Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams. Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me [to interpret the dream]; God [not I] will give Pharaoh a favorable answer [through me].” Gen 41:16
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. GOD AND THE CHOSEN FAMILY, Genesis 12-50
3. The History of Jacob’s Sons, Joseph and His Brothers
(2) Joseph’s Servitude in Egypt, Genesis 39-41
73. What traits of character did he show when he appeared before Pharaoh?
JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH’S DREAMS
Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when Joseph shaved himself and changed his clothes [making himself presentable], he came to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you that you can understand a dream and interpret it.”
Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me [to interpret the dream]; God [not I] will give Pharaoh a favorable answer [through me].”
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile;
and seven fat, sleek and handsome cows came up out of the river, and they grazed in the reed grass [of a marshy pasture].
Lo, seven other cows came up after them, very ugly and gaunt [just skin and bones]; such emaciated animals as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.
And the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.
Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had eaten them, because they were still as thin and emaciated as before. Then I awoke [but again I fell asleep and dreamed].
I saw in my [second] dream, seven ears [of grain], plump and good, growing on a single stalk;
and lo, seven [other] ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted after them;
and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. Now I told this to the magicians and soothsayers, but there was no one who could explain it [to me].”
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The [two] dreams are one [and the same and have one interpretation]; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.
The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the [two] dreams are one [and the same].
The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years; and also the seven thin ears, dried up and scorched by the east wind, they are seven years of famine and hunger.
This is the message just as I have told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.
Listen very carefully: seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt;
but afterward seven years of famine and hunger will come, and [there will be such desperate need that] all the great abundance [of the previous years] will be forgotten in the land of Egypt [as if it never happened], and famine and destitution will ravage and destroy the land.
So the great abundance will become forgotten in the land because of that subsequent famine, for it will be very severe.
That the dream was repeated twice to Pharaoh [and in two different ways] indicates that this matter is fully determined and established by God, and God will bring it to pass very quickly.
So now let Pharaoh [prepare ahead and] look for a man discerning and clear-headed and wise, and set him [in charge] over the land of Egypt [as governor under Pharaoh].
Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers and officials over the land, and set aside one-fifth [of the produce] of the [entire] land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.
Let them gather [as a tax] all [of the fifth of] the food of these good years that are coming, and store up grain under the direction and authority of Pharaoh, and let them guard the food [in fortified granaries] in the cities.
That food shall be put [in storage] as a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine and hunger which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land (people) will not be ravaged during the famine.”
PHARAOH’S DREAMS INTERPRETED
Notwithstanding the great urgency of the royal summons, and the speed with which the great events of his life crowded on one another, Joseph was kept in perfect peace. He found time to shave, and to change his raiment. Let us be at rest in God. He that believeth does not make needless haste. One of the loveliest traits in Joseph’s character was his humility. He did not take on airs, nor assume superiority, nor pose as a superior and injured person. He said simply, “It is not in me; God will give.” These words might have been uttered by our Lord; they are so perfectly in harmony with the tenor of his life. Surely we should appropriate them. At the best we are but God’s almoners, passing on to others the good things of which He has made us the stewards. Joseph was set on using all he had, not for himself, but for others; therefore he had more and more to give.
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 41:14-36
II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)
D. Joseph (37:1–50:26)
5. Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh’s Dreams (Chap. 41)
1:14-32 Called before Pharaoh, Joseph explained that there would be seven years of great plenty in Egypt, followed by seven years of famine which would devastate the land. The repetition or duplication of Pharaoh’s dream meant that it was established by God and that He would shortly bring it to pass. We see this also in Joseph’s two dreams concerning his future (Gen_37:6-9) and in the similar visions of Daniel 2 and 7. In the Bible, two is the number of witness. Joseph gave the same reply to Pharaoh in the royal hall as he gave to his servants in the prison house. “It is not in me; God will give . . . an answer of peace” (v. 16; cf. Gen_40:8). It is this humility that made it possible for the Lord to entrust Joseph with tremendous responsibility without fear that it would corrupt him.
41:33-36 Joseph counseled Pharaoh to set aside reserves of grain during the years of plenty so that there would be sufficient during the famine years. His plan was what has since been called “the ever-normal granaries.”
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