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The Dreams of Pharaoh

¹ After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,² when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.³ After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the other cows on the bank of the river.⁴ And the cows that were sickly and thin ate up the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,⁵ but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk.⁶ After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.⁷ And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.⁸ In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.¹⁰ Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard.¹¹ One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning.¹² Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually.¹³ And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,¹⁸ when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.¹⁹ After them, seven other cows, sickly, ugly, and thin, came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!²⁰ Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first.²¹ When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.²² In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk.²³ After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind.²⁴ And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.”²⁵ At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.²⁷ Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind—they are seven years of famine.²⁸ It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.²⁹ Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,³⁰ but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten and the famine will devastate the land.³¹ The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe.³² Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.

³³ Now therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.³⁴ Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of its harvest during the seven years of abundance.³⁵ Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities.³⁶ This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.”

Joseph Given Charge of Egypt

The Seven Years of Plenty

⁴⁶ Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.⁴⁷ During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully.⁴⁸ During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it.⁴⁹ So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure.⁵⁰ Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.⁵¹ Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh^(a), saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”⁵² And the second son he named Ephraim^(a), saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

The Famine Begins