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After two years, Pharaoh saw a dream. He thought himself to be standing above a river,
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from which ascended seven cows, exceedingly beautiful and stout. And they pastured in marshy places.
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Likewise, another seven emerged from the river, filthy and thoroughly emaciated. And they pastured on the same bank of the river, in green places.
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And they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was so wonderful. Pharaoh, having been awakened,
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slept again, and he saw another dream. Seven ears of grain sprung up on one stalk, full and well-formed.
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Likewise, other ears of grain, of the same number, rose up, thin and struck with blight,
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devouring all the beauty of the first. Pharaoh, when he awakened after his rest,
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and when morning arrived, being terrified with fear, sent to all the interpreters of Egypt and to all of the wise men. And when they were summoned, he explained to them his dream; but there was no one who could interpret it.
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Then at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said, “I confess my sin.
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The king, being angry with his servants, ordered me and the chief miller of grain to be forced into the prison of the leader of the military.
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There, in one night, both of us saw a dream presaging the future.
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In that place, there was a Hebrew, a servant of the same commander of the military, to whom we explained our dreams.
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Whatever we heard was proven afterwards by the event of the matter. For I was restored to my office, and he was suspended on a cross.”
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams
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Immediately, by the king’s authority, Joseph was led out of prison, and they shaved him. And changing his apparel, they presented him to him.
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And he said to him, “I have seen dreams, and there is no one who can unfold them. I have heard that you are very wise at interpreting these.”
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Joseph responded, “Apart from me, God will respond favorably to Pharaoh.”
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Therefore, Pharaoh explained what he had seen: “I thought myself to be standing on the bank of a river,
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and seven cows climbed up from the river, exceedingly beautiful and full of flesh. And they grazed in a pasture of a marshy greenery.
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And behold, there followed after these, another seven cows, with such deformity and emaciation as I had never seen in the land of Egypt.
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These devoured and consumed the first,
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giving no indication of being full. But they remained in the same state of emaciation and squalor. Awakening, but being weighed down into sleep again,
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I saw a dream. Seven ears of grain sprang up on one stalk, full and very beautiful.
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Likewise, another seven, thin and struck with blight, rose up from the stalk.
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And they devoured the beauty of the first. I explained this dream to the interpreters, and there is no one who can unfold it.”
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Joseph responded: “The dream of the king is one. What God will do, he has revealed to Pharaoh.
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The seven beautiful cows, and the seven full ears of grain, are seven years of abundance. And so the force of the dreams is understood to be the same.
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Likewise, the seven thin and emaciated cows, which ascended after them, and the seven thin ears of grain, which were struck with the burning wind, are seven approaching years of famine.
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These will be fulfilled in this order.
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Behold, there will arrive seven years of great fertility throughout the entire land of Egypt.
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After this, there will follow another seven years, of such great barrenness that all the former abundance will be delivered into oblivion. For the famine will consume all the land,
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and the greatness of this destitution will cause the greatness of the abundance to be lost.
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Now, as to what you saw the second time, it is a dream pertaining to the same thing. It is an indication of its firmness, because the word of God shall be done, and it shall be completed swiftly.
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Now therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and place him over the land of Egypt,
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so that he may appoint overseers throughout all the regions. And let a fifth part of the fruits, throughout the seven fertile years
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that now have already begun to occur, be gathered into storehouses. And let all the grain be stored away, under the power of Pharaoh, and let it be kept in the cities.
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And let it be prepared for the future famine of seven years, which will oppress Egypt, and then the land will not be consumed by destitution.”
Joseph Given Charge of Egypt
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The counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers.
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And he said to them, “Would we be able to find another such man, who is full of the Spirit of God?”
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Therefore, he said to Joseph: “Because God has revealed to you all that you have said, would I be able to find anyone wiser and as much like you?
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You will be over my house, and to the authority of your mouth, all the people will show obedience. Only in one way, in the throne of the kingdom, will I go before you.”
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And again, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have appointed you over the entire land of Egypt.”
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And he took the ring from his own hand, and he gave it into his hand. And he clothed him with a robe of fine linen, and he placed a necklace of gold around his neck.
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And he caused him to ascend upon his second swift chariot, with the herald proclaiming that everyone should bend their knee before him, and that they should know that he was governor over the entire land of Egypt.
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Likewise, the king said to Joseph: “I am Pharaoh: apart from your authority, no one will move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
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And he changed his name and called him, in the Egyptian tongue: ‘Savior of the world.’ And he gave him as a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. And so Joseph went out into the land of Egypt.(a)
The Seven Years of Plenty
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(Now he was thirty years old when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh.) And he traveled throughout the regions of Egypt.
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And the fertility of the seven years arrived. And when the grain fields were reduced to sheaves, these were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt.
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And now all the abundance of grain was stored away in every city.
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And there was such a great abundance of wheat that it was comparable to the sands of the sea, and its bounty exceeded all measure.
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Then, before the famine arrived, Joseph had two sons born, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him.
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And he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has caused me to forget all my labors and the house of my father.”(b)
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Likewise, he named the second Ephraim, saying, “God has caused me to increase in the land of my poverty.”(c)
The Famine Begins
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And so, when the seven years of fertility that occurred in Egypt had passed,
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the seven years of destitution, which Joseph had predicted, began to arrive. And the famine prevailed throughout the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.
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And being hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh, asking for provisions. And he said to them: “Go to Joseph. And do whatever he will tell you.”
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Then the famine increased daily in all the land. And Joseph opened all of the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. For the famine had oppressed them also.
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And all the provinces came to Egypt, to buy food and to temper the misfortune of their destitution.
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