Genesis · 57 verses
Genesis 41
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
The seven ugly cows eat the seven handsome cows and remain just as ugly and thin as before—a remarkably unhelpful sort of appetite.
Two dreams, and a very prompt interpretationvv. 1–32
Pharaoh dreams beside the Nile: first cows, then grain, with the lean swallowing the fat. The second dream repeats the first in agricultural dress, which is the sort of repetition dreams favour and magicians apparently do not. In the morning Pharaoh summons Egypt's magicians and wise men, but none can interpret the dreams. Then the chief cupbearer remembers Joseph, the young Hebrew who interpreted his and the chief baker's dreams in custody. Joseph is fetched from the dungeon, shaved, dressed, and brought before Pharaoh. He declines the reputation offered him: the answer belongs to God. The seven good cows and ripe heads mean seven years of abundance; the thin cows and scorched grain mean seven years of famine. Joseph adds a policy, because a dream with a timetable is practically an appointment calendar: gather a fifth of the harvest during the good years and store it in the cities.
The prisoner is given the kingdom's keysvv. 33–52
Pharaoh and his officials approve Joseph's proposal, and Pharaoh immediately spots the administrative talent in front of him. Joseph is placed over the house, the people, and all the land of Egypt, with Pharaoh reserving only the throne itself. A signet ring, fine linen, a gold chain, and the second chariot follow; men call out, “Bow the knee!” Pharaoh gives Joseph an Egyptian name and a wife, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph is thirty, travels through the land, and oversees seven years of abundance. The grain becomes as plentiful as the sand of the sea, so plentiful that Joseph stops counting it. Before the famine begins, Asenath bears two sons. Joseph names the first Manasseh, because God has made him forget his hardship and his father's household; the second is Ephraim, because God has made him fruitful in the land of his affliction.
The famine arrives on schedulevv. 53–57
The seven years of abundance end, and the seven years of famine begin exactly as Joseph said. Hunger spreads through every country, while Egypt has food. When the Egyptians cry to Pharaoh, he sends them to Joseph, who opens the storehouses and sells grain. The famine is severe enough to draw every nation to Egypt, where Joseph has become the man between the hungry world and the grain.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Gen 41:1After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
Gen 41:2when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.
Gen 41:3After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river.
Gen 41:4And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,
Gen 41:5but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk.
Gen 41:6After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.
Gen 41:7And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.
Gen 41:8In 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.
Gen 41:9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.
Gen 41:10Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard.
Gen 41:11One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning.
Gen 41:12Now 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.
Gen 41:13And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”
Gen 41:14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.
Gen 41:15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
Gen 41:16“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
Gen 41:17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,
Gen 41:18when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.
Gen 41:19After them, seven other cows—sickly, ugly, and thin—came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!
Gen 41:20Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first.
Gen 41:21When 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.
Gen 41:22In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk.
Gen 41:23After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind.
Gen 41:24And 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.”
Gen 41:25At 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.
Gen 41:26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.
Gen 41:27Moreover, 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.
Gen 41:28It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.
Gen 41:29Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,
Gen 41:30but 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.
Gen 41:31The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe.
Gen 41:32Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.
Gen 41:33Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:34Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
Gen 41:35Under 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.
Gen 41:36This 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.”
Gen 41:37This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his officials.
Gen 41:38So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”
Gen 41:39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
Gen 41:40You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”
Gen 41:41Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt.”
Gen 41:42Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
Gen 41:43He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:44And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”
Gen 41:45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:46Now 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.
Gen 41:47During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully.
Gen 41:48During 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.
Gen 41:49So 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.
Gen 41:50Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
Gen 41:51Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
Gen 41:52And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Gen 41:53When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end,
Gen 41:54the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:55When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”
Gen 41:56When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:57And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 370 passages were voted onto 53 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 38Job 32:8But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
- 162 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- 38Daniel 5:14I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.
- 38Numbers 27:18And the LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.
- 38Daniel 5:11There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,
- 14Daniel 2:25Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”
- 32Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- 38Daniel 4:18This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
- 52Genesis 49:22Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
- 42Daniel 5:29Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
- 42Daniel 5:7The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
- 8Daniel 4:7When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.
- 14Psalms 113:7–8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- 16Genesis 40:8“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
- 25Daniel 2:45And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
- 32Isaiah 46:10–11I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
Onward