Genesis 41:25-57

New Catholic Bible

²⁵ Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are actually one dream. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven beautiful cows are seven years, and the seven beautiful heads of grain are seven years. It is a single dream. ²⁷ The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years and the seven empty heads, withered by the east wind, are seven years. There will be seven years of famine.

²⁸ “It is just as I have told Pharaoh. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ There will soon be seven years of great abundance in the land of Egypt. ³⁰ Then the seven years after these will be seven years of famine. The years of abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and famine will ravage the land. ³¹ It will be forgotten that there was abundance in the land, for the famine that will follow will be very severe. ³² As for the fact that the dream was repeated twice, this means that God has decided the matter and God is hastening to fulfill it.

³³ “Pharaoh should seek and find an intelligent and wise man and place him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Pharaoh should also appoint overseers in the land to collect a fifth of the produce of the land during the years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food in these good years that are about to take place. They will gather the grain under the authority of Pharaoh and place it in granaries in the cities. ³⁶ This food will serve as a reserve in the land for the seven years of famine that will come upon the land of Egypt. Thus, the land will not be devastated during the famine.”

³⁷ Joseph Is Made Viceroy of Egypt.^[a] Pharaoh and all his ministers were pleased with this. ³⁸ Pharaoh said to his ministers, “Could we find another man like this, in whom one finds the Spirit of God?”

³⁹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed all this to you, there is surely no one as intelligent or as wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my house. You shall have authority over all my people. Only the throne shall outrank you.”

⁴¹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have made you ruler of the entire land of Egypt.” ^42 [b]Pharaoh took the ring off his finger and placed it on the finger of Joseph. He dressed him in clothes made of the finest linen and placed a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in the chariot of his vizier, and before him they cried, “Make way!” He made him ruler of the entire land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one can raise a hand or a foot in the entire land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-peneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest of On,^[c] as his wife. Joseph went throughout the entire land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he was brought before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Joseph left the presence of Pharaoh and traveled throughout the entire land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years of abundance the land was very fertile. ⁴⁸ He collected all the food of these seven years when there was abundance in the land of Egypt. He placed the food in the cities, that is, in every city he deposited the food of the surrounding countryside. ⁴⁹ Joseph gathered as much grain as the sand of the sea, enormous quantities. There was so much that it could no longer be measured, for it was beyond measure.

⁵⁰ The Great Famine.^[d] Joseph had two sons in the years that preceded the famine. They were born to Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. ⁵¹ Joseph called the firstborn Manasseh for, he said, “God has made me forget all my difficulties and my father’s entire family.” ⁵² He named the second son Ephraim for, he said, “God has made me prosper in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt ended, ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine over the whole earth, but there was food in Egypt.

⁵⁵ Then the whole land of Egypt began to feel the hunger, and the people cried out to Pharaoh to have food. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”

⁵⁶ The famine spread throughout the entire land. So Joseph opened up the storehouses in which he had placed the grain, and he sold it to the Egyptians. The famine kept getting worse in Egypt. ⁵⁷ People came to Egypt from every country to buy grain from Joseph, for the famine was severe over the whole earth.