what special ability did Pharaoh recognise? ‘one in whom is the spirit of God’
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’
No one had been able to answer Pharaoh’s question (v38) – therefore Joseph is appointed.
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’ 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain round his neck. 43 He made him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, ‘Make way!’ Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. 44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.’
Joseph was not just to be in charge of grain stocks. What do verses 41-44 tell us about his position?
I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt
Joseph was responsible for everything
Pharaoh took his signet ring
Normally Pharaoh himself had to sign all decrees – this responsibility he now handed over to Joseph.
robes of fine linen and put a gold chain
Obviously he had to look the part – but the gold chain spoke more than fine clothes
ride in a chariot as his second-in-command
Possibly a ‘state’ chariot, but at least a ‘Rolls Royce’ model!
people shouted before him, ‘Make way!’
This could refer to runners employed specifically to clear the road.
without your word no one will lift hand or foot
No one could do anything or go anywhere unless explicitly instructed by Joseph
45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.
When the Hyksos began their rule in Egypt, the culture, customs, language and religion remained unchanged. Pharaoh’s understanding of God was limited; he would have associated him with Ra – the Sun God, who was regarded by the Egyptians as the creative power, ruling the sky, the earth and the underworld. Worship of Ra was cantered at On, (renamed Heliopolis by the Greeks).
It therefore seemed most appropriate that Joseph, as God’s representative, should marry into the priestly line. (The meaning of Joseph’s new name can only be guessed at)
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and travelled throughout Egypt. 47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. 48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. 49 Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.
Joseph obviously set to without delay (v46). I guess he would have been assigned a team of officials and personal servants, and his entourage would have been impressive. At each city large storehouses would have to be set up, each big enough to contain seven year’s supply of grain, and a system of controls to ensure they were filled!
Obviously, he felt it was important to record what was stored, but after a while the numbers became meaningless! 'huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea' (v49)
50 Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, ‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.’ 52 The second son he named Ephraim and said, ‘It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’
During the first seven years his wife had two sons. The Bible does not comment further on the fact that she was the daughter of a priest of a pagan god, but it is repeated (v 45, 50). Manasseh and Ephraim would come to replace Joseph as tribal leaders within Israel.
53 The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.
‘There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food’ – this suggests that because they had to give up 20% of their crops, the Egyptian farmers believed that a famine was coming and they probably also saved some for themselves. But it didn’t last.
55 When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.’
56 When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. 57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
To start with, grain could be bought on the open market, but eventually there was no grain left, and only then would Joseph allow the storehouses to be opened. Word soon got out that there was food in Egypt, and it eventually reached the ears of Israel (Jacob) and Joseph’s brothers.
