¹tn Heb “two years, days.”
²tn Heb “was dreaming.”
³tn Heb “And look, he was standing by the Nile, and look, from the Nile were coming up seven cows, attractive of appearance and fat of flesh.” By the use of the particle hN}h! (h!N@h, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to see the dream through Pharaoh’s eyes.
⁴tn Heb “And look, seven other cows were coming up after them from the Nile, bad of appearance and thin of flesh.”
⁵tn Heb “the Nile.” This has been replaced by “the river” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁶tn Heb “coming up.”
⁷tn Heb “fat.”
⁸tn Heb “And look.”
⁹tn Heb “And look, a dream.”
sn Pharaoh’s two dreams, as explained in the following verses, pertained to the economy of Egypt. Because of the Nile River, the land of Egypt weathered all kinds of famines—there was usually grain in Egypt, and if there was grain and water the livestock would flourish. These two dreams, however, indicated that poverty would overtake plenty and that the blessing of the herd and the field would cease.
¹⁰tn Heb “his spirit.”
¹¹tn Heb “he sent and called,” which indicates an official summons.
¹²tn The Hebrew term <f)r+j^ (j^rf{<) is an Egyptian loanword (hyr-tp) that describes a class of priests who were skilled in such interpretations.
¹³tn The Hebrew text has the singular (though the Samaritan Pentateuch reads the plural). If retained, the singular must be collective for the set of dreams. Note the plural pronoun “them,” referring to the dreams, in the next clause. However, note that in v. 15 Pharaoh uses the singular to refer to the two dreams. In vv. 17-24 Pharaoh seems to treat the dreams as two parts of one dream (see especially v. 22).
¹⁴tn “there was no interpreter.”
¹⁵tn Heb “for Pharaoh.” The pronoun “him” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
¹⁶tn Heb “sins, offenses.” He probably refers here to the offenses that landed him in prison (see 40:1).
¹⁷tn Heb “and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we dreamed.”
¹⁸tn Or “slave.”
¹⁹tn Heb “a servant to the captain of the guards.” On this construction see GKC §129.c.
²⁰tn The words “our dreams” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
²¹tn Heb “and he interpreted for us our dreams, each according to his dream he interpreted.”
²²tn Heb “interpreted.”
²³tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²⁴tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²⁵tn Heb “and Pharaoh sent and called,” indicating a summons to the royal court.
²⁶tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
²⁷tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”
²⁸tn Heb “saying.”
²⁹tn Heb “you hear a dream to interpret it,” which may mean, “you only have to hear a dream to be able to interpret it.”
³⁰tn Heb “not within me.”
³¹tn Heb “God will answer.”
³²tn The expression hu)r+P^ <olv= (v=lo< P^ru{h) is here rendered “the welfare of Pharaoh,” because the dream will be about life in his land. Some interpret it to mean an answer of “peace”—one that will calm his heart, or give him the answer that he desires (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT).
³³tn Heb “In my dream look, I was standing.” The use of the particle hN}h! (h!N@h, “look”) here (and also in vv. 18, 19, 22, 23) invites the hearer (within the context of the narrative, Joseph; but in the broader sense the reader or hearer of the Book of Genesis) to observe the scene through Pharaoh’s eyes.
³⁴tn Heb “and look, from the Nile seven cows were coming up, fat of flesh and attractive of appearance, and they grazed in the reeds.”
³⁵tn Heb “And look.”
³⁶tn The word “cows” is supplied here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
³⁷tn Heb “the seven first fat cows.”
³⁸tn Heb “when they went inside them.”
³⁹tn Heb “it was not known.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “and I saw in my dream and look.”
⁴¹tn Heb “And look.”
⁴²tn The words “all this” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁴³tn Heb “and there was no one telling me.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “declared.”
⁴⁶tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.
⁴⁷tn Heb “one dream it is.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “it is the word that I spoke.”
⁵⁰tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.
⁵¹tn The Hebrew verb hl*K* (K*l*h) in the Piel stem means “to finish; to destroy; to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.
⁵²tn Heb “known.”
⁵³tn Or “heavy.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “and concerning the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh two times.” The Niphal infinitive here is the object of the preposition; it is followed by the subjective genitive “of the dream.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “established.”
⁵⁶tn The clause combines a participle and an infinitive construct: God “is hurrying…to do it,” meaning he is going to do it soon.
⁵⁷tn Heb “let Pharaoh look.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
⁵⁸tn Heb “a man discerning and wise.” The order of the terms is rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁵⁹tn Heb “and let him set him.”
⁶⁰tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”
⁶¹tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
⁶²tn Heb “appointees.” The noun is a cognate accusative of the preceding verb. Since “appoint appointees” would be redundant in English, the term “officials” was used in the translation instead.
⁶³tn Heb “and he shall collect a fifth of the land of Egypt.” The language is figurative (metonymy); it means what the land produces, i.e., the harvest.
⁶⁴tn Heb “all the food.”
⁶⁵tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”
⁶⁶tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.
⁶⁷tn The perfect with vav consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.
⁶⁸tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”
⁶⁹tn Heb “and the matter was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.”
⁷⁰tn Heb “like this,” but the referent could be misunderstood to be a man like that described by Joseph in v. 33, rather than Joseph himself. For this reason the proper name “Joseph” has been supplied in the translation.
⁷¹tn The rhetorical question expects the answer “No, of course not!”
⁷²tn Heb “as discerning and wise.” The order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁷³tn Heb “and at your mouth (i.e., instructions) all my people will kiss.” G. J. Wenham translates this “shall kowtow to your instruction” (Genesis [WBC], 2:395). Although there is some textual support for reading “will be judged, ruled by you,” this is probably an attempt to capture the significance of this word. Wenham lists a number of references where individuals have tried to make connections with other words or expressions—such as a root meaning “order themselves” lying behind “kiss,” or an idiomatic idea of “kiss” meaning “seal the mouth,” and so “be silent and submit to.” See K. A. Kitchen, “The Term Nsq in Genesis 41:40,” ExpTim 69 (1957): 30; D. S. Sperling, “Genesis 41:40: A New Interpretation,” JANESCU 10 (1978): 113-19.
⁷⁴tn Heb “only the throne, I will be greater than you.”
⁷⁵tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is descriptive of a present action. Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, in which case Pharaoh describes a still future action as if it had already occurred in order to emphasize its certainty. In this case one could translate “I have placed” or “I will place.” The verb /t^n` (n`t^/) is translated here as “to place in authority [over].”
⁷⁶sn Joseph became the grand vizier of the land of Egypt. See W. A. Ward, “The Egyptian Office of Joseph,” JSS 5 (1960): 144-50; and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 129-31.
⁷⁷tn The Hebrew word vv@ (v@v) is an Egyptian loanword that describes the fine linen robes that Egyptian royalty wore. The clothing signified Joseph’s rank.
⁷⁸tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁷⁹tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”
⁸⁰tn The verb form appears to be a causative imperative from a verbal root meaning “to kneel.” It is a homonym of the word “bless” (identical in root letters but not related etymologically).
⁸¹tn Heb “apart from you.”
⁸²tn Heb “no man,” but here “man” is generic, referring to people in general.
⁸³tn The idiom “lift up hand or foot” means “take any action” here.
⁸⁴sn The meaning of Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah, is uncertain. Many recent commentators have followed the proposal of G. Steindorff that it means “the god has said, ‘he will live’” (“Der Name Josephs Saphenat-Pa‘neach,” ZÄS 31 [1889]:41-42); others have suggested “the god speaks and lives” (see BDB 861); “the man he knows” (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, 145); or “Joseph [who is called] áIp-àankh” (K. A. Kitchen, “Zaphenath-Paneah,” NBD3, 1262).
⁸⁵sn The name Asenath may mean “she belongs to the goddess Neit” (see HALOT 1:74). A novel was written at the beginning of the first century entitled Joseph and Asenath, which included a legendary account of the conversion of Asenath to Joseph’s faith in Yahweh. However, all that can be determined from this chapter is that their children received Hebrew names. See also V. Aptowitzer, “Asenath, the Wife of Joseph—a Haggadic Literary-Historical Study,” HUCA 1 (1924): 239-306.
⁸⁶sn On (also in v. 50) is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
⁸⁷tn Heb “and he passed through.”
⁸⁸tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”
⁸⁹tn Heb “when he stood before.”
⁹⁰tn Heb “went out from before.”
⁹¹tn Heb “and he passed through all the land of Egypt”; this phrase is interpreted by JPS to mean that Joseph “emerged in charge of the whole land.”
⁹²tn Heb “brought forth by handfuls.”
⁹³tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁹⁴tn Heb “all the food.”
⁹⁵tn Heb “of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt and placed food in the cities.”
⁹⁶tn Heb “and Joseph gathered grain like the sand of the sea, multiplying much.” To emphasize the vast amount of grain he stored up, the Hebrew text modifies the verb “gathered” with an infinitive absolute and an adverb.
⁹⁷tn Heb “before the year of the famine came.”
⁹⁸tn Heb “gave birth for him.”
⁹⁹sn The name Manasseh (m=n~V#h [hV#n~m=]) describes God’s activity on behalf of Joseph, explaining in general the significance of his change of fortune. The name is a Piel participle, suggesting the meaning “he who brings about forgetfulness.” The Hebrew verb n~V^n] (yn]V^n~)! may have been used instead of the normal n]V^n] (yn]V^n]) to provide a closer sound play with the name. The giving of this Hebrew name to his son shows that Joseph retained his heritage and faith; and it shows that a brighter future was in store for him.
¹⁰⁰tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
¹⁰¹tn Or “for.”
¹⁰²sn The name Ephraim (a#pr^y]< [<y]r~p=a#]), a form of the Hebrew verb P*r*h (hrP), means “to bear fruit.” The theme of fruitfulness is connected with this line of the family from Rachel on down (see Gen 49:22, Deut 33:13-17, and Hos 13:15). But there is some difficulty with the name “Ephraim” itself. It appears to be a dual, for which F. Delitzsch simply said it meant “double fruitfulness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:305). G. J. Spurrell suggested it was a diphthongal pronunciation of a name ending in -an or -am, often thought to be dual suffixes (Notes on Genesis, 334; see the word diblayim in Hos 1:3). Many, however, simply connect the name to the territory of Ephraim and interpret it to be “fertile land” (C. Fontinoy, “Les noms de lieux en -ayim dans la Bible,” UF 3 [1971]: 33-40). The dual would then be an old locative ending. There is no doubt that the name became attached to the land in which the tribe settled, and it is possible that is where the dual ending came from, but in this story it refers to Joseph’s God-given fruitfulness.
¹⁰³tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
¹⁰⁴tn Or “for.”
¹⁰⁵tn Heb “began to arrive.”
¹⁰⁶tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.
¹⁰⁷tn Or “the entire land.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal to the next clause.
¹⁰⁸tc The MT reads “he opened all that was in [or “among”] them.” The translation follows the reading of the LXX and Syriac versions.
¹⁰⁹tn Heb “all the earth,” which refers here (by metonymy) to the people of the earth. Note that the following verb is plural in form, indicating that the inhabitants of the earth are in view.