The First Book of Moses: Genesis

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 41 -

After two years, Pharaoh saw a dream. He thought himself to be standing above a river,

from which ascended seven cows, exceedingly beautiful and stout. And they pastured in marshy places.

Likewise, another seven emerged from the river, filthy and thoroughly emaciated. And they pastured on the same bank of the river, in green places.

And they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was so wonderful. Pharaoh, having been awakened,

slept again, and he saw another dream. Seven ears of grain sprung up on one stalk, full and well-formed.

Likewise, other ears of grain, of the same number, rose up, thin and struck with blight,

devouring all the beauty of the first. Pharaoh, when he awakened after his rest,

and when morning arrived, being terrified with fear, sent to all the interpreters of Egypt and to all of the wise men. And when they were summoned, he explained to them his dream; but there was no one who could interpret it.

Then at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said, “I confess my sin.

The king, being angry with his servants, ordered me and the chief miller of grain to be forced into the prison of the leader of the military.

There, in one night, both of us saw a dream presaging the future.

In that place, there was a Hebrew, a servant of the same commander of the military, to whom we explained our dreams.

Whatever we heard was proven afterwards by the event of the matter. For I was restored to my office, and he was suspended on a cross.”

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

Immediately, by the king’s authority, Joseph was led out of prison, and they shaved him. And changing his apparel, they presented him to him.

And he said to him, “I have seen dreams, and there is no one who can unfold them. I have heard that you are very wise at interpreting these.”

Joseph responded, “Apart from me, God will respond favorably to Pharaoh.”

Therefore, Pharaoh explained what he had seen: “I thought myself to be standing on the bank of a river,

and seven cows climbed up from the river, exceedingly beautiful and full of flesh. And they grazed in a pasture of a marshy greenery.

And behold, there followed after these, another seven cows, with such deformity and emaciation as I had never seen in the land of Egypt.

These devoured and consumed the first,

giving no indication of being full. But they remained in the same state of emaciation and squalor. Awakening, but being weighed down into sleep again,

I saw a dream. Seven ears of grain sprang up on one stalk, full and very beautiful.

Likewise, another seven, thin and struck with blight, rose up from the stalk.

And they devoured the beauty of the first. I explained this dream to the interpreters, and there is no one who can unfold it.”

Joseph responded: “The dream of the king is one. What God will do, he has revealed to Pharaoh.

The seven beautiful cows, and the seven full ears of grain, are seven years of abundance. And so the force of the dreams is understood to be the same.

Likewise, the seven thin and emaciated cows, which ascended after them, and the seven thin ears of grain, which were struck with the burning wind, are seven approaching years of famine.

These will be fulfilled in this order.

Behold, there will arrive seven years of great fertility throughout the entire land of Egypt.

After this, there will follow another seven years, of such great barrenness that all the former abundance will be delivered into oblivion. For the famine will consume all the land,

and the greatness of this destitution will cause the greatness of the abundance to be lost.

Now, as to what you saw the second time, it is a dream pertaining to the same thing. It is an indication of its firmness, because the word of God shall be done, and it shall be completed swiftly.

Now therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and place him over the land of Egypt,

so that he may appoint overseers throughout all the regions. And let a fifth part of the fruits, throughout the seven fertile years

that now have already begun to occur, be gathered into storehouses. And let all the grain be stored away, under the power of Pharaoh, and let it be kept in the cities.

And let it be prepared for the future famine of seven years, which will oppress Egypt, and then the land will not be consumed by destitution.”

Joseph Given Charge of Egypt

The counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers.

And he said to them, “Would we be able to find another such man, who is full of the Spirit of God?”

Therefore, he said to Joseph: “Because God has revealed to you all that you have said, would I be able to find anyone wiser and as much like you?

You will be over my house, and to the authority of your mouth, all the people will show obedience. Only in one way, in the throne of the kingdom, will I go before you.”

And again, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have appointed you over the entire land of Egypt.”

And he took the ring from his own hand, and he gave it into his hand. And he clothed him with a robe of fine linen, and he placed a necklace of gold around his neck.

And he caused him to ascend upon his second swift chariot, with the herald proclaiming that everyone should bend their knee before him, and that they should know that he was governor over the entire land of Egypt.

Likewise, the king said to Joseph: “I am Pharaoh: apart from your authority, no one will move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

And he changed his name and called him, in the Egyptian tongue: ‘Savior of the world.’ And he gave him as a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. And so Joseph went out into the land of Egypt.(a)

The Seven Years of Plenty

(Now he was thirty years old when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh.) And he traveled throughout the regions of Egypt.

And the fertility of the seven years arrived. And when the grain fields were reduced to sheaves, these were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt.

And now all the abundance of grain was stored away in every city.

And there was such a great abundance of wheat that it was comparable to the sands of the sea, and its bounty exceeded all measure.

Then, before the famine arrived, Joseph had two sons born, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him.

And he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has caused me to forget all my labors and the house of my father.”(b)

Likewise, he named the second Ephraim, saying, “God has caused me to increase in the land of my poverty.”(c)

The Famine Begins

And so, when the seven years of fertility that occurred in Egypt had passed,

the seven years of destitution, which Joseph had predicted, began to arrive. And the famine prevailed throughout the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.

And being hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh, asking for provisions. And he said to them: “Go to Joseph. And do whatever he will tell you.”

Then the famine increased daily in all the land. And Joseph opened all of the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. For the famine had oppressed them also.

And all the provinces came to Egypt, to buy food and to temper the misfortune of their destitution.

Footnotes

(a)41:45 The saviour of the world:Zaphnah paaneah.(Challoner)

(b)41:51 Manasses:That is, oblivion, or forgetting.(Challoner)

At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river.

Behold, seven cattle came up out of the river. They were sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass.

Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river.

The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke.

He slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good.

Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.

The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

Then the chief cup bearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my faults today.

Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, with the chief baker.

We dreamed a dream in one night, he and I. Each man dreamed according to the interpretation of his dream.

There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. He interpreted to each man according to his dream.

As he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river;

and behold, seven fat and sleek cattle came up out of the river. They fed in the marsh grass;

and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness.

The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle;

and when they had eaten them up, it couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good;

and behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.

The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.

The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.

The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine.

That is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Behold, seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt are coming.

Seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land,

and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous.

The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

“Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt’s produce in the seven plenteous years.

Let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and store grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.

The food will be to supply the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; so that the land will not perish through the famine.”

Joseph Given Charge of Egypt

The thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has shown you all of this, there is no one so discreet and wise as you.

You shall be over my house. All my people will be ruled according to your word. Only in the throne I will be greater than you.”

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in robes of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck.

He made him ride in the second chariot which he had. They cried before him, “Bow the knee!” He set him over all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh. Without you, no man shall lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-Paneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

The Seven Years of Plenty

Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

In the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly.

He gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities. He stored food in each city from the fields around that city.

Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it was without number.

To Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.

Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh,(a) “For”, he said, “God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.”

The name of the second, he called Ephraim:(b) “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

The Famine Begins

The seven years of plenty, that were in the land of Egypt, came to an end.

The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”

The famine was over all the surface of the earth. Joseph opened all the store houses, and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

All countries came into Egypt, to Joseph, to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

Footnotes

(a)41:51 “Manasseh” sounds like the Hebrew for “forget”.

(b)41:52 “Ephraim” sounds like the Hebrew for “twice fruitful”.