Discovery BoxGenesis 41:14-36
Context41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned 1 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, 2 and there is no one who can interpret 3 it. But I have heard about you, that 4 you can interpret dreams.” 5 41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, 6 but God will speak concerning 7 the welfare of Pharaoh.” 8
41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing 9 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. 10 41:19 Then 11 seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows 12 as these in all the land of Egypt! 41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven 13 fat cows. 41:21 When they had eaten them, 14 no one would have known 15 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 16 seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 41:23 Then 17 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 18 to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” 19
41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. 20 God has revealed 21 to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 22 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. 23 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 24 seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told 25 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 26 after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate 27 the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered 28 because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. 29 41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh 30 because the matter has been decreed 31 by God, and God will make it happen soon. 32
41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look 33 for a wise and discerning man 34 and give him authority 35 over all the land of Egypt. 41:34 Pharaoh should do 36 this – he should appoint 37 officials 38 throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt 39 during the seven years of abundance. 41:35 They should gather all the excess food 40 during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority 41 they should store up grain so the cities will have food, 42 and they should preserve it. 43 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.” 44
[41:14] 1 tn Heb “and Pharaoh sent and called,” indicating a summons to the royal court.
[41:15] 2 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
[41:15] 3 tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”
[41:15] 5 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] 3 tn Heb “not within me.”
[41:16] 4 tn Heb “God will answer.”
[41:16] 5 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] 4 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] 5 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] 7 tn The word “cows” is supplied here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:20] 7 tn Heb “the seven first fat cows.”
[41:21] 8 tn Heb “when they went inside them.”
[41:21] 9 tn Heb “it was not known.”
[41:22] 9 tn Heb “and I saw in my dream and look.”
[41:24] 11 tn The words “all this” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:24] 12 tn Heb “and there was no one telling me.”
[41:25] 12 tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”
[41:25] 14 tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.
[41:26] 13 tn Heb “one dream it is.”
[41:27] 14 tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”
[41:28] 15 tn Heb “it is the word that I spoke.”
[41:30] 16 tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.
[41:30] 17 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.
[41:32] 18 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] 19 tn Heb “established.”
[41:32] 20 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] 19 tn Heb “let Pharaoh look.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
[41:33] 20 tn Heb “a man discerning and wise.” The order of the terms is rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[41:33] 21 tn Heb “and let him set him.”
[41:34] 20 tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”
[41:34] 21 tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
[41:34] 22 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] 23 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] 21 tn Heb “all the food.”
[41:35] 22 tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”
[41:35] 23 tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.
[41:35] 24 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.
[41:36] 22 tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”
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