Chapter Forty-One

Pharaoh’s Dreams

Genesis 41:1. After two years had passed, Pharaoh dreamed: behold, he stood by the river; Two years are reckoned, probably, judging by the connection of the narrative with Gen 40:23, from the liberation of the cupbearer, or this date may denote the entire period of Joseph’s imprisonment in the jail. The river, Hebrew jeor, is without doubt the Nile, called by this common noun in the sense of a proper name not only in the Pentateuch, but also in other books of the Old Testament (Isa 7:18-19; Jer 46:7-8; Ezek 29:3 and others). The Hebrew name of the Nile is consonant with the Egyptian: lapo – river: one can suppose that in the Egyptian language as well the common noun jeor later came to denote only the Nile, the most important river for Egypt (as urbs in Latin – Roma; ἄστυ in Greek – Athens). Pharaoh, who raised up Joseph, was, by supposition, Apophis or Apapi of the Hyksos dynasty, or, by others, Amenemhat III of the 12th Egyptian dynasty.

Genesis 41:2–3. and behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, good of appearance and fat of flesh, and they fed in the reeds; but behold, after them there came up out of the river seven other cows, poor of appearance and thin of flesh, and they stood beside those cows on the bank of the river; The Nile, in its periodic floods (from June to October), is the principal source of fertility in Egypt, now greater, now less, depending on the abundance of water (Deut 11:10). This specifically Egyptian feature of Pharaoh’s dream is supplemented later by traits equally characteristic of Egypt: from the Nile come forth cattle (beasts in hot lands remain in the water for long periods). These animals were extremely valued in ancient Egypt, serving also as objects of worship. The bull – especially the famous Apis – was a symbol of the Nile and Osiris (the priests applied this name also to the Nile), and therefore also of agriculture and fertility. The cow in Egyptian symbolism is a type of the earth, also of fertility, a personification of Egypt itself (Jer 46:20-21). As the bull was dedicated to Osiris, inventor of agriculture, so the cow to Isis, goddess of fertility and love. The cows feed in reeds – a Nile plant, in Hebrew achu (compare Job 8:11). The LXX in some codices: ἐν τῶ αχει, in others: ἐν τῆ ὄχὕη; Slavonic: “by the shore”; Vulgate – closer to the meaning of the Hebrew text: in locis palustribus. The 7 fat cows coming forth from the Nile were a symbol of sevenfold fertility of Egyptian soil by the influence of the Nile. In contrast with this, the 7 thin cows, likewise coming forth from the Nile, are 7 periods-years of famine, dependent on the Nile itself, namely the smaller flood of it and drought.

Genesis 41:4. and the thin cows ate up the seven good cows that were fat and full. Seven years of famine follow immediately after seven years of fertility and utterly destroy all stores and even the remembrance of the latter (compare verse 30–31): this is signified by the fantastic feature, intelligible only in a dream – the devouring of the fat cows by the thin ones.

Genesis 41:5. and he slept and dreamed again: behold, upon one stalk there arose seven ears of grain, fat and good; The repetition of the dream in another form, by the understanding of antiquity signifying the identity of meaning of both dreams and their unconditional fulfillment, was meant to awaken the attention of Pharaoh and his faith in the providential significance of the first dream; moreover, the second dream, reflecting the agricultural manner of life and fertility of Egypt, is more readily understood: the growth of 7 ears (full) on one stalk is a phenomenon very familiar in the fertile valley of the Nile.

Genesis 41:6. but behold, after them there grew up seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind; On the contrary, 7 thin ears spring up in isolation; they are scorched by the “east” wind – with respect to Arabia and Palestine, but north-east in relation to Egypt, the wind, khamsin (Jer 18:17; Ezek 17:10; Hos 13:15).

Genesis 41:7. and the thin ears devoured the seven ears of grain, full and good. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. The vividness of the images of both dreams was so great that only upon finally waking did Pharaoh understand that what he had seen was a dream.

Egypt’s Wise Men and Joseph

Genesis 41:8. In the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none who could interpret it to Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s disturbance, natural in general after dreams (Gen 40:7), could have been caused further by the following circumstances: the repetition of the dream, the opinion of antiquity that the fates of nations can be revealed to their rulers (compare Dan 10:7), finally, the dominion in Egypt of the system of hieroglyphs, in which representations were expressed by symbolic signs. This last consideration prompted Pharaoh to summon the magicians, chartummim (compare Exod 7:11), and all the wise men of Egypt in general. The etymology of chartummim is not established; the root of this word was sought not only in Hebrew (from cheret – stylus, the instrument of writing), but also in Syriac, Arabic, and Egyptian languages; for instance, they derived it (with questionable philological foundation) from two Aramaic words: chur, to see, and tum (Hebrew taman), to hide: interpreter of mysteries. By the more accepted interpretation: khartumin – specialists (from among the priests) in reading hieroglyphics (LXX: ἐξηγητὰς, Vulgate: conjutores), so-called ίερογραμματεῖς (by testimony of antiquity, Egyptian priests were divided into three classes: προφῆται, ίερογραμματεῖς, νεωκόροι). Naturally, they were not limited to reading hieroglyphics, but, as is known from the Book of Exodus, they were also proper magicians, attempting to perform miracles. To them Pharaoh turned precisely because his own dream enclosed within itself a kind of hieroglyphics. He also turned to the wise men of Egypt in general, among whom was the already-known cupbearer.

Genesis 41:9. Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying: I remember my offenses today; Joseph’s dreams and the need for their interpretation bring the cupbearer to remember Joseph, and he at last recalls him, realizing his “sin,” that is, either his guilt before Pharaoh, for which he was imprisoned (Gen 40:1), or, more directly, the sin of ingratitude toward Joseph (Gen 40:14).

Genesis 41:10–12. Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the chief of the guard; and we each had a dream in one night, each man his dream with its own meaning; and there was with us a young Hebrew, a servant of the chief of the guard; and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted to us our dreams, each one according to the meaning of his dream; A brief retelling of the narrative of chapter 40, which can serve as an example of the language of Egyptian courtiers: it is characteristic that the cupbearer mentions the hanged baker diplomatically (at the end of verse 10, see the Hebrew text – so as not to arouse Pharaoh’s anger), and also the condescending-haughty mention of Joseph (“a young Hebrew servant,” verse 12 – according to the Midrash, in an ill-disposed sense, from reluctance at Joseph’s elevation).

Genesis 41:14. And Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. And they hurriedly brought him out of the jail. He shaved himself and changed his raiment and came to Pharaoh. The word of the cupbearer took effect: Pharaoh immediately demands Joseph to come to him, he is freed from the jail, and he prepares himself for an audience with Pharaoh: he cuts his hair and beard and changes his clothes – shaving the hair is a specifically Egyptian trait – Egyptians wore their hair only in mourning (Herodotus 2, 36), ordinarily they wore short hair and a beard; to appear before Pharaoh in mourning attire and in everyday clothes was not permitted by Egyptian etiquette.

Genesis 41:16. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying: It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. Pharaoh, like his courtiers (Gen 40:8), supposed that the interpretation of dreams was a matter of specialist art. But Joseph in both cases declines the glory of a professional dream-interpreter and makes his interpretation solely from God, and Pharaoh, having heard Joseph, recognizes as the source of his wisdom the divine inspiration (verse 38).

The Recounting and Interpretation of the Dreams

Genesis 41:21. and the fat ones entered into their bellies, but it could not be known that they had entered their bellies, so ill-favored were they. Even as at the beginning. Here (Gen 41:17-24) is contained the repetition from Pharaoh’s lips of what was recounted above by the sacred writer (verse 1–8), with the purpose of more clearly communicating to the reader the particulars of Pharaoh’s dreams; here, too, verse 21, there is a significant addition to the first narrative, namely: an indication that the fertility of the first seven years will not be able to cover by its excess the scarcity of the 7 following years of famine.

Genesis 41:25–32. And Joseph said to Pharaoh: The dream of Pharaoh is one; God has shown to Pharaoh what He will do. The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one; and the seven thin and poor cows that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind are seven years of famine. It is as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He will do. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and famine will consume the land, and the plenty will be unknown in the land because of the famine that follows, for it will be very grave. And the fact that the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice means that this is the true word of God, and God will soon bring it to pass. In approaching the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph with special force of persuasion emphasizes the providential significance of the dreams (about which he had said also before, verse 16): through these dreams divine providence reveals to the ruler of Egypt the fate of the country in the coming years. In this connection, to prove the higher significance of the dreams and their immutability, Joseph repeatedly points to the repetition or duality of Pharaoh’s dream in two forms essentially identical (verse 25, 26, 32), although they might suggest the thought of an unequal significance. On the whole, Joseph’s interpretation is distinguished by remarkable simplicity, naturalness, and complete plausibility (subsequently verified by fact), and by these traits it differs infinitely from the utterances of all pagan oracles. In the circumstance that despite all apparent simplicity of the meaning of the dreams, this meaning remained unguessed by the wise men of Egypt, one can perceive the deliberate action of Providence, which through Joseph was to wisely fulfill its designs regarding the posterity of Abraham. In verses 26–27 the meaning of the images of the dreams is unfolded in parallel, and verses 28–31 do the same, but without concrete images; verse 32 emphasizes the unconditional truth of the interpretation, its necessity and imminence of its fulfillment.

The Application of the Dream Interpretation – Joseph’s Counsel to Pharaoh

Genesis 41:33–36. And now let Pharaoh seek out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this: let him appoint overseers over the land, and take a fifth of the increase of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance; and let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh as food, and guard it. And let that food be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to come in Egypt, so that the land may not be destroyed by the famine. The great, divinely-enlightened wisdom of Joseph is expressed especially in this: that, convinced of the imminent coming, according to his foreknowledge, of first 7 years of extraordinary fertility, and then – of extraordinary famine lasting 7 other years in Egypt, he draws Pharaoh’s attention to the necessity of preventing possible disasters of famine by appropriate measures, making use for that purpose of the years of fertility. Namely, he gives Pharaoh the counsel: 1) to appoint over Egypt a man of practical wisdom and knowledge, and to put overseers under him for preserving grain in the Egyptian granaries, and 2) for this latter purpose to establish a law so that the whole country should give for 7 years of fertility a fifth of all the products of the land, and these stores could be deposited in scattered royal granaries throughout the country (compare Gen 41:56). Probably a tithe or one-tenth of the products of the land was the customary tribute, collected by Pharaohs and other ancient Eastern kings (compare 1 Sam 8:15: a tithe is supposed to be the customary tribute paid to kings) from their subjects; now, because of the extraordinary fertility and in view of the approaching famine, Joseph advises doubling the customary tax (compare Gen 47:24); it is possible, however, that for this additional quantity of products extracted from Pharaoh’s or the state’s funds, the inhabitants were paid some price, however low, by the Pharaoh or the state. In proposing to Pharaoh to choose a wise man to oversee the matter of state reserves, Joseph doubtless did not intend to recommend himself to Pharaoh for this purpose; on the contrary, he is entirely occupied not only with clear foreknowledge of Egypt’s coming fate, but also with sincere desire to prevent the disaster of death by hunger in Egypt – “so that the land may not die of the famine” (verse 36) – and he does not think of himself at all. Moreover, the position he proposed to oversee the collection of reserves is much lower and more specialized than the position and status of supreme ruler of Egypt that Pharaoh grants to Joseph.

Joseph’s Elevation and His State Activity

Genesis 41:38–39. And Pharaoh said to his servants: Can we find one like this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? And Pharaoh said to Joseph: Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you; Pharaoh and his courtiers recognized Joseph’s supernatural wisdom in his foreknowledge and setting forth of necessary measures in case of famine: his interpretation of the dreams was fully justified by the Egyptian symbology known to them, and the practical counsel given by Joseph astonished the Egyptian wise men by its timeliness and applicability to state economy. Both, despite apparent simplicity, were not guessed at and proposed by them. Therefore, together with their king, they discern the source of Joseph’s wisdom in God (Elohim, not lehovah) – the supreme rational Being who gave reason and wisdom to Joseph. Recognizing the reasonableness both of Joseph’s prediction and counsel, Pharaoh immediately poses the question of who could fulfill his designs in the interest of the nation – and decides this question in Joseph’s favor.

Genesis 41:40–41. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only as regards the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph: See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh appoints Joseph both ruler of his household (such stewards existed later under the kings of Israel and Judah, 1 Sam 18:3; 2 Sam 18:18) and ruler, first after the king, of the whole land. Such sudden elevation of a foreign slave to the rank of first minister of state is entirely compatible with the customs and practices of despotic kings not only of the ancient East (compare Dan 2:48), but also of modern times (the “grand vizier” of the Turkish sultan, magnates of the Persian shah often reach their high positions from low social status).

Genesis 41:42–43. And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him with vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him: Abrech! And so he set him over all the land of Egypt. Purely Egyptian and generally specifically-oriental in character are the regalia and honors granted Joseph by the will of Pharaoh. Thus, the removal of the signet ring from one’s hand and its placing on the hand of a man being clothed with new high authority was very customary with the kings of the ancient East (Esth 3:10; 1 Macc 6:15). The garment of fine linen, made of the material schesch or luz, produced only in Egypt from the cotton plant growing there (compare Ezek 27:7) – is the proper attribute of the life of the upper classes in Egypt. Likewise the golden necklace and the triumphant chariot in which Joseph was conveyed (“the second” – that is, after Pharaoh’s own chariot), were native to Egypt as signs, so to speak, of court investiture; the placing of a linen garment on Joseph was, in the opinion of some, meant to initiate him into the priestly caste. A herald proclaimed Joseph’s elevation to the people, riding his chariot, with the exclamation: “Abrech.” This last word most interpreters recognize as Egyptian (like the Egyptian root we have earlier met, jeor, achu, verse 1, 2), but its meaning is determined differently. Some (Grotius, Yablonski, and others), bringing this word close to the Coptic “aperekh” or “uperekh,” render it: “bow the head.” In this or a similar meaning, namely of kneeling, understand it Aquila, the Vulgate (“ut omnes coram eum genu flecterent”). According to the Targums, “abrech” means “father of the king” – a title which, it seems, Joseph did indeed bear (Gen 45:8). According to Hebrew interpreters, this word is synonymous with the Hebrew barach in the hiph. form – to bow the knee (the Greek and Slavonic translations take the word abrech as the name of a herald).

Genesis 41:44–45. And Pharaoh said to Joseph: I am Pharaoh; and without you no man shall lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as a wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. In confirming his authority to Joseph, Pharaoh, with the purpose of bringing him closer to the Egyptian type and fusing his interests with Egyptian nationality and the country, gives Joseph a new, doubtless Egyptian name “Zaphnath-paaneah” (LXX: Ψονθομφανήχ) and marries him to the daughter of a priest. The meaning of Joseph’s new name – “savior of the world” (Vulgate: salvator mundi), or “revealer of mysteries” (according to Josephus), “sustainer of life,” or “spirit flowing through the world” – is not established with precision; in any case Joseph’s new name expressed Pharaoh’s thought that Joseph was sent by God and was to serve the salvation of Egypt. Asenath (Aswath), LXX: Ασεννέθ, from Egyptian – servant of the goddess Neith (Egyptian Minerva), daughter of Potiphera; the latter (his name means servant of the sun god) is distinct from Potiphar, Joseph’s former master, although Hebrew interpreters and perhaps the LXX confused the one with the other. The father of Asenath was a priest in the city of On, in Egyptian Anu (north of Memphis), otherwise called Heliopolis or Beth-shemesh (Jer 43:13) – “house or city of the sun,” where there was a famous temple of the sun; the caste of priests here was especially influential. Pharaoh through this marriage introduces Joseph into the ranks of the highest Egyptian aristocracy, from whose midst Pharaoh himself came. The Jewish tradition denied this kinship of Joseph with the house of an idolatrous priest. But Joseph, in the similarity of his external manner of life to the Egyptians, always remained faithful to the faith of his fathers (Gen 41:51-52).

Genesis 41:46. And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. At thirty years of age, consequently 13 years after his involuntary arrival in Egypt, Joseph enters upon the duties of his post.

Genesis 41:47–49. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And Joseph gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; the food of the field that was round about every city, he laid up in the same city. And Joseph amassed grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he ceased to number it, for it was past all measure. Verses 47–49 depict a picture of extraordinary fertility in Egypt in the first 7 years, when there was produced “from one grain a handful” (verse 47) – the grand activity of Joseph in gathering grain and all kinds of fruits by districts into city granaries belonging to the king (verse 48), whereby each city was to become a granary of the surrounding settlements at the time of famine; the total quantity of gathered grain could not even be counted because of its multitude (verse 49).

The Birth of Children; the Beginning of Famine

Genesis 41:50–52. And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh; for, said he, God has made me forget all my hardship, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second he called Ephraim; for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. In the years of fertility, perhaps in the second half of this period, two sons were born to Joseph from Asenath, whose descendants in the subsequent history of Israel had very great significance: the sacred writer speaks of their birth here, following the chronology of events and wishing to give complete information about the new period of Joseph’s life in Egypt (compare Gen 41:45). Significant are the names of both of Joseph’s sons, inasmuch as they reflect his spiritual disposition. Manasseh (Hebrew Menashe) – “causing to forget” – namely all the hardships experienced by him since leaving his father’s house and even while there; only insofar as the remembrance of his father’s house aroused bitterness of sorrow in Joseph, he forgot it and all the distress, by virtue of God’s mercy toward him. Thus, if the name of the firstborn has a more negative sense, although it contains gratitude to God on Joseph’s part, the name of the second son – Ephraim (Hebrew Ephraim) – “double fruitfulness” – points to the positive consequence of his elevation in Egypt: deliverance from hardships and glorification.

Genesis 41:55–57. And when the famine was severe over all the land, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do. And the famine was over all the land; and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph; because the famine was severe over all the earth. With the cessation of fertility – apparently in visible dependence, as is customary in Egypt, on the unsatisfactory floods of the Nile – famine began in Egypt and neighboring countries such as Libya, Arabia, Palestine, Phoenicia. At first the inhabitants of Egypt could still feed themselves on their own reserves, accumulated during the years of abundance by individual families, independent of the state reserves. But then private stores were exhausted, the people began to “cry out” to Pharaoh, and he sent them to Joseph. The latter (offering, according to the Midrash, Beresch. r. Par. 90, s. 441, all who came to him from Egypt to accept circumcision) at that time opens the royal granaries and sells grain from them first only to Egyptians (verse 56), and then also to foreigners (verse 57). The latter became the occasion for the arrival of Joseph’s brothers in Egypt and their meeting with their sold brother, approximately 21–22 years after his sale (13 y. + 7 y. + 1(2) y.). * * * According to the Midrash, the interpreters proposed different explanations of the dreams to Pharaoh (for example: seven daughters will be born to him and seven daughters he will lose), but Pharaoh did not like these interpretations. Beresch.r.Par.LXXXIX,s.437.