Genesis 41

Genesis 41:1

GENESIS CHAPTER 41

Pharaoh’ s two dreams, . He is troubled; sends for interpreters; their inability, . The chief butler, sensible of his fault, remembers Joseph, ; commends him to Pharaoh, , who causes him to be brought before him, , expecting the interpretation from him, . Joseph ascribes all to God, . Pharaoh relates his dreams to Joseph, . He interprets them, .

The reason of their being doubled, . His advice to Pharaoh against the dearth to come, , which he approves of, ; appoints him governor, next himself, over the whole land, . The ensigns of dignity and stately presents conferred on him, ; also a new name, Zaphnath-paaneah, and a wife, . Joseph, now thirty years of age, makes a progress over all the land, inspects the stores, lays up provisions, ; has two children, Manasseh and Ephraim, . Bad years come on; he supplies the country, .

1715 Two full years, after the butler’ s restitution to his place. Heb. Years of days, for full years, as ; as a month of days is put for a full month, , which is complete to a day. Nilus is called the river simply, because of its eminency, as Homer or Virgil are called the poet.

Genesis 41:2

This suits well with the nature of the thing, for both the fruitfulness and the barrenness of Egypt depended, under God, upon the increase or diminution of the waters of that river.

Kine, when they appeared in dreams, did portend, in the opinion of the learned Egyptians, the years or times to come, and them either good or bad, according to their quality.

Genesis 41:3

Which shows how sparingly the river overflowed the lands.

Genesis 41:5

Ears of corn are fit and proper resemblances of the thing here intended, both because the fertility of a land doth mainly consist in the abundance and goodness of these; and because ears of corn appearing to any in a dream, did, in the judgment of the Egyptian wise men, signify years, as Josephus notes.

Genesis 41:6

A boisterous wind, and in those parts of the world very pernicious to the fruits of the earth, 19:12 .

Genesis 41:7

Not a real thing, as Pharaoh in his sleep imagined it to be. Heb. Behold the dream, i.e. the dream did not vanish, as dreams commonly do, but was fixed in his mind, and he could not shake it off; by which he saw that it was no common or natural, but a Divine and significant dream.

Genesis 41:8

His spirit was troubled, because he understood not the meaning of it, and dreaded the consequences of it. Compare ,3 Mt 27:19.

The magicians, whose profession it was to discover secret and future things; which they did either by the observation of the stars, or by other superstitious practices, and the help of evil spirits. See 8:19 ,10.

The wise men, who were conversant in the study of nature; and by reason of their great sagacity, did ofttimes make happy conjectures.

Pharoah calls them both one dream, either because they seemed to portend the same thing, or because they were the product of one night, and were divided only by a very little interruption.

Genesis 41:9

Not against Joseph by ingratitude, but against the king; by which expression he both acknowledgeth the king’ s justice in imprisoning him, and his clemency in pardoning him.

Genesis 41:11

Of which phrase see Poole on “”.

Genesis 41:13

Me he restored; either,

1. Pharaoh. But then he would have mentioned either his name or title, and not have spoken so slightly and indecently of him. Or rather,

2. Joseph, of whom he spake last, and who is here said to restore the one, and to hang the other, because he foretold those events, as Jeremiah is said to pull down and destroy those nations, , whose destruction he did only foretell.

Genesis 41:14

The dungeon, or prison, by a synecdoche of the part for the whole. For it is not probable that Joseph, who was now so much employed, and intrusted with all the affairs of the prison and prisoners, , should still be kept in the dungeon properly so called.

He shaved himself; for till then he suffered his hair to grow, as the manner was for persons in prison, or under great sorrow, . But to appear in a mournful dress before the king was not convenient, nor usual. Compare .

Genesis 41:16

I cannot do this by any power, or virtue, or art of my own, for I am but a man, as your magicians are, but only by inspiration from the great God. Thus he gives the honour from himself unto God, and leads Pharaoh to the knowledge of the true God. For the phrase compare .

God shall give; or, may God give, & c. It is my desire that God would vouchsafe to Pharaoh a comfortable and happy answer.

Genesis 41:21

They seemed to be neither fatter in the flesh, nor fuller in their bodies. As many times in famine men eat much, but are not satisfied, because God withdraws his blessing from it, by which alone it is that meat nourisheth us.

Genesis 41:25

The dream of Pharaoh is one, to wit, in its design and signification; both dreams portend the same thing.

Genesis 41:30

There shall be no relics of it to keep it in men’ s minds, which will be so taken up with the contemplation of their present misery and future danger, that they will have neither heart nor leisure to reflect upon their former plenty, the remembrance whereof will but aggravate the present calamity.

Genesis 41:34

Not by force or violence, for Joseph would never be the author of such unrighteous counsels; but by purchase at the common price, which was like to be very low in that case, and therefore might easily be compassed by that rich and mighty prince.

Quest. Why

the fifth part, and not half, seeing the years of famine were as many as the years of plenty?

Answ. Because,

1. Men would and should live more sparingly in times of famine.

2. It was likely that very many men would lay up great quantities of corn in those years, partly because they could not spend it all, and partly in expectation of a scarcer and dearer time, when they might either use it themselves, or sell it to their advantage.

3. The fifth part of those years of great plenty might be more than the half, yea, equal to the whole crop of ordinary years.

Genesis 41:38

Or, of the gods, in his heathen language. One whom God hath endowed with such admirable knowledge and wisdom.

Genesis 41:39

God hath showed thee all this, i.e. hath given thee this extraordinary gift of foreseeing and foretelling things to come, and of giving such sage advice for the future.

Genesis 41:40

According unto thy word, i.e. direction and command, Heb. mouth, which is oft put for command, \ shall all my poeple be ruled, or, be fed; they shall receive their provisions from thy hand, and according to thy disposal. Others, shall kiss, viz. the hand, as inferiors used to do, upon their address to or conference with great persons. See . But it was frivolous for Joseph to command them to do that which by the custom of the place they were obliged and wont to do. Some render the word thus, and that agreeable to the Hebrew, at thy mouth shall the people kiss; which may be understood either properly, as inferiors did sometimes kiss their superiors in token of their homage; see ; or rather metaphorically, as the same phrase is used , receive all thy commands with reverence and submission.

In the throne, i.e. in sovereign power and dignity.

Genesis 41:42

His ring was both a token of highest dignity, and an instrument of greatest power, by which he had authority to make and sign what decrees he thought fit in the king’ s name. See 8:2. With

fine linen the greatest potentates were arrayed. See ,24 Ezekiel 16:10 .

A gold chain was another badge of great honour. See ,16,29.

Genesis 41:43

In the second chariot; in the king’ s second chariot, that he might be known and owned to be the next person to the king in power and dignity. Compare 10:3 .

Bow the knee: they commanded all that passed by him, or came to him, to show their reverent respect to him in this manner: compare . Others, tender father, to signify that he was to be owned as the father of the country, because by his prudence and care he had provided for them all, and saved them from utter ruin.

Genesis 41:44

I am Pharaoh, i.e. I only am the king, I reserve to myself the sovereign power over thee, and over all. As the name of Caesar among the Romans was commonly used for the emperor, so the name of Pharaoh for the king. Or thus, I have the supreme power, and therefore as I have authority to give thee the following power, so I will make it good to thee, and oblige all my people to observe and obey thee. No man shall do any thing in the public affairs of the kingdom concerning matters of war or peace without thy commission or licence.

Genesis 41:45

Zaphnath-paaneah, i.e. The revealer of secrets, as the Hebrews generally understand it, and with them most others.

Poti-pherah, not that Potiphar, ; both because he had another title, and dwelt in another place; and because it is not probable Joseph would have married the daughter of so unchaste a mother; but another and a greater person. It is the observation of a late ingenious and learned writer, that among the Egyptians there were three words, or endings of words, near akin, but differing in signification, and in the degree of dignity and authority, to which those names were annexed: Phar, which belonged to inferior officers; and Pherah, which was given to those of greater dignity and power; and Pharaoh, which was appropriated to the king.

Priest, or prince, as the word signifies, 20:26, and elsewhere. This sense is the more probable, both from Joseph’ s high quality, and from his holy disposition, whereby he hated idolatry, and would never have married the daughter of an idolatrous priest.

On was a famous city of Egypt, called also Aven, , and afterwards, as some think, Heliopolis, now Damiata. See .

Joseph went out over all the land, upon his employment, and to execute the king’ s command, and his own counsel.

Genesis 41:46

Joseph’ s age is here noted to teach us,

1. That Joseph’ s short affliction was recompensed with a much longer prosperity, even for eighty years.

2. That Joseph’ s excellent wisdom did not proceed from his large and long experience, but from the singular gift of God.

He stood before Pharaoh, as his chief minister: to stand before another is the posture and designation of a servant, as .

Went throughout all the land, to provide places for his stores, and to constitute officers for the management of them.

Genesis 41:47

Or, unto handfuls, to wit, growing upon one stalk; or, unto heaps; or, as the ancients render it, for the barns or storehouses; i.e. in such plenty, that all their storehouses were filled with heaps of corn.

Genesis 41:48

All the food; that is, either all sorts of grain which was proper for food; or all which he intended to gather, to wit, the fifth part, .

Genesis 41:51

i.e. Hath expelled all sorrowful remembrance of it by my present comfort and glory.

All my toil, and all my father’ s house, i.e. the toil of my father’ s house, or the toil and misery which for many years I have endured by means of my father’ s family, and my own brethren, who sold me hither; a figure called hendyadis.

Genesis 41:52

1711 In the land which hitherto hath been to me a land of affliction.

Genesis 41:54

In all lands; in all the neighbouring countries, appears by comparing this with .

Genesis 41:55

The people cried to Pharaoh, as to their king and common father. Compare .