Genesis 41:12-46

41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant ¹  of the captain of the guards, ²  was with us there. We told him our dreams, ³  and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. ⁴  41:13 It happened just as he had said ⁵  to us – Pharaoh ⁶  restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” ⁷ 

41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned ⁸  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, ⁹  and there is no one who can interpret ¹⁰  it. But I have heard about you, that ¹¹  you can interpret dreams.” ¹²  41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, ¹³  but God will speak concerning ¹⁴  the welfare of Pharaoh.” ¹⁵ 

41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷  41:19 Then ¹⁸  seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows ¹⁹  as these in all the land of Egypt! 41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven ²⁰  fat cows. 41:21 When they had eaten them, ²¹  no one would have known ²²  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 ²³  seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 41:23 Then ²⁴  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 ²⁵  to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” ²⁶ 

41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. ²⁷  God has revealed ²⁸  to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹  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. ³⁰  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 ³¹  seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told ³²  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 ³³  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ³⁴  the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered ³⁵  because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. ³⁶  41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh ³⁷  because the matter has been decreed ³⁸  by God, and God will make it happen soon. ³⁹ 

41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look ⁴⁰  for a wise and discerning man ⁴¹  and give him authority ⁴²  over all the land of Egypt. 41:34 Pharaoh should do ⁴³  this – he should appoint ⁴⁴  officials ⁴⁵  throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt ⁴⁶  during the seven years of abundance. 41:35 They should gather all the excess food ⁴⁷  during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority ⁴⁸  they should store up grain so the cities will have food, ⁴⁹  and they should preserve it. ⁵⁰  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.” ⁵¹ 

41:37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. ⁵²  41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, ⁵³  one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” ⁵⁴  41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning ⁵⁵  as you are! 41:40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. ⁵⁶  Only I, the king, will be greater than you. ⁵⁷ 

41:41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place ⁵⁸  you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” ⁵⁹  41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen ⁶⁰  clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 41:43 Pharaoh ⁶¹  had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, ⁶²  and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!” ⁶³  So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission ⁶⁴  no one ⁶⁵  will move his hand or his foot ⁶⁶  in all the land of Egypt.” 41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. ⁶⁷  He also gave him Asenath ⁶⁸  daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ⁶⁹  to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of ⁷⁰  all the land of Egypt.

41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old ⁷¹  when he began serving ⁷²  Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by ⁷³  Pharaoh and was in charge of ⁷⁴  all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 42:6

42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. ⁷⁵  Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down ⁷⁶  before him with ⁷⁷  their faces to the ground.

Genesis 44:18

44:18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. ⁷⁸  Please do not get angry with your servant, ⁷⁹  for you are just like Pharaoh. ⁸⁰ 

Genesis 45:8-9

45:8 So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser ⁸¹  to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 45:9 Now go up to my father quickly ⁸²  and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay!

Psalms 105:19-22

105:19 until the time when his prediction ⁸³  came true.

The Lord’s word ⁸⁴  proved him right. ⁸⁵ 

105:20 The king authorized his release; ⁸⁶ 

the ruler of nations set him free.

105:21 He put him in charge of his palace, ⁸⁷ 

and made him manager of all his property,

105:22 giving him authority to imprison his officials ⁸⁸ 

and to teach his advisers. ⁸⁹ 

Proverbs 2:6

2:6 For ⁹⁰  the Lord gives ⁹¹  wisdom,

and from his mouth ⁹²  comes ⁹³  knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 3:4

3:4 Then you will find ⁹⁴  favor and good understanding, ⁹⁵ 

in the sight of God and people. ⁹⁶ 

Proverbs 16:7

16:7 When a person’s ⁹⁷  ways are pleasing to the Lord, ⁹⁸ 

he ⁹⁹  even reconciles his enemies to himself. ¹⁰⁰ 

[41:12]  ¹ tn Or “slave.”

[41:12]  ² tn Heb “a servant to the captain of the guards.” On this construction see GKC 419-20 §129.c.

[41:12]  ³ tn The words “our dreams” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he interpreted for us our dreams, each according to his dream he interpreted.”

[41:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “interpreted.”

[41:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “and Pharaoh sent and called,” indicating a summons to the royal court.

[41:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[41:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”

[41:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “saying.”

[41:15]  ¹² tn Heb “you hear a dream to interpret it,” which may mean, “you only have to hear a dream to be able to interpret it.”

[41:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “not within me.”

[41:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “God will answer.”

[41:16]  ¹⁵ tn The expression שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה (shÿlom par’oh) is here rendered “the welfare of Pharaoh” because the dream will be about life in his land. Some interpret it to mean an answer of “peace” – one that will calm his heart, or give him the answer that he desires (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[41:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “In my dream look, I was standing.” The use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here (and also in vv. 18, 19, 22, 23) invites the hearer (within the context of the narrative, Joseph; but in the broader sense the reader or hearer of the Book of Genesis) to observe the scene through Pharaoh’s eyes.

[41:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and look, from the Nile seven cows were coming up, fat of flesh and attractive of appearance, and they grazed in the reeds.”

[41:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:19]  ¹⁹ tn The word “cows” is supplied here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the seven first fat cows.”

[41:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “when they went inside them.”

[41:21]  ²² tn Heb “it was not known.”

[41:22]  ²³ tn Heb “and I saw in my dream and look.”

[41:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:24]  ²⁵ tn The words “all this” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:24]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and there was no one telling me.”

[41:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”

[41:25]  ²⁸ tn Heb “declared.”

[41:25]  ²⁹ tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.

[41:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “one dream it is.”

[41:27]  ³¹ tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”

[41:28]  ³² tn Heb “it is the word that I spoke.”

[41:30]  ³³ tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.

[41:30]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew verb כָּלָה (kalah) in the Piel stem means “to finish, to destroy, to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.

[41:31]  ³⁵ tn Heb “known.”

[41:31]  ³⁶ tn Or “heavy.”

[41:32]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and concerning the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh two times.” The Niphal infinitive here is the object of the preposition; it is followed by the subjective genitive “of the dream.”

[41:32]  ³⁸ tn Heb “established.”

[41:32]  ³⁹ tn The clause combines a participle and an infinitive construct: God “is hurrying…to do it,” meaning he is going to do it soon.

[41:33]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “let Pharaoh look.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

[41:33]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “a man discerning and wise.” The order of the terms is rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:33]  ⁴² tn Heb “and let him set him.”

[41:34]  ⁴³ tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”

[41:34]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

[41:34]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “appointees.” The noun is a cognate accusative of the preceding verb. Since “appoint appointees” would be redundant in English, the term “officials” was used in the translation instead.

[41:34]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he shall collect a fifth of the land of Egypt.” The language is figurative (metonymy); it means what the land produces, i.e., the harvest.

[41:35]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “all the food.”

[41:35]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”

[41:35]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.

[41:35]  ⁵⁰ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.

[41:36]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”

[41:37]  ⁵² tn Heb “and the matter was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.”

[41:38]  ⁵³ tn Heb “like this,” but the referent could be misunderstood to be a man like that described by Joseph in v. 33, rather than Joseph himself. For this reason the proper name “Joseph” has been supplied in the translation.

[41:38]  ⁵⁴ tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”

[41:39]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “as discerning and wise.” The order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:40]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and at your mouth (i.e., instructions) all my people will kiss.” G. J. Wenham translates this “shall kowtow to your instruction” (Genesis [WBC], 2:395). Although there is some textual support for reading “will be judged, ruled by you,” this is probably an attempt to capture the significance of this word. Wenham lists a number of references where individuals have tried to make connections with other words or expressions – such as a root meaning “order themselves” lying behind “kiss,” or an idiomatic idea of “kiss” meaning “seal the mouth,” and so “be silent and submit to.” See K. A. Kitchen, “The Term Nsq in Genesis 41:40,” ExpTim 69 (1957): 30; D. S. Sperling, “Genesis 41:40: A New Interpretation,” JANESCU 10 (1978): 113-19.

[41:40]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “only the throne, I will be greater than you.”

[41:41]  ⁵⁸ tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is descriptive of a present action. Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, in which case Pharaoh describes a still future action as if it had already occurred in order to emphasize its certainty. In this case one could translate “I have placed” or “I will place.” The verb נָתַן (natan) is translated here as “to place in authority [over].”

[41:41]  ⁵⁹ sn Joseph became the grand vizier of the land of Egypt. See W. A. Ward, “The Egyptian Office of Joseph,” JSS 5 (1960): 144-50; and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 129-31.

[41:42]  ⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew word שֵׁשׁ (shesh) is an Egyptian loanword that describes the fine linen robes that Egyptian royalty wore. The clothing signified Joseph’s rank.

[41:43]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:43]  ⁶² tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”

[41:43]  ⁶³ tn The verb form appears to be a causative imperative from a verbal root meaning “to kneel.” It is a homonym of the word “bless” (identical in root letters but not related etymologically).

[41:44]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “apart from you.”

[41:44]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.

[41:44]  ⁶⁶ tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.

[41:45]  ⁶⁷ sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]: 41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861 s.v. צָפְנָת פַּעְנֵחַ); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] áIp-àankh” (K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 1262).

[41:45]  ⁶⁸ sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 74 s.v. אָֽסְנַת). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph – a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.

[41:45]  ⁶⁹ sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.

[41:45]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “and he passed through.”

[41:46]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”

[41:46]  ⁷² tn Heb “when he stood before.”

[41:46]  ⁷³ tn Heb “went out from before.”

[41:46]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he passed through all the land of Egypt”; this phrase is interpreted by JPS to mean that Joseph “emerged in charge of the whole land.”

[42:6]  ⁷⁵ tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.

[42:6]  ⁷⁶ sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).

[42:6]  ⁷⁷ tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.

[44:18]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word into the ears of my lord.”

[44:18]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “and let not your anger burn against your servant.”

[44:18]  ⁸⁰ sn You are just like Pharaoh. Judah’s speech begins with the fear and trembling of one who stands condemned. Joseph has as much power as Pharaoh, either to condemn or to pardon. Judah will make his appeal, wording his speech in such a way as to appeal to Joseph’s compassion for the father, whom he mentions no less than fourteen times in the speech.

[45:8]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.

[45:9]  ⁸² tn Heb “hurry and go up.”

[105:19]  ⁸³ tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).

[105:19]  ⁸⁴ tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).

[105:19]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “refined him.”

[105:20]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “[the] king sent and set him free.”

[105:21]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”

[105:22]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”

[105:22]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”

[2:6]  ⁹⁰ tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the Lord is that he is the source of true, effectual wisdom.

[2:6]  ⁹¹ tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.

[2:6]  ⁹² sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the Lord is the immediate source or author of the wisdom. It is worth noting that in the incarnation many of these “anthropomorphisms” become literal in the person of the Logos, the Word, Jesus, who reveals the Father.

[2:6]  ⁹³ tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[3:4]  ⁹⁴ tn The form וּמְצָא (umÿtsa’, “find”) is the imperative but it functions as a purpose/result statement. Following a string of imperatives (v. 3), the imperative with a prefixed vav introduces a volitive sequence expressing purpose or result (v. 4).

[3:4]  ⁹⁵ tn The noun שֵׂכֶל (sekhel, “understanding”) does not seem to parallel חֵן (khen, “favor”). The LXX attaches the first two words to v. 3 and renders v. 4: “and devise excellent things in the sight of the Lord and of men.” Tg. Prov 3:4 and Syriac Peshitta list all three words separately: “favor and good and understanding.” C. H. Toy (Proverbs [ICC], 59) suggests emending the MT’s שֵׂכֶל־טוֹב (sekhel-tov, “good understanding”) to שֵׁם־טוֹב (shem-tov, “a good name”). It is also possible to take the two words as a hendiadys: the favor of good understanding, meaning, a reputation for good understanding.

[3:4]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “man.”

[16:7]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:7]  ⁹⁸ tn The first line uses an infinitive in a temporal clause, followed by its subject in the genitive case: “in the taking pleasure of the Lord” = “when the Lord is pleased with.” So the condition set down for the second colon is a lifestyle that is pleasing to God.

[16:7]  ⁹⁹ tn The referent of the verb in the second colon is unclear. The straightforward answer is that it refers to the person whose ways please the Lord – it is his lifestyle that disarms his enemies. W. McKane comments that the righteous have the power to mend relationships (Proverbs [OTL], 491); see, e.g., 10:13; 14:9; 15:1; 25:21-22). The life that is pleasing to God will be above reproach and find favor with others. Some would interpret this to mean that God makes his enemies to be at peace with him (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT). This is workable, but in this passage it would seem God would do this through the pleasing life of the believer (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[16:7]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “even his enemies he makes to be at peace with him.”