Genesis 41:1-57
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream
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 there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the areeds. 3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and thin, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 And the ugly and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. 5 He again fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. 6 And behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 Now it happened that in the morning ahis spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the bmagicians of Egypt and all its cwise men. And Pharaoh recounted to them his dream, but dthere was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would bring to remembrance today amy own offenses. 10 Pharaoh was afurious with his servants, and bhe put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. 11 aAnd we had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 12 Now there was with us a Hebrew youth, a aslave of the captain of the bodyguard, and we recounted them to him, and bhe interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream. 13 And just aas he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.”
14 Then Pharaoh sent and acalled for Joseph, and they brushed him out of the pit; and he shaved himself and changed his clothes, and he came to Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, abut no one can interpret it; yet bI have heard it said about you, that you hear a dream and that you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “aIt is not in me; bGod will answer concerning the welfare of Pharaoh.” 17 So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile; 18 and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 19 And behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and lean, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt, in regard to ugliness; 20 and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows. 21 But they devoured them, and yet it could not be known that they had devoured them. For they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke. 22 Then I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, 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. So aI told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could declare it to me.”
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; aGod has declared 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 and the same. 27 And the seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven lean ears scorched by the east wind awill be seven years of famine. 28 It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: aGod has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 Behold, aseven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; 30 and after them aseven years of famine will arise, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land, 31 so that the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very heavy. 32 Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that athe matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about. 33 So now let Pharaoh look for a man aunderstanding and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh take action and appoint overseers over the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. 35 Then let them agather all the food of these good years that are coming, and let them store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them keep watch over it. 36 And let the food be appointed for the land for the seven years of famine which will happen in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not be cut off during the famine.”
Joseph Is Set over Egypt
37 And the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. 38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, ain whom is a divine spirit?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made you know all of this, there is no one so aunderstanding and wise as you are. 40 aYou shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you aover all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh aremoved his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand and clothed him in garments of fine linen and bput the gold necklace around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in his second chariot; and they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet awithout your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of aOn, as a wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.
46 Now Joseph was athirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and passed through all the land of Egypt. 47 And during the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly. 48 So he gathered all the food of these seven years which happened in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. 49 Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.
The Sons of Joseph
50 Now before the year of famine came, atwo sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. 51 And Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 And he named the second Ephraim, “For,” he said, “aGod has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 Then the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and athe seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. So there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 Then all the land of Egypt was famished, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; awhatever he says to you, you shall do.” 56 Now the famine was over all the face of the land. And Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Now all the earth also came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because athe famine was severe in all the earth.
Genesis 42:1-38
Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt
Now aJacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” 2 Then he said, “Behold, aI have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from there, bso that we may live and not die.” 3 So ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother aBenjamin with his brothers, for he said, “bLest any harm befall him.” 5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, afor the famine was in the land of Canaan also.
6 Now aJoseph was the one in power over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bbowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and aspoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8 But Joseph recognized his brothers, although athey did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph aremembered the dreams which he had about them and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the nakedness of the land.” 10 Then they said to him, “No, amy lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are ahonest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 And he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the nakedness of our land!” 13 So 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 aour father today, and bone is no more.” 14 And Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies; 15 by this you will be tested: aby the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is atruth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 Then he put them all together in aprison for three days.
18 And Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for aI fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, bring grain for the famine of your households, 20 and abring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be proven true, and you will not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “aSurely we are guilty concerning our brother because we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “aDid I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; yet you would not listen? bSo also his blood, behold, it is required of us.” 23 Now they did not know that Joseph was listening, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 And he turned away from them and awept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them. And he btook Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 aThen Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them.
26 So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and went from there. 27 Then one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place. And he saw his amoney; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “aWhat is this that God has done to us?”
Jacob Is Bereaved
29 Then they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, aspoke harshly with us and took us for spies of the country. 31 So we said to him, ‘We are ahonest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘aBy this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may atrade in the land.’”
35 Now it happened that they were emptying their sacks, and behold, aevery man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they feared. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, “You have abereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hand, and I will return him to you.” 38 But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his abrother is dead, and he alone remains. bIf harm should befall him on the journey on which you are going, then you will cbring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
Genesis 43:1-34
The Brothers Return to Egypt
aNow the famine was heavy in the land. 2 And it happened when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” 3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “aThe man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our kin, saying, ‘aIs your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we told him concerning these things. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, athat we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 aI myself will be the guarantee for him; from my hand you may require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then I shall bear the sin before you all my days. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and bring them down to the man aas a present, a little bbalm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Now take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand athe money that was put back in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 And take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may aGod Almighty bgrant you compassion before the man, so that he will release to you cyour other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, dif I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” 15 So the men took athis present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; and they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Joseph Sees Benjamin
16 Then Joseph saw Benjamin with them and said to his ahouse steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and prepare it; for the men are to eat with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us and take us for slaves with our donkeys.” 19 So they came near to Joseph’s house steward and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and they said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it happened when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, aeach man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So bwe have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 And he said, “Be well, do not be afraid. aYour God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your money has come to me.” Then bhe brought Simeon out to them. 24 Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and agave them water, and they bwashed their feet; and he gave their donkeys fodder. 25 So they prepared athe present for Joseph’s coming at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.
26 Then Joseph came home, and they brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and abowed to the ground before him. 27 And he asked them about their well-being and said, “aIs your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” aThey bowed down and prostrated themselves. 29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son. And he said, “Is this ayour youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “bMay God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 And Joseph hurried out for ahe was deeply stirred with compassion over his brother, and he sought a place to weep; and he entered his chamber and bwept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he arestrained himself and said, “Set the meal.” 32 So they set the meal for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is aan abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they were seated before him, athe firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34 And he took portions to them from his own table, abut Benjamin’s portion was five times greater than any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
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