CHAPTER 41

(1715 B.C.)

PHARAOHS DREAM

¹And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river (as to exactly how long that Joseph spent in prison, we arent told; however, we do know that he stayed there two more years after the interpretation of the dream for the chief butler).

²And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favored cattle and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.

³And, behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ill favored and leanfleshed; and stood by the other cattle upon the brink of the river.

⁴And the ill favored and leanfleshed cattle did eat up the seven well favored and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke.

⁵And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn (either barley or wheat, for there was no corn in that part of the world at that time, as we know of such presently) came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

⁶And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.

⁷And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

INTERPRETATION SOUGHT

⁸And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none who could interpret them unto Pharaoh. (The Egyptian Book of the Dead, now in the British Museum in London, with its sacred cows and mystic number seven a book beyond doubt well known to Pharaoh must have helped to convince the king that this double dream was supernatural.)

⁹Then spoke the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day (with none of the magicians able to interpret the dream, or at least to Pharaohs satisfaction, it began to be known in the Palace as to the dilemma, until it reached the chief butler):

¹⁰Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guards house, both me and the chief baker:

¹¹And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

¹²And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.

¹³And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he (you) restored unto mine office, and him he (you) hanged.

THE INTERPRETATION

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. (Events now transpire which no human hand could manipulate. Only God could do such a thing. This should teach us that we should allow the Lord to plan for us. Men forgot Joseph, but it is double certain that God didnt forget Joseph. And neither will He forget you. This is at least one of the reasons that we must look to God instead of men.)

¹⁵And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none who can interpret it: and I have heard say of you, that you can understand a dream to interpret it. (The Lord, once again, uses dreams to reveal His Will.)

¹⁶And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. (Joseph could have claimed great things, but instead he gave all the glory to God for giving him the interpretation of these dreams.)

¹⁷And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river (the Nile River):

¹⁸And, behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, fatfleshed and well favored; and they fed in a meadow:

¹⁹And, behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ill favored and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:

²⁰And the lean and the ill favored cattle did eat up the first seven fat cattle:

²¹And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

²²And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:

²³And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

²⁴And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

²⁵And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God has showed Pharaoh what He is about to do. (The dream was doubled, in order, as Joseph says in Verse 32, to denote its Divine certainty and, as well, to portray its immediate happening, as well as its futuristic happening.)

²⁶The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

²⁷And the seven thin and ill favored cattle that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. (Discoveries many years ago at the First Cataract, and at El-Kab, record the fact of this seven years famine. The date is given as 1700 B.C. This date accords with accepted Bible chronology.)

²⁸This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do He shows unto Pharaoh.

²⁹Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

³⁰And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

³¹And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

³²And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. (The interpretation, as given by Joseph, and which greatly concerned Pharaoh, was to take place in the immediate future. But due to the fact of the dream being doubled, it has an Endtime meaning, as well, and which will be of far greater magnitude than that which would take place in Josephs day. It is as follows:

We know that this terrible famine which would follow the seven years of plenty would bring Josephs brothers to him, ultimately along with his father, Jacob. This represents Israel coming to Christ, for Joseph is a Type of Christ, which they shall do at the conclusion of the seven-year Great Tribulation Period. So, the seven years of famine point to the coming seven-year Great Tribulation Period prophesied by Daniel and foretold by our Lord [Dan. 9:27; Mat. 24:21].

As well, the east wind mentioned in Verse 27 localizes the Great Tribulation Period that is coming, which will affect the entire Earth, but will have its beginning in the Middle East.

As it regards the seven years of plenty which immediately preceded the seven years of famine, looking at it in the prophetic sense, we can take the number seven in two different ways.

The number seven, which is Gods number of perfection, could pertain to the Church, and it being completed, and then taken out of the world immediately before the seven years of Tribulation. Or, even as the seven years of famine correspond exactly to the coming seven years of Great Tribulation, the seven years of plenty could refer to a tremendous harvest of souls immediately preceding the Rapture, which will be followed by the Great Tribulation. Quite possibly, both particulars will come into play. There will be a great harvest of souls, fulfilling the Prophecy of Joel about the Lord pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh, which Peter infers will be in the last days in a greater way than ever, which will conclude the Church Age [Acts. 2:16-21].)

³³Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years.

³⁵And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn (grain) under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.

³⁶And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine. (This famine was designed by God, not only to bless and instruct Egypt, but mainly to be the means of bringing Josephs brothers in repentance to his feet. It is all, as well, and as stated, a picture of present and future facts.)

JOSEPH

³⁷And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants (Pharaoh recognized the wisdom of what he was hearing from the young man, Joseph).

³⁸And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? (The term Spirit of God, as used by Pharaoh, in the Hebrew is Ruach Elohim, and would have been understood by Pharaoh as referring to the sagacity and intelligence of a Deity. Other than that, he would have had no knowledge as to What or Who the Spirit of God actually was.)

³⁹And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God has showed you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are (Joseph, while yet in humiliation, becomes the interpreter of the thoughts and counsels of God; and in his elevation executes with power those counsels, and subjects all Egypt to Him Who sat upon the throne.

In all this was Joseph a wonderfully full Type of Christ, Who, in the humiliation of His First Advent, revealed the counsels and affections of Gods Heart, and Who will, in the glory of His Second Advent, establish the Kingdom of God in power over the whole Earth.):

⁴⁰You shall be over my house, and according unto your word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than you. (So, in a moments time, Joseph is promoted to the august position of the Prime Minister of Egypt, and is thus one of the most powerful men in the world.)

⁴¹And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.

⁴²And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Josephs hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck (giving Joseph his ring proclaimed the fact that Josephs position was real and not merely honorary; Josephs authority was to be absolute and universal, which it was; there was no part of Egypt over which he didnt have control);

⁴³And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without you shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Josephs name Zaphnath-paaneah (the very name that Pharaoh gave Joseph was prophetic; his Hebrew name, Joseph, means Jehovah shall add; his Egyptian name means life more abundant; so, in essence, both of his names meant Jehovah shall add life more abundant, which portrays Christ, as well [Jn. 10:10]); and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. (Our Lord, as well, began His public ministry at 30 years old.)

⁴⁷And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

⁴⁸And he (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, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.

⁴⁹And Joseph gathered corn (grain) as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

⁵⁰And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bore unto him.

⁵¹And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, has made me forget all my toil, and all my fathers house.

⁵²And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. (Joseph was given a Gentile wife, which was a type of the Gentile wife given to Christ, for the Church is mostly Gentile. Manasseh means forgetfulness, while Ephraim means fruitfulness. This is indicative of his spiritual condition. He forgot the injustice done to him, and the Lord made him fruitful. It should be a lesson to us.)

⁵³And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.

FAMINE

⁵⁴And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the famine was in all lands (refers to all lands of the Middle East); but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. (It was Egypt only which had food, and because of Pharaoh heeding what the Lord had said, and appointing Joseph to head up the program.)

⁵⁵And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he says to you, do. (No nation has ever had a more honest man to guide its affairs than did Egypt with Joseph.)

⁵⁶And the famine was over all the face of the Earth (that part of the world): And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. (Just as the Lord said it would!)

⁵⁷And all countries (in the Middle East) came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn (grain); because that the famine was so sore in all lands. (While there were, no doubt, many reasons for the famine, at least one of the primary reasons was to bring Jacob and his family into Egypt, just as the coming Great Tribulation will bring Israel to Christ.)