Tanak Foundations-Concepts in Genesis-Chapters 41-42

Gen 41.1-57 will tell us about some dreams of Pharaoh and how they troubled him; Joseph is called in to interpret them and gives Pharaoh some advice; Pharaoh perceives that Joseph has a special gift; Joseph is elevated to second in the kingdom of Egypt and given symbols of his authority; Joseph receives a new name and a new wife; Joseph prepares Egypt for seven years of famine; the two sons of Joseph; the famine begins. This chapter will allude to the two thousand year period between the death of Yeshua and his coronation as the Messiah on Rosh Ha Shannah, right before the seven year birth-pains, or tribulation, begins.

v 1…Now it happened at the end (Hebrew “miketz” of two full years (since the cupbearer was released and the baker was hung; alluding to the “end” eschatologically and the 2000 years when Yeshua was “hidden” from Israel-Hos 5.15 through 6.3) that Pharaoh (who we believe is Amenemhat III) had a dream (in Hebrew it is in the present tense “was dreaming” and may mean it was a recurring dream), and behold, he was standing over the river (Nile).

v 2…And lo (behold), from the river there came up seven cows (symbolic of a complete season of plowing), sleek and fat and they grazed in the marsh grass.

v 3…Then behold, seven other cows (another season of plowing) came up after them from the river, ugly and gaunt, and they stood (not grazing) by the other cows on the bank of the river (a season of plenty will be followed by a season of famine).

v 4…And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows (symbolizing that all the plenty of the seven years would be eaten up during the seven years of famine). Then Pharaoh awoke.

v 5…And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain on a single stalk (abundance), plump and good.

v 6…Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind sprouted up after them.

v 7…And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

v 8…Now it came about in the morning that his spirit was troubled (because he knew the dream had significance), so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh (the failure of paganism in contrast to the true wisdom of God given to a slave will be put on display).

v 9…Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of my own offenses (against Pharaoh and for forgetting Joseph).

v 10…Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.

v 11…And we had a dream on the same night, he and I, each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream (each dream corresponded exactly to the interpretation that was given us).

v 12…Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related (the drams) to him and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream (the cupbearer was identifying Joseph as Potiphar’s slave and giving him a recommendation as having a divinely inspired gift).

v 13…And it came about that just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him (the baker).

v 14…Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon (unexpectedly; like the coming of the Messiah), and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes (out of respect), he came to Pharaoh.

v 15…And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

v 16…Joseph then answered Pharaoh saying, “It is not in me (he had no such power, what he had was a gift from God); God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer (about his welfare and place it in my mouth).”

v 17…So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the river;

v 18…and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the river and they grazed on the marsh grass.

v 19…and lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt (Egypt was famous for good cattle);

v 20…and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.

v 21…Yet when they had devoured them (all the plenty of the first seven cows), it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awokev 22…I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk;

v 23…and lo, seven esars, withered and thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them;

v 24…and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

v 25…Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Your dreams are one in the same; God has told to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

v 26…The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.

v 27…And the seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them re seven years; and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind shall be shall be seven years of famine.

v 28…It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

v 29…Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;

v 30…and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land.

v 31…So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.

v 32…Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter (Hebrew “davar” or word) is determined by God (stands ready), and God will quickly bring it about (Job 33.14-17).

v 33…And now (immediately; time is a factor) let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

v 34…Let Pharaoh take action (personally) to appoint overseers in charge of that land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in all the seven years of abundance.

v 35…Then let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it (in royal granaries).

v 36…And let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish during the famine.”

v 37…Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants (because it fit well with the dream; the cupbearer had already said Joseph interpreted for them, and it happened; Joseph did not refer to the distant future when its truth could not be determined until a long delay, he said it was imminent).

v 38…Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the spirit of God (of a power; their vague notion of the existence of a supreme divinity; the Egyptians did not know Yehovah-Exo 5.2; Jewish teaching says this was Rosh Ha Shannah-Talmud, Rosh Ha Shannah 10b; this alludes to the coronation of Yeshua on Rosh Ha Shannah in Rev 4 and 5, before the seven year birth-pains begin; there are five stages to a Jewish king’s coronation and these can be seen in the next few verses, also alluding to the coronation of Yeshua on Rosh Ha Shannah: the anointing, the homage, the investiture, the acclamation and the enthronement).”

v 39…So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this (in the interpretation), there is no one so discerning and wise as you are (responding to Joseph’s suggestion in v 33; the anointing).

v 40…You shall be over my house and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.”

v 41…And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

v 42…Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck (investiture).

v 43…And he had him ride in his second chariot (in rank to Pharaoh’s); and they proclaimed before him, “Bow (“avrech” which means “father to the king” or his counselor-Gen 45.8) the knee (the acclamation)!” And set him over all the land of Egypt (the enthronement).

v 44…Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh (with the authority to decree the following), yet without your permission so one shall raise his hand or foot (no one shall do anything or go anywhere without Joseph’s consent) in all the land of Egypt).”

v 45…Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah (“food-man of the life”-see the book by Rabbi Hertz called, “The Pentateuch and Haftorahs”, p. 158; this name change will also conceal who he really is to his brothers later on, and all part of God’s plan), and he gave him Asenath (“belonging to the goddess Neith”), the daughter of Potiphera priest of On (a city later called Heliopolis, the center of sun worship in Egypt) as his wife. And Joseph went forth (his fame as ruler) over the land of Egypt (to make it evident who he was; eschatologically Yeshua will be coronated on Rosh Ha Shannah and given a bride, and then he will be sent by the Father as the food-man of life to preserve life).

v 46…Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt (the same age as the priests when they start their ministry, and the same age as Yeshua when he started his ministry-Num 4.3; Luke 3.23). And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt (he is sent as a “shaliach” from Pharaoh to implement his plan because the seven years of plenty had begun).

v 47…And during the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.

v 48…So he gathered all the food of the seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt, and placed food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding field (there was a granary called the “Labyrinth” at Harawa in the Faiyum where it could be shipped up and down the Nile, built by Amenemhat III who we believe is the Pharaoh in this story; it was considered one of the wonders of the world; there was a system of man-made canals connecting the Nile with Lake Moeris, called the “rivers of Joseph” that helped with this distribution, also built by Amenemhat III).

v 49…Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

v 50…Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph (this is in the singular so many scholars believe they were twins), whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.

v 51…And Joseph named the first-born Manasseh (to forget), “For God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household (he thought his brothers sold him and didn’t even say goodbye, and he wondered if his father had a hand in all of this and that may be why he never tried to make contact with his father and family after he had risen to power; but he did not hate them).”

v 52…And he named the second Ephraim (fruitful), “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

v 53…When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end (the surplus was experienced in no other land);

v 54…and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands (the face of the earth around Egypt; this is a type of the beginning of the birth-pains); but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

v 55…So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do (like those who will come to Yeshua in the birth-pains).”

v 56…When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth (this verse prepares us for the next scenario), then Joseph opened all the storehouses (granaries), and sold to the Egyptians (he had bought it and prepared for this with Pharaoh’s money, there is no injustice in this), and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

v 57…And all the earth (the neighboring countries like Syria, Arabia, Canaan, etc) came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth (surrounding countries).

Gen 42.1-38 tells us that the sons of Jacob come to Egypt to buy grain and they bow to Joseph; he recognizes them but they but don’t recognize him; Joseph questions them and puts them in prison; he then gives terms for their release and keeps Simeon, but they must return with Benjamin; their guilty consciences begin to work on them; Joseph returns their money and the brothers return to Jacob and tell him the story; Jacob believes everything is against him; Reuben offers himself; Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go back to Egypt.

v 1…Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt (he saw travelers bearing grain; this is two years into the famine-Gen 45.11), and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another (not knowing what to do)?”

v 2…And he said, Behold, I have heard (from the travelers) that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from that place (not the local travelers because they would charge too much) so that we may live and not die.”

v 3…Then ten brothers of Joseph (who were going to sell him to Egypt) went down to buy grain from Egypt.

v 4…But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may befall him (like with Joseph).”

v 5…So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming (among the other arrivals), for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

v 6…Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold (the superintendent of the sales) to all the people of the land (of Egypt and other lands). And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground (full prostration; this is a partial fulfillment of his dream because they still need Benjamin).

v 7…When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them (took no notice of them; acted as if they were strangers) and spoke to them harshly (put on a strict face; remember, Joseph thinks they sold him to the Midianites and didn’t even say goodbye). And he said to them, “Where have you come from (who are you)?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

v 8…But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him (they saw a Gentile ruler; Joseph was 39 now and they have not seen him in 22 years).

v 9…And Joseph remembered the dreams (by their bowing before him) which he had about them and said to them, “You are spies (not really believing that, but he wanted further discourse); you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.”

v 10…Then they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.

v 11…We are all sons of one man, we are honest men (telling the truth; just like the people said in Yeshua’s day and failed to confess him); your servants are not spies (no grounds for such a suspicion).”

v 12…Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land (he said this again because he wants further discussion)!”

v 13…But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers (in all), the sons of one man in the land of Canaan and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more (they still don’t know what happened to him, maybe dead; this is like Israel today, Yeshua is alive).”

v 14…And Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies;

v 15…by this you will be tested (examined): by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your younger brother comes here!

v 16…Send one of you that he may get your brother while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you (Joseph and Benjamin are a type of the first and second coming of the Messiah; Joseph and Benjamin must be “together” alluding to “one Messiah in two comings”). But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”

v 17…So he put them all together in prison for three days (in order to consult together and agree as to who should go back).

v 18…Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God (if they observed what he is about to say, it will save their lives and their families will not starve);

v 19…if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison, but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households (he dealt in this way to get information on the family, yet he was concerned with the welfare of the rest of the family),

v 20…and bring your youngest brother to me (their salvation is linked to their treatment of the “younger brother” also alluding to Yeshua), so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.

v 21…Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother (Joseph), because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us (alludes to the birth-pains of the Messiah).”

v 22…And Reuben answered then saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’ and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for is blood (they think he is dead).”

v 23…They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them (they did not know he understood Hebrew but thought he was a foreign ruler, and they let their guard down).

v 24…And he turned away from them and wept (hearing his brothers confess that they treated him wrong, and Reuben’s affection for him). But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes (Reuben was the oldest but was spared because he tried to protect Joseph, so he took the next in seniority; Simeon means “to hear” and Israel must “hear” before their salvation comes-Matt 13.10-17).

v 25…Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his ack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them.

v 26…So they loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed from there.

v 27…And as one of them (Hebrew definite article “the one” alluding to Reuben who was the foremost among them) opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place (a wayside shelter).

v 28…Then he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us (by bringing us into suspicion and further chastisement)?”

v 29…When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying,

v 30…”The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

v 31…But we said to him, “We are honest men (and telling the truth); we are not spies.

v 32…’We are twelve brothers, sons of our father, one is no more, and the younger is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

v 33…And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men; leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households (whatever is needed), and go.

v 34…But bring your younger brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men; I will give your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ “

v 35…Now it came about as they (the rest of the brothers) were emptying their sacks, that behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed (one bundle could have been a mistake, but all of them seemed to them that they were involved in some sort of plot).

v 36…And their father Jacob said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children (this looks like Jacob suspected that they had a hand in Joseph’s disappearance): Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more (and done the same to Simeon), and you would take Benjamin (and who knows what will befall him); all these things are against me (it is his children they are endangering, not their own).

v 37…Then Reuben spoke to his father (as first-born and he felt it was his place), saying, “You may put my two sons to death (two of his four sons-Gen 46.9) if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care and I will return him to you.”

v 38…But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his mother is dead and he alone is left (of Rachel). If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking (robbers, thieves, sickness, an accident or any means), then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol (the grave; the abode of the dead; in his case Abraham’s Bosom) in sorrow (he would be in a continual state of mourning till he died).”

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Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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