Genesis 41:17-42

New American Standard Bible

¹⁷ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, there I was, standing on the bank of the Nile; ¹⁸ and behold, seven cows, ^[a]fat and fine-looking came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass. ¹⁹ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ^[b]ugly and ^[c]thin, such as I had never seen for ^[d]ugliness in all the land of Egypt; ²⁰ and the thin and ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows. ²¹ Yet when they had ^[e]devoured them, it could not be ^[f]detected that they had ^[g]devoured them, ^[h]for they were just as ugly as ^[i]before. Then I awoke. ²² I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears of grain, full and good, came up on a single stalk; ²³ and behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind sprouted up after them; ²⁴ and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then ^(A)I told it to the soothsayer priests, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵ And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s ^[j]dreams are one and the same; ^(B)God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the ^[k]dreams are one and the same. ²⁷ The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind ^(C)will be seven years of famine. ^28 [l]It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: ^(D)God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Behold, ^(E)seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ and after them ^(F)seven years of famine will ^[m]come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ^[n]ravage the land. ³¹ So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe. ³² Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that ^(G)the matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about. ³³ So now let Pharaoh look for a man ^(H)discerning and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers ^[o]in charge of the land, and let him take a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt as a tax in the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ Then have them ^(I)collect all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and have them guard it. ³⁶ Let the food be used as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”

³⁷ Now the ^[p]proposal seemed good ^[q]to Pharaoh and ^[r]to all his servants.

Joseph Is Made a Ruler of Egypt

³⁸ Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, ^(J)in whom there is a divine spirit?” ³⁹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one as ^(K)discerning and wise as you are. ^40 (L)You shall be ^[s]in charge of my house, and all my people shall ^[t]be obedient to you; only regarding the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you ^(M)over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh ^(N)took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and ^(O)put the gold necklace around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in ^[u]his second chariot; and they proclaimed ahead of him, “^[v]Bow the knee!” And he placed him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet ^(P)without ^[w]your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Then Pharaoh named Joseph ^[x]Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of ^[y](Q)On, to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Now Joseph was ^(R)thirty years old when he ^[z]stood in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years of plenty the land produced ^[aa]abundantly. ⁴⁸ So he collected all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities; he put in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored up grain ^[ab]in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped ^[ac]measuring it, for it was ^[ad]beyond measure.

The Sons of Joseph

⁵⁰ Now before the year of famine came, ^(S)two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of ^[ae]On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph named the firstborn ^[af]Manasseh; “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all of my father’s household.” ⁵² And he named the second ^[ag]Ephraim; “For,” he said, “^(T)God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ When the seven years of plenty which had taken place in the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ and ^(U)the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ So when all the land of Egypt suffered famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ^(V)whatever he says to you, you shall do.” ⁵⁶ When the famine was spread over the entire face of the earth, then Joseph opened all ^[ah]the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Then the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because ^(W)the famine was severe in all the earth.

Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt

42 Now ^(X)Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” ² Then he said, “Look, ^(Y)I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from ^[ai]that place, ^(Z)so that we may live and not die.” ³ So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother ^(AA)Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “^(AB)I am afraid that harm may happen to him.” ⁵ So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, ^(AC)because the famine was also in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now ^(AD)Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ^(AE)bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and ^(AF)spoke to them harshly. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

⁸ But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although ^(AG)they did not recognize him. ⁹ And Joseph ^(AH)remembered the dreams which he ^[aj]had about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the ^[ak]undefended parts of our land.” ¹⁰ And they said to him, “No, ^(AI)my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all sons of one man; we are ^(AJ)honest men, your servants are not spies.” ¹² Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the ^[al]undefended parts of our land!” ¹³ But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with ^(AK)our father today, and ^(AL)one is no longer alive.” ¹⁴ Yet Joseph said to them, “It is as I said ^[am]to you, you are spies; ¹⁵ by this you will be tested: ^(AM)by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here! ¹⁶ Send one of you and have him get your brother, while you remain confined, so that your words may be tested, whether there is ^(AN)truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, you are certainly spies!” ¹⁷ So he put them all together in ^(AO)prison for three days.