Genesis 41

The Egypt in which Joseph found himself was pri- 50:26)

marily a land of small villages inhabited by peasants who worked the land and raised grain and vegetables. Thanks to their system of irrigation, the annual flooding of the Nile River supplied ample water for both the crops and the cattle. There were some large cities such as On (Hieropolis), where Ra the sun god was honored, and Memphis, devoted to Apis, the sacred bull, but most of the population lived in the small villages.

It was also a country shackled by religious superstition. The people recognized at least two thousand gods and goddesses, including Pharaoh himself, and the special emphasis was on preparing for the after-life when the god Osiris would judge one’s deeds. In a very real sense, Egypt was a land devoted to death as much as to life.

The Egyptians were great builders, and the rulers conscripted both slaves and their own citizens for vast building projects. While the common people lived in mud brick houses, the important structures were constructed of stone. (Some of the pyramids contain stones that weigh as much as fifteen tons.) The government was a large bureaucracy, with many officials at various levels and thousands of scribes to keep the records.

Egyptian priests and wise men studied the heavens and the earth, developed a solar year calendar of 365 1/4 days, and became well known for their medicines. They also perfected the art of embalming. The Egyptians had horses and chariots, and they knew the art of war.

There were many Semitic slaves like Joseph in Egypt, but Joseph was very special because the Lord was with him (39:2–3). Because the Lord was with Joseph, he was a man of accomplishment, but what Joseph accomplished, we can accomplish if we trust in the Lord and seek to honor Him as he did.

Two years have passed, and Joseph is still working in the prison house, waiting for something to happen. But when things started to happen, events began to move quickly, for God’s time had come to activate His plans for Joseph. If any chapter in Genesis reveals the sovereignty of God, it’s this one.

God gave Pharaoh two dreams (vv. 1–8). God caused Pharaoh to have two dreams the same night, dreams that perplexed him and that his magicians (soothsayers) couldn’t interpret. Note the repetition of the word “behold” in verses 1–7, emphasizing the vividness of the dreams and the rapidity of the sequence. Unlike King Nebuchadnezzar, he didn’t forget his dreams (Dan. 2) but shared them with his wise men. These men may have been gifted at understanding dreams, but God so worked that they were unable to interpret them.

God reminded the cupbearer about Joseph (vv. 9–13). Since the time had come for Joseph to be delivered from prison and given a throne, God prodded the cupbearer’s memory so he could recall what had happened to him in prison. His report about Joseph’s abilities to understand dreams was exactly what Pharaoh wanted to hear. The fact that Joseph was called a Hebrew (v. 12) didn’t bother Pharaoh, because Semitic people were accepted in Egypt and even promoted to hold important positions in the government. Certainly Pharaoh would recall the dramatic events involving the baker and the cupbearer.

God led Pharaoh to summon Joseph (vv. 14–36). Since the Egyptian people didn’t wear beards in that day, as did the Hebrews, Joseph had to shave himself, change his clothes, and prepare to meet Pharaoh. For the third time in thirteen years, he gave up his garment, but this time he would gain the garment of a ruler.

We commend Joseph for his humility and desire to honor the true and living God (v. 16; see also 40:8; Dan. 2:27–28). He listened to Pharaoh describe his two dreams and then gave him the interpretation. It was a serious matter, for God had shown the ruler of Egypt what He planned to do for the next fourteen years, and Pharaoh was conscious of this fact. Now that he knew God’s plan, Pharaoh was obligated to do what God wanted him to do.

Knowing this, Joseph went beyond giving an interpretation to making suggestions to Pharaoh, and this took a great deal of faith and courage. But the Lord was using Joseph, and Pharaoh accepted his suggestions. First, Pharaoh must appoint an intelligent and wise man to oversee the land and its harvests. Second, he must give this man several commissioners who would be over different parts of the land and take one-fifth of each harvest for Pharaoh for the next seven years. Third, all this food must be put in storage to use when the years of famine arrived.

God moved Pharaoh to choose Joseph (vv. 37–39). “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Prov. 21: nkjv). Joseph’s demeanor, his skill at interpreting dreams, and his wisdom in finding a solution to the problem of the famine all impressed Pharaoh and convinced him that Joseph was the man for the job. Thirteen years before, his brothers had stripped him of his special robe, but now Pharaoh gave him a robe of far greater significance. The signet ring and the gold chain were symbols of Joseph’s authority as second in command in Egypt (see also Dan. 5:7, 16, 29).

Note the series of statements prefaced with “and Pharaoh said.” According to Genesis 41:38, Pharaoh spoke to the officials; and in verses 39–41, he spoke to Joseph and declared his position and authority. In verse 44, Pharaoh made the official proclamation to Joseph and all his officers, and the matter was settled. Pharaoh gave Joseph a new name, the meaning of which isn’t clear, but Pharaoh continued to call him Joseph (v. 55).

Joseph was also given his own chariot with men going before him commanding the people to bow down to him just as they did to Pharaoh. If these unbelieving Egyptians bowed down to him, surely one day Joseph’s own family would bow down, just as God had announced in his dreams.

Finally, along with the ring, robe, gold chain, new name, and chariot, Joseph was given a wife, the daughter of one of the priests of the sun god Ra. The priests in Egypt were a powerful caste, and having an Egyptian wife would strengthen Joseph’s relationship with the religious leaders in the land. I like to believe that Joseph taught her about the true and living God so that she, like Ruth, abandoned her false gods and came “under the wings” of Jehovah, the God of Israel (Ruth 1:14–22; 2:11–12).

Over a period of thirteen years, God enabled Joseph to accomplish some wonderful things. He brought blessing to Potiphar’s house and to the people in the prison. He overcame temptation, and because of that, he endured false accusation and great injustice. Joseph was a man of faith who expected God to work, and he was ready and obedient when the call came. But there was one more achievement that in some ways was greatest of all: He was enabled by God’s grace to wipe out the pains and bad memories of the past and make a new beginning.

Certainly a man who could interpret the dreams of others could interpret his own dreams. Joseph must have concluded that the famine would bring his brothers to Egypt, and that meant he would have to confront them with their sins against him and their father. He wanted his own heart to be clean and right before God so that he could be a blessing to them just as he’d been a blessing wherever God had placed him.

The name Manasseh means “forgetting.” Joseph didn’t forget his family or the events that occurred, but he did forget the pain and suffering that they caused. He realized that God meant it for good (50:20). Therefore, looking at the past from that perspective, he attained victory over his bad memories and bitterness. He could have carried a grudge in his heart because of the way his brothers had treated him, but grudges are like weeds in a lovely garden or germs in a healthy body: they just don’t belong there.

The name Ephraim means “twice fruitful.” Egypt had been a place of affliction for Joseph, but now he had two sons and was fruitful in the land. But even more, he would become fruitful as the second ruler of the land and be used of God to save many lives, including his own family and the nation of Israel.

It’s a wonderful thing when we can come through times of trial with the kind of attitude Joseph had, burying past hurts and rejoicing in present blessings, being “forgetful” and “fruitful” at the same time. What a tragedy when people remember the painful things others have done to them, and all their lives carry bitterness that robs them of peace and joy. Just as Joseph laid aside his prison clothes and made a new beginning, so we frequently need to “take off” the old hurts and put on a new attitude of faith and love (Eph. 4:20–32; Col. 3:1–17).

Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams proved accurate, and Egypt enjoyed seven years of bumper crops, a fifth of which were put into Pharaoh’s storage cities. Then the famine came to that area of the Middle East, and Joseph provided the food that saved the lives of the people. But visitors started coming from other nations to get food, and Joseph knew that one day his brothers would arrive and bow down before him. Then would begin the greatest drama of all: restoring relationships in a divided home and healing wounds that had been festering for many years.

Joseph’s conduct as a servant, prisoner, and official was exemplary, but the way he dealt with his brothers and brought them to repentance was a masterpiece of spiritual insight, patience, and love. That will be our theme for the next two studies.