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Texts -- Genesis 41:1-38 (NET)

Context
Joseph’s Rise to Power
41:1 At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream . As he was standing by the Nile , 41:2 seven fine-looking , fat cows were coming up out of the Nile , and they grazed in the reeds . 41:3 Then seven bad-looking , thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile , and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river . 41:4 The bad-looking , thin cows ate the seven fine-looking , fat cows . Then Pharaoh woke up . 41:5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream : There were seven heads of grain growing on one stalk , healthy and good . 41:6 Then seven heads of grain , thin and burned by the east wind , were sprouting up after them. 41:7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads . Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream . 41:8 In the morning he was troubled , so he called for all the diviner-priests of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams , but no one could interpret them for him . 41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh , “Today I recall my failures . 41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants , and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker . 41:11 We each had a dream one night ; each of us had a dream dream with its own meaning . 41:12 Now a young man , a Hebrew , a servant of the captain of the guards , was with us there . We told him our dreams , and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. 41:13 It happened just as he had said to us– Pharaoh restored me to my office , but he impaled the baker.” 41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph . So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon ; he shaved himself, changed his clothes , and came before Pharaoh . 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph , “I had a dream , and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard about you, that you can interpret dreams .” 41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh , “It is not within my power, but God will speak concerning the welfare of Pharaoh .” 41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph , “In my dream I was standing by the edge of the Nile . 41:18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile , and they grazed in the reeds . 41:19 Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny , very bad-looking , and lean . I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt ! 41:20 The lean , bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows . 41:21 When they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before . Then I woke up . 41:22 I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk , full and good . 41:23 Then seven heads of grain , withered and thin and burned with the east wind , were sprouting up after them. 41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain . So I told all this to the diviner-priests , but no one could tell me its meaning.” 41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh , “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do . 41:26 The seven good cows represent seven years , and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years . Both dreams have the same meaning. 41:27 The seven lean , bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years , as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind . They represent seven years of famine . 41:28 This is just what I told Pharaoh : God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do . 41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt . 41:30 But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt . The famine will devastate the land . 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows , for the famine will be very severe . 41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God , and God will make it happen soon . 41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt . 41:34 Pharaoh should do this– he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance . 41:35 They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming . By Pharaoh’s authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food , and they should preserve it. 41:36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt . In this way the land will survive the famine .” 41:37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials . 41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials , “Can we find a man like Joseph , one in whom the Spirit of God is present?”

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Famine

    [ebd] The first mentioned in Scripture was so grievous as to compel Abraham to go down to the land of Egypt (Gen. 26:1). Another is mentioned as having occurred in the days of Isaac, causing him to go to Gerar (Gen. 26:1, 17). But...
    [nave] FAMINE Pharaoh forewarned of, in dreams, Gen. 41. Described, Deut. 28:53-57; Isa. 5:13; 9:18-21; 17:11; Jer. 5:17; 14:1-6; 48:33; Lam. 1:11, 19; 2:11-22; 4:4-10; Joel 1:17-20. Sent as a judgment, Lev. 26:19-29; Deut. 28:23...

  • Dream

    [ebd] God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating his will to men. The most remarkable instances of this are recorded in the history of Jacob (Gen. 28:12; 31:10), Laban (31:24), Joseph (37:9-11), Gideon (Judg. 7), and S...
    [nave] DREAM Evanescent, Job 20:8. Vanity of, Eccl. 5:3, 7. Revelations by, Num. 12:6; Job 33:15-17; Jer. 23:28; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17. The dreams of the butler and baker, Gen. 40:8-23; Pharaoh, Gen. 41:1-36. Interpreted by Jose...

  • PHARAOH

    [ebd] the official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to the time when that country was conquered by the Greeks. (See EGYPT.) The name is a compound, as some think, of the words Ra, the "sun" or "sun-god," and the article phe,...
    [isbe] PHARAOH - fa'-ro, fa'-ra-o (par`oh; Pharao); Egyptian per aa, "great house"):em; the King James Version Pharacim): One of the families of temple-servants who returned with Zerubbabel (1 Esdras 5:31; not found in Ezra or Nehe...
    [smith] the common title of the native kings of Egypt in the Bible, corresponding to P-ra or Ph-ra "the sun," of the hieroglyphics. Brugsch, Ebers and other modern Egyptologists define it to mean ?the great house," which would corres...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Joseph

    [nave] JOSEPH 1. Son of Jacob, Gen. 30:24. Personal appearance of, Gen. 39:6. His father's favorite child, Gen. 33:2; 37:3, 4, 35; 48:22; 1 Chr. 5:2; John 4:5. His father's partiality for, excites the jealousy of his brethren, G...

  • Egypt

    [nave] EGYPT The country of: Called Rahab, Psa. 87:4; 89:10; Land of Ham, Psa. 105:23; 106:22. Limits of, Ezek. 29:10. Fertility of, Gen. 13:10. Productions of, Num. 11:5; Psa. 78:47; Prov. 7:16; Isa. 19:5-9. Irrigation employ...

  • GENESIS, 1-2

    [isbe] GENESIS, 1-2 - jen'-e-sis: I. GENERAL DATA 1. The Name 2. Survey of Contents 3. Connection with Succeeding Books II. COMPOSITION OF GENESIS IN GENERAL 1. Unity of the Biblical Text (1) The Toledhoth (2) Further Indication of...

  • Prisoners

    [nave] PRISONERS Joseph, Gen. 39:20-23; 40; 41:1-44. Jeremiah, Jer. 38:6-28; 39:14. John the Baptist, Matt. 11:2; 14:3-12; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:20. Jesus, Matt. 26:47-75; 27; Mark 14:43-72; 15; Luke 22:47-71; 23; John 18:3-40; 19. ...

  • Promotion

    [nave] PROMOTION, Psa. 75:6, 7; 78:70, 71; 113:7, 8. As a reward of merit, 1 Chr. 11:6. Instances of Abraham, Gen. 12:2. Joseph, from imprisoned slave to prince, Gen. 41:1-45. Moses, from exile to lawgiver, See: Moses. Aaron...

  • Kine

    [ebd] (Heb. sing. parah, i.e., "fruitful"), mentioned in Pharaoh's dream (Gen. 41: 18). Here the word denotes "buffaloes," which fed on the reeds and sedge by the river's brink.
    [isbe] KINE - kin: (1) 'alaphim, plural of 'eleph, "ox," or "cow," the American Standard Revised Version "cattle," the King James Version and the English Revised Version "kine" (Dt 7:13; 28:4,18,51); (2) baqar, "ox" or "cow," the A...
    [nave] KINE, Pharaoh's dream of, Gen. 41:2-7, 26-30. See: Cattle. Figurative Amos 4:1.

  • COW; KINE

    [isbe] COW; KINE - kou, kin (baqar (compare Arabic baqar, "cow"); `eghlath baqar (Isa 7:21); parah (compare Arabic furar, "young of a sheep, goat, or cow"); paroth `aloth (1 Sam 6:7,10), "milch kine," from `ul , "to suckle"; 'eleph...

  • Seven

    [nave] SEVEN Interesting facts concerning the number. Days Week consists of, Gen. 2:3; Ex. 20:11; Deut. 5:13, 14. Noah in the ark before the flood, Gen. 7:4, 10; remains in the ark after sending forth the dove, Gen. 8:10, 12. M...

  • Servant

    [nave] SERVANT Distinguished as bond servant, who was a slave, and hired servant. Bond Laws of Moses concerning, Ex. 21:1-11, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32; Lev. 19:20-22; 25:6, 10, 35-55; Deut. 15:12, 14, 18; 24:7. Kidnapping forbidden, D...

  • Heathen

    [nave] HEATHEN Under this head are grouped all who are not embraced under the Abrahamic covenant. Cast out of Canaan, Lev. 18:24, 25; Psa. 44:2; and their land given to Israel, Psa. 78:55; 105:44; 135:12; 136:21, 22; Isa. 54:1-3. ...

  • DREAM; DREAMER

    [isbe] DREAM; DREAMER - drem, drem'-er (chalom, chelem; onar): In all time dreams and their interpretation have been the occasion of much curious and speculative inquiry. Because of the mystery by which they have been enshrouded, a...

  • Wisdom

    [nave] WISDOM Of Joseph, Gen. 41:16, 25-39; Acts 7:10. Of Moses, Acts 7:22. Of Bezaleel, Ex. 31:3-5; 35:31-35; 36:1. Of Aholiab, Ex. 31:6; 35:34, 35; 36:1; of other skilled artisans, Ex. 36:2; of women, Ex. 35:26. Of Hiram, 1 K...

  • Government

    [nave] GOVERNMENT Paternal functions of, Gen. 41:25-57. Civil service school provided by, Dan. 1:3-20. Maintains a system of public instruction, 2 Chr. 17:7-9. Executive departments in. See: Cabinet; King; Ruler; Statecraft. Ju...

  • JOSEPH (2)

    [isbe] JOSEPH (2) - jo'-zef (yoceph, "He will add"; Septuagint Ioseph). The narrative (Gen 30:23,14) indicates not so much a double etymology as the course of Rachel's thoughts. The use of 'acaph, "He takes away," suggested to her ...

  • Divination

    [ebd] of false prophets (Deut. 18:10, 14; Micah 3:6, 7, 11), of necromancers (1 Sam. 28:8), of the Philistine priests and diviners (1 Sam. 6:2), of Balaam (Josh. 13:22). Three kinds of divination are mentioned in Ezek. 21:21, by a...

  • EVIL-FAVOREDNESS

    [isbe] EVIL-FAVOREDNESS - e-v'-l-fa'-verd-nes The word is the translation of the Hebrew dabhar ra', lit "evil thing," and refers to the ritual unfitness for sacrifice of any animal which, though included in the class of clean beast...
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  • [Gen 41:15] My Soul Once Had Its Plenteous Years

Questions

  • The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Old Testament times was selective and temporary. He was nevertheless working in the lives of people to do much of the same type of thing as seen in John 16:8-11, though the object of faith...
  • The following material from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia should be helpful here: III. Significant numbers Numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance. One is used to convey th...

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
  • Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
  • The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
  • The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
  • "The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
  • "These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
  • The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
  • This chapter records how Abram, though threatened with major conflict with Lot because of their herdsmen's strife, magnanimously gave his nephew his choice of what land he wanted. Lot took an area that was very fertile, thoug...
  • Abram asked God to strengthen his faith. In response Yahweh promised to give the patriarch innumerable descendants. This led Abram to request some further assurance that God would indeed do what He promised. God graciously ob...
  • Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
  • A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
  • Joseph faithfully served his father even bringing back a bad report of his brothers' behavior to him for which Jacob expressed his love by giving Joseph preferential treatment. However his brothers envied and hated him. God c...
  • When Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker had disturbing dreams in prison, Joseph foretold the cupbearer's restoration and the baker's execution, but Joseph remained in prison because the cupbearer forgot him.The cupbearer and baker...
  • Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's two dreams faithfully. This led to God elevating Joseph in the government and demonstrating His sovereign control over economic life in Egypt as He prepared to preserve Israel through the coming f...
  • Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to...
  • Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
  • Pharaoh requested that Moses and Aaron perform a miracle to prove their divine authority since they claimed that God had sent them (vv. 9-10)."What we refer to as the ten plagues' were actually judgments designed to authentic...
  • Chapter 31 summarizes what God required for His people to approach Him. God appointed the men who would be responsible for interpreting Moses' instructions about the tabernacle and constructing it. He filled them with His Spi...
  • "A testament is of force only after the death of the testator [cf. Heb. 9:16-17]. So the Deuteronomic Covenant in it testamentary aspect . . . would not become operative until after the death of Moses. Only then would Joshua ...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • Here we have another remarkable example of how God controls the hearts of kings (v. 2; Prov. 21:1; cf. Gen. 39-41; Ezra 1:1-4; Neh. 2; Dan. 2; 3; 4; 5; Acts 2:23). "To half of the kingdom"(v. 3) is hyperbole and means, "I wil...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • 105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
  • These two chapters begin with an introduction of the Servant (Messiah) and His mission. That the Servant of the Servant Songs is the same person as the Anointed One (Messiah) of chapter 11 is clear from what Isaiah wrote abou...
  • 4:11-12 The Lord also said that when this invasion would come it would descend like a violent wind from the north. It would be far more severe than an ordinary attack that the prophet compared to a gentle breeze that would wi...
  • Having given a true prophecy about the future, Jeremiah proceeded to announce God's judgment on the false prophets who were misleading His people with false prophecies (cf. v. 1). This section consists of six different messag...
  • What follows in this chapter is another oracle against a foreign nation (cf. chs. 25-32). What is it doing here? Evidently the writer included this oracle here because it promises to desolate an enemy of Israel that wanted to...
  • 2:1 Daniel opened this new section of his book with another chronological reference (cf. 1:1, 21). This indicates that his interest in this book was in the progress of events and their relationship to one another. As the book...
  • 2:4 The Chaldeans took the lead in replying to the king. They responded in the Aramaic language that was widely used in business and in government throughout the empire. This reference to Aramaic introduces the section of the...
  • 2:24 Daniel had to go through Arioch to get to the king since the king had authorized Arioch to execute all the wise men. Daniel could have requested his life and the lives of his friends alone. Perhaps Daniel asked for the l...
  • 7:1 We have already read of two dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had (2:1; 4:5). Now God gave one to Daniel. It too was a vision from God that came to Daniel as he slept."In referring to the experience as a dream' (sing.) Daniel wa...
  • 18:1 John next saw another scene on earth (Gr. Meta tauta eidon, "After these things I saw,"cf. 4:1). Another angel of the same kind as in 17:1 (i.e., one who descends from heaven to fulfill a special mission; cf. 10:1; 20:1)...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Genesis 41:38-48At seventeen years of age Joseph was sold for a slave; at thirty he was prime minister of Egypt (Gen. 37:2; 41:46). How long his prison life lasted is uncertain; but it was long enough for the promises contain...
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