Genesis 41:25-31

41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. ¹  God has revealed ²  to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ³  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. ⁴  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 ⁵  seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told ⁶  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 ⁷  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ⁸  the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered ⁹  because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. ¹⁰ 

[41:25]  ¹ tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”

[41:25]  ² tn Heb “declared.”

[41:25]  ³ tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.

[41:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “one dream it is.”

[41:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”

[41:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it is the word that I spoke.”

[41:30]  ¹³ tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.

[41:30]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “known.”

[41:31]  ¹⁷ tn Or “heavy.”