Genesis 39-41

New American Standard Bible

Joseph’s Success in Egypt

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him ^[a]from the ^(A)Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. ² And ^(B)the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a ^[b]successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ Now his master ^(C)saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord ^(D)made all that he did prosper in his hand. ⁴ So Joseph ^(E)found favor in his sight and ^[c]became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and ^[d]put him in charge of ^(F)all that he owned. ⁵ It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord ^(G)blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; so ^(H)the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. ⁶ So he left ^[e]Joseph in charge of everything that he owned; and with him there he did not ^[f]concern himself with anything except the ^[g]food which he ^[h]ate.

Now Joseph was ^(I)handsome in form and appearance. ⁷ And it came about after these events ^(J)that his master’s wife ^[i]had her eyes on Joseph, and she said, “^(K)Sleep with me.” ⁸ But ^(L)he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master ^[j]does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has ^[k]put me in charge of all that he owns. ^9 [l](M)There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and ^(N)sin against God?” ¹⁰ Though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. ¹¹ Now it happened ^[m]one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the people of the household was there inside. ¹² So she grabbed him by his garment, saying, “Sleep with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. ^13 [n]When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a ^[o]Hebrew to us to make fun of us; he came in to me to sleep with me, and I ^[p]screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard that I raised my voice and ^[q]screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” ¹⁶ So she ^[r]left his garment beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she ^(O)spoke to him ^[s]with these ^[t]words: “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make fun of me; ¹⁸ but when I raised my voice and ^[u]screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”

Joseph Imprisoned

¹⁹ Now when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying, “^[v]This is what your slave did to me,” ^(P)his anger burned. ²⁰ So Joseph’s master took him and ^(Q)put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the prison. ²¹ But ^(R)the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and ^(S)gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison. ²² And the warden of the prison ^[w](T)put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was ^[x]responsible for it. ^23 (U)The warden of the prison did not supervise anything ^[y]under Joseph’s authority, because ^(V)the Lord was with him; and, ^(W)the Lord made whatever he did prosper.

Joseph Interprets Dreams

40 Then it came about after these things, that ^(X)the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ² And Pharaoh was ^(Y)furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ³ So he put them in confinement in the house of the ^(Z)captain of the bodyguard, in the prison, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. ⁴ And the captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he ^[z]took care of them; and they were in confinement for ^[aa]some time. ⁵ Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. ^6 [ab]When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, ^[ac]behold, they were dejected. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “^[ad](AA)Why are your faces so sad today?” ⁸ And they said to him, “^(AB)We have ^[ae]had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “^(AC)Do interpretations not belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”

⁹ So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, ^[af]saying to him, “In my dream, ^[ag]behold, there was a vine in front of me; ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. ¹¹ Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s ^[ah]hand.” ¹² Then Joseph said to him, “This is the ^(AD)interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; ¹³ within three more days Pharaoh will ^[ai]lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as in your former practice when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ Only ^[aj]keep me in mind when it goes well for you, and please ^(AE)do me a kindness ^[ak]by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this ^[al]prison. ¹⁵ For ^(AF)I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the ^[am]dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; ¹⁷ and in the top basket there were some of all ^[an]kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” ¹⁸ Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; ¹⁹ within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a wooden post, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

²⁰ So it came about on the third day, which was ^(AG)Pharaoh’s birthday, that he held a feast for all his servants; ^(AH)and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his ^[ao]office, and ^(AI)he put the cup into Pharaoh’s ^[ap]hand; ²² but ^(AJ)he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but ^(AK)forgot him.

Pharaoh’s Dream

41 Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. ² And behold, from the Nile seven cows came up, fine-looking and ^[aq]fat; and they grazed in the ^(AL)marsh grass. ³ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and ^[ar]thin, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ Then the ugly and ^[as]thin cows ate the seven fine-looking and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ But he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. ⁶ Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. ⁷ And the thin ears swallowed the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. ⁸ Now in the morning ^(AM)his spirit was troubled, so he sent messengers and called for all the ^(AN)soothsayer priests of Egypt, and all its ^(AO)wise men. And Pharaoh told them his ^[at]dreams, but ^(AP)there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of ^(AQ)my own ^[au]offenses. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was ^(AR)furious with his servants, and ^(AS)he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. ¹¹ Then ^(AT)we had a dream one night, ^[av]he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. ¹² Now a Hebrew youth was there with us, a ^(AU)servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we told him the dreams, and ^(AV)he interpreted our dreams for us. For each man he interpreted according to his own dream. ¹³ And just ^(AW)as he interpreted for us, so it happened; Pharaoh restored me in my office, but he hanged ^[aw]the chief baker.”

Joseph Interprets

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent word and ^(AX)called for Joseph, and they ^(AY)hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, ^(AZ)but no one can interpret it; and ^(BA)I have heard ^[ax]it said about you, that ^[ay]when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “^[az](BB)It has nothing to do with me; ^(BC)God will ^[ba]give Pharaoh an answer for his own good.” ¹⁷ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, there I was, standing on the bank of the Nile; ¹⁸ and behold, seven cows, ^[bb]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 ^[bc]ugly and ^[bd]thin, such as I had never seen for ^[be]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 ^[bf]devoured them, it could not be ^[bg]detected that they had ^[bh]devoured them, ^[bi]for they were just as ugly as ^[bj]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 ^(BD)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 ^[bk]dreams are one and the same; ^(BE)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 ^[bl]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 ^(BF)will be seven years of famine. ^28 [bm]It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: ^(BG)God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Behold, ^(BH)seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ and after them ^(BI)seven years of famine will ^[bn]come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ^[bo]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 ^(BJ)the matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about. ³³ So now let Pharaoh look for a man ^(BK)discerning and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers ^[bp]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 ^(BL)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 ^[bq]proposal seemed good ^[br]to Pharaoh and ^[bs]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, ^(BM)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 ^(BN)discerning and wise as you are. ^40 (BO)You shall be ^[bt]in charge of my house, and all my people shall ^[bu]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 ^(BP)over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh ^(BQ)took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and ^(BR)put the gold necklace around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in ^[bv]his second chariot; and they proclaimed ahead of him, “^[bw]Bow the knee!” And he placed him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet ^(BS)without ^[bx]your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Then Pharaoh named Joseph ^[by]Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of ^[bz](BT)On, to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Now Joseph was ^(BU)thirty years old when he ^[ca]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 ^[cb]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 ^[cc]in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped ^[cd]measuring it, for it was ^[ce]beyond measure.

The Sons of Joseph

⁵⁰ Now before the year of famine came, ^(BV)two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of ^[cf]On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph named the firstborn ^[cg]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 ^[ch]Ephraim; “For,” he said, “^(BW)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 ^(BX)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; ^(BY)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 ^[ci]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 ^(BZ)the famine was severe in all the earth.