Genesis 41

¹After two years, Pharaoh saw a dream. He thought himself to be standing above a river,

²from which ascended seven cows, exceedingly beautiful and stout. And they pastured in marshy places.

³Likewise, another seven emerged from the river, filthy and thoroughly emaciated. And they pastured on the same bank of the river, in green places.

⁴And they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was so wonderful. Pharaoh, having been awakened,

⁵slept again, and he saw another dream. Seven ears of grain sprung up on one stalk, full and well-formed.

⁶Likewise, other ears of grain, of the same number, rose up, thin and struck with blight,

⁷devouring all the beauty of the first. Pharaoh, when he awakened after his rest,

⁸and 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.

⁹Then at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said, “I confess my sin.

¹⁰The 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.

¹¹There, in one night, both of us saw a dream presaging the future.

¹²In that place, there was a Hebrew, a servant of the same commander of the military, to whom we explained our dreams.

¹³Whatever 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.”

¹⁴Immediately, by the king’s authority, Joseph was led out of prison, and they shaved him. And changing his apparel, they presented him to him.

¹⁵And 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.”

¹⁶Joseph responded, “Apart from me, God will respond favorably to Pharaoh.”

¹⁷Therefore, Pharaoh explained what he had seen: “I thought myself to be standing on the bank of a river,

¹⁸and seven cows climbed up from the river, exceedingly beautiful and full of flesh. And they grazed in a pasture of a marshy greenery.

¹⁹And behold, there followed after these, another seven cows, with such deformity and emaciation as I had never seen in the land of Egypt.

²⁰These devoured and consumed the first,

²¹giving no indication of being full. But they remained in the same state of emaciation and squalor. Awakening, but being weighed down into sleep again,

²²I saw a dream. Seven ears of grain sprang up on one stalk, full and very beautiful.

²³Likewise, another seven, thin and struck with blight, rose up from the stalk.

²⁴And they devoured the beauty of the first. I explained this dream to the interpreters, and there is no one who can unfold it.”

²⁵Joseph responded: “The dream of the king is one. What God will do, he has revealed to Pharaoh.

²⁶The 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.

²⁷Likewise, 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.

²⁸These will be fulfilled in this order.

²⁹Behold, there will arrive seven years of great fertility throughout the entire land of Egypt.

³⁰After 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,

³¹and the greatness of this destitution will cause the greatness of the abundance to be lost.

³²Now, 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.

³³Now therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and place him over the land of Egypt,

³⁴so that he may appoint overseers throughout all the regions. And let a fifth part of the fruits, throughout the seven fertile years

³⁵that 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.

³⁶And 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.”

³⁷The counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers.

³⁸And he said to them, “Would we be able to find another such man, who is full of the Spirit of God?”

³⁹Therefore, 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?

⁴⁰You 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.”

⁴¹And again, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have appointed you over the entire land of Egypt.”

⁴²And 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.

⁴³And 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.

⁴⁴Likewise, 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.”

⁴⁵And 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.

⁴⁶(Now he was thirty years old when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh.) And he traveled throughout the regions of Egypt.

⁴⁷And the fertility of the seven years arrived. And when the grain fields were reduced to sheaves, these were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt.

⁴⁸And now all the abundance of grain was stored away in every city.

⁴⁹And there was such a great abundance of wheat that it was comparable to the sands of the sea, and its bounty exceeded all measure.

⁵⁰Then, before the famine arrived, Joseph had two sons born, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him.

⁵¹And he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has caused me to forget all my labors and the house of my father.”

⁵²Likewise, he named the second Ephraim, saying, “God has caused me to increase in the land of my poverty.”

⁵³And so, when the seven years of fertility that occurred in Egypt had passed,

⁵⁴the 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.

⁵⁵And 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.”

⁵⁶Then 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.

⁵⁷And all the provinces came to Egypt, to buy food and to temper the misfortune of their destitution.

Genesis 41

¹After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river,

²Out of which came up seven kine, very beautiful and fat: and they fed in marshy places.

³Other seven also came up out of the river, ill-favoured, and lean fleshed: and they fed on the very bank of the river, in green places:

⁴And they devoured them, whose bodies were very beautiful and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke.

⁵He slept again, and dreamed another dream: Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk full and fair:

⁶Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted,

⁷And devoured all the beauty of the former. Pharao awaked after his rest:

⁸And when morning was come, being struck with fear, he sent to all the interpreters of Egypt, and to all the wise men: and they being called for, he told them his dream, and there was not any one that could interpret it.

⁹Then at length the chief butler remembering, said: I confess my sin:

¹⁰The king being angry with his servants, commanded me and the chief baker to be cast into the prison of the captain of the soldiers.

¹¹Where in one night both of us dreamed a dream foreboding things to come.

¹²There was there a young man a Hebrew, servant to the same captain of the soldiers: to whom we told our dreams,

¹³And we heard what afterwards the event of the thing proved to be so. For I was restored to my office: and he was hanged upon a gibbet.

¹⁴Forthwith at the king's command Joseph was brought out of the prison, and they shaved him: and changing his apparel brought him in to him.

¹⁵And he said to him: I have dreamed dreams, and there is no one that can expound them: Now I have heard that thou art very wise at interpreting them:

¹⁶Joseph answered: Without me, God shall give Pharao a prosperous answer.

¹⁷So Pharao told what he had dreamed: Methought I stood upon the bank of the river,

¹⁸And seven kine came up out of the river, exceeding beautiful and full of flesh: and they grazed on green places in a marshy pasture.

¹⁹And behold, there followed these, other seven kine, so very ill-favoured and lean, that I never saw the like in the land of Egypt:

²⁰And they devoured and consumed the former,

²¹And yet gave no mark of their being full: but were as lean and ill-favoured as before. I awoke, and then fell asleep again,

²²And dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn grew up upon one stalk, full and very fair.

²³Other seven also thin and blasted, sprung of the stalk:

²⁴And they devoured the beauty of the former: I told this dream to the conjecturers, and there is no man that can expound it.

²⁵Joseph answered: The king's dream is one: God hath shewn to Pharao what he is about to do.

²⁶The seven beautiful kine, and the seven full ears, are seven years of plenty: and both contain the same meaning of the dream.

²⁷And the seven lean and thin kine that came up after them, and the seven thin ears that were blasted with the burning wind, are seven years of famine to come:

²⁸Which shall be fulfilled in this order.

²⁹Behold, there shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt:

³⁰After which shall follow other seven years of so great scarcity, that all the abundance before shall be forgotten: for the famine shall consume all the land,

³¹And the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the greatness of the plenty.

³²And for that thou didst see the second time a dream pertaining to the same thing: it is a token of the certainty, and that the word of God cometh to pass, and is fulfilled speedily.

³³Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt:

³⁴That he may appoint overseers over all the countries: and gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits, during the seven fruitful years,

³⁵That shall now presently ensue: and let all the corn be laid up, under Pharao's hands, and be reserved in the cities.

³⁶And let it be in readiness, against the famine of seven years to come, which shall oppress Egypt, and the land shall not be consumed with scarcity.

³⁷The counsel pleased Pharao, and all his servants.

³⁸And he said to them: Can we find such another man, that is full of the spirit of God?

³⁹He said therefore to Joseph: Seeing God hath shewn thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee?

⁴⁰Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee.

⁴¹And again Pharao said to Joseph: Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt.

⁴²And he took his ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand: and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold about his neck.

⁴³And he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt.

⁴⁴And the king said to Joseph: I am Pharao: without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁵And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue the saviour of the world. And he gave him to wife Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis. Then Joseph went out to the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶(Now he was thirty years old when he stood before king Pharao), and he went round all the countries of Egypt.

⁴⁷And the fruitfulness of the seven years came: and the corn being bound up into sheaves, was gathered together into the barns of Egypt.

⁴⁸And all the abundance of grain was laid up in every city.

⁴⁹And there was so great abundance of wheat, that it was equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded measure.

⁵⁰And before the famine came, Joseph had two sons born: whom Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis, bore unto him.

⁵¹And he called the name of the firstborn Manasses, saying: God hath made me to forget all my labours, and my father's house.

⁵²And he named the second Ephraim, saying: God hath made me to grow in the land of my poverty.

⁵³Now when the seven years of plenty that had been in Egypt were passed:

⁵⁴The seven years of scarcity, which Joseph had foretold, began to come: and the famine prevailed in the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.

⁵⁵And when there also they began to be famished, the people cried to Pharao, for food. And he said to them: Go to Joseph: and do all that he shall say to you.

⁵⁶And the famine increased daily in all the land: and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold to the Egyptians: for the famine had oppressed them also.

⁵⁷And all provinces came into Egypt, to buy food, and to seek some relief of their want.