Genesis 41 :: New International Version (NIV)

Pharaoh’s Dreams

Gen 41:1

Gen 41:1When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile,

Gen 41:2

Gen 41:2when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.

Gen 41:3

Gen 41:3After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank.

Gen 41:4

Gen 41:4And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

Gen 41:5

Gen 41:5He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk.

Gen 41:6

Gen 41:6After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind.

Gen 41:7

Gen 41:7The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

Gen 41:8

Gen 41:8In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Gen 41:9

Gen 41:9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.

Gen 41:10

Gen 41:10Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.

Gen 41:11

Gen 41:11Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

Gen 41:12

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, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.

Gen 41:13

Gen 41:13And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

Gen 41:14

Gen 41:14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

Gen 41:15

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

Gen 41:16“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

Gen 41:17

Gen 41:17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,

Gen 41:18

Gen 41:18when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.

Gen 41:19

Gen 41:19After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt.

Gen 41:20

Gen 41:20The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first.

Gen 41:21

Gen 41:21But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

Gen 41:22

Gen 41:22“In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk.

Gen 41:23

Gen 41:23After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind.

Gen 41:24

Gen 41:24The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

Gen 41:25

Gen 41:25Then 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 41:26

Gen 41:26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream.

Gen 41:27

Gen 41:27The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

Gen 41:28

Gen 41:28“It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Gen 41:29

Gen 41:29Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,

Gen 41:30

Gen 41:30but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.

Gen 41:31

Gen 41:31The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe.

Gen 41:32

Gen 41:32The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

Gen 41:33

Gen 41:33“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.

Gen 41:34

Gen 41:34Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

Gen 41:35

Gen 41:35They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food.

Gen 41:36

Gen 41:36This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

Gen 41:37

Gen 41:37The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.

Gen 41:38

Gen 41:38So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God[fn]?”

Gen 41:39

Gen 41:39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.

Gen 41:40

Gen 41:40You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Joseph in Charge of Egypt

Gen 41:41

Gen 41:41So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

Gen 41:42

Gen 41:42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Gen 41:43

Gen 41:43He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command,[fn] and people shouted before him, “Make way[fn]!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Gen 41:44

Gen 41:44Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.”

Gen 41:45

Gen 41:45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,[fn] to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

Gen 41:46

Gen 41:46Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt.

Gen 41:47

Gen 41:47During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully.

Gen 41:48

Gen 41:48Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it.

Gen 41:49

Gen 41:49Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

Gen 41:50

Gen 41:50Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

Gen 41:51

Gen 41:51Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh[fn] and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

Gen 41:52

Gen 41:52The second son he named Ephraim[fn] and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

Gen 41:53

Gen 41:53The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end,

Gen 41:54

Gen 41:54and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.

Gen 41:55

Gen 41:55When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”

Gen 41:56

Gen 41:56When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt.

Gen 41:57

Gen 41:57And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(41:38)

Or of the gods

(41:43)

Or in the chariot of his second-in-command; or in his second chariot

(41:43)

Or Bow down

(41:45)

That is, Heliopolis; also in verse 50

(41:51)

Manasseh sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for forget.

(41:52)

Ephraim sounds like the Hebrew for twice fruitful.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

Genesis Chapter 41 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Genesis 41 :: New International Version (NIV)

Pharaoh’s Dreams

Joseph in Charge of Egypt

NIV Footnotes

Genesis Chapter 41 — Additional Translations:

Did You Know BLB Is User Supported?