Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams

41 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, ² and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. ³ And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. ⁶ And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and ^(A)blighted by the east wind. ⁷ And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. ⁸ So in the morning ^(B)his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the ^(C)magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. ¹⁰ When Pharaoh was ^(D)angry with his servants ^(E)and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, ^11 (F)we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. ¹² A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, ^(G)he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. ¹³ And ^(H)as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”

^14 (I)Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they ^(J)quickly brought him ^(K)out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. ^(L)I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, ^(M)“It is not in me; ^(N)God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”^{[a] 17} Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, ^(O)in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. ¹⁸ Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. ¹⁹ Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, ²¹ but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. ²² I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. ²³ Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, ²⁴ and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And ^(P)I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; ^(Q)God has revealed 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 dreams are one. ²⁷ The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also ^(R)seven years of famine. ²⁸ It is as I told Pharaoh; ^(S)God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ There will come ^(T)seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but after them there will arise ^(U)seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. ^(V)The famine will consume the land, ³¹ and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. ³² And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the ^(W)thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. ³³ Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land^[b] of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. ³⁵ And ^(X)let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. ³⁶ That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

Joseph Rises to Power

³⁷ This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. ³⁸ And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, ^(Y)in whom is the Spirit of God?”^{[c] 39} Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. ^40 (Z)You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.^[d] Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, ^(AA)I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh ^(AB)took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and ^(AC)clothed him in garments of fine linen ^(AD)and put a gold chain about his neck. ⁴³ And he made him ride in his second chariot. ^(AE)And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!”^[e] Thus he set him ^(AF)over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and ^(AG)without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he ^(AH)entered the service 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 plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, ⁴⁸ and he gathered up 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 the fields around it. ⁴⁹ And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, ^(AI)like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

⁵⁰ Before the year of famine came, ^(AJ)two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.”^{[f] 52} The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has ^(AK)made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”^[g]

⁵³ The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ and ^(AL)the seven years of famine began to come, ^(AM)as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”

⁵⁶ So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses^[h] and ^(AN)sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe ^(AO)over all the earth.

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family

45 Then Joseph could not ^(A)control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. ³ And Joseph said to his brothers, ^(B)“I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

⁴ So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, ^(C)whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, ^(D)for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are ^(E)yet five years in which there will be neither ^(F)plowing nor harvest. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ^(G)ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. ^10 (H)You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. ^11 (I)There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ ¹² And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is ^(J)my mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and ^(K)bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and take your father and your households, and come to me, and ^(L)I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ ¹⁹ And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take ^(M)wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. ²⁰ Have no concern for^[a] your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them ^(N)wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To each and all of them he gave ^(O)a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels^[b] of silver and ^(P)five changes of clothes. ²³ To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, ^(Q)“Do not quarrel on the way.”

²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. ²⁶ And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw ^(R)the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

50 Then Joseph ^(A)fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to ^(B)embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians ^(C)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, ^(D)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb ^(E)that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” ⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left ^(F)in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. ¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, ^(G)they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he ^(H)made a mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;^[a] it is beyond the Jordan. ¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, ¹³ for ^(I)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham ^(J)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

God's Good Purposes

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of ^(K)the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came and ^(L)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for ^(M)am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but ^(N)God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^[b] should be kept alive, as they are today. ²¹ So do not fear; ^(O)I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw Ephraim's children ^(P)of the third generation. The ^(Q)children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were ^(R)counted as Joseph's own.^{[c] 24} And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but ^(S)God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land ^(T)that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(U)Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They ^(V)embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.