Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 68
62
Genesis 41
PG 60
DIRECT
PG 60
SCENIC
41:1-57
41:1-57
23
33
PHARAOH’S DREAMS
Two more years pass while Joseph persists in prison. Despite interpreting the
dreams correctly, Joseph does not benefit from it. Pharaoh’s wine steward is
restored to his position, just as Joseph predicts, but then he promptly forgets
about Joseph. Only when Pharaoh has a dream that needs interpreting does the
wine steward remember him.
PHARAOH’S DREAMS
41
Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed
that he was standing on the bank of
the Nile River. 2 In his dream he saw seven fat,
healthy cows come up out of the river and
begin grazing in the marsh grass. 3 Then he saw
seven more cows come up behind them from
the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin.
These cows stood beside the fat cows on the
riverbank. 4 Then the scrawny, thin cows ate
the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the
dream, Pharaoh woke up.
5
But he fell asleep again and had a second
dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain,
plump and beautiful, growing on a single
stalk. 6 Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered
by the east wind. 7 And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads!
Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it
was a dream.
8
The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the
magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pha
raoh told them his dreams, not one of them
could tell him what they meant.
9
Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke
up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh. 10 “Some time ago, you
were angry with the chief baker and me, and
you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain
of the guard. 11 One night the chief baker and I
each had a dream, and each dream had its own
meaning. 12 There was a young Hebrew man
with us in the prison who was a slave of the
captain of the guard. We told him our dreams,
and he told us what each of our dreams meant.
13
And everything happened just as he had
predicted. I was restored to my position as
cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed
and impaled on a pole.”
14
Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he
was quickly brought from the prison. After
he shaved and changed his clothes, he went
in and stood before Pharaoh. 15 Then Pharaoh
said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and
no one here can tell me what it means. But I
have heard that when you hear about a dream
you can interpret it.”
16
“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph
replied. “But God can tell you what it means
and set you at ease.”
17
So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “In my
dream,” he said, “I was standing on the bank
of the Nile River, 18 and I saw seven fat, healthy
cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 19 But then I saw seven
sick-looking cows, scrawny and thin, come up
after them. I’ve never seen such sorry-looking
animals in all the land of Egypt. 20 These thin,
scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows. 21 But
afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they
were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then
I woke up.
22
“In my dream I also saw seven heads of
grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single
stalk. 23 Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were blighted, shriveled, and
withered by the east wind. 24 And the shriveled
heads swallowed the seven healthy heads. I
told these dreams to the magicians, but no one
could tell me what they mean.”
25
Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s
dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to
do. 26 The seven healthy cows and the seven
healthy heads of grain both represent seven
years of prosperity. 27 The seven thin, scrawny
