Genesis 40-42
Today we get:
Joseph interpreting dreams
The famine.
Genesis 40
The butler and the baker of the Pharaoh was angry with them, so he threw them in jail. They were put under Joseph's charge. (You might say they were his prison bitches)
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
Ummmmm.
In this case it means he just went in the same room as, it doesn't mean he had intercourse with them... does it... no it definately DOESN'T mean that Joseph was having sex with the butler and the baker. Definately it doesn't mean that.
Well, the night before, they both had a dream; but they couldn't intrepret the dream. Luckily Joseph was favoured by God and he could do it.
8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
The butler had a dream that there was a vine with three branches, and then it grew grapes, and the butler had a cup, Pharaoh's cup, and he squeezed the grapes into the cup and gave it to Pharaoh.
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.
Joseph then asked the butler to remember him (and get him out of jail) when he was restored to his position.
The baker also had a dream.
He had 3 baskets on his head, in the top basket was all kinds of breads for the Pharaoh, then birds ate them, then he woke up.
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
Three days later, was Pharaoh's birthday, he had a party, and restored the butler to his position, and then hung the baker. But the butler forgot to tell Pharaoh about Joseph, so he was in jail for 2 more years.
Genesis 41
Pharaoh's dream.
1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
Pharaoh called for everyone he could think of, magicians, wise men... to try to intrepret his dream, but nobody could. Suddenly, the butler remembered Joseph.
13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
So Pharaoh decides to let Joseph try.
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
He was brought
HASTILY out of the dungeon; but had time to shave and change his clothes.
Pharaoh tells Joseph the dream (practically word for word from Genesis 41:1-7 in Genesis 41:17-24) Then Joseph tells the meaning of the dream.
The 7 good cattle are seven years of plenty, which will be followed by 7 years of famine (which were represented in the dream by scrawny cattle and withered corn (which means grains, not indian corn)).
So, Joseph tells Pharaoh that they should store up some of the plenty years, to save for the famine.
Pharaoh appoints Joseph to be the guy who saves the food.
He also makes Joseph (practically) co-pharaoh.
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
Pharaoh gave Joseph a new name Zaphnathpaaneah, and a wife, who was the daughter of one of the priests, and then Joseph had 2 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Then the famine hits, and people from all over the middle east go to Egypt to buy grain.
Genesis 42.
The famine hit the land of Canaan too.
2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
He is Jacob/Israel. So he sends ten of his boys to Egypt to purchase grain. But he didn't send his youngest Benjamin, just in case something should happen to Benjamin.
5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
Just like in the dream of the wheat... kinda, because there was only 10 of them there, and not eleven, and not like in the dream of the stars, where it was the 11 and mother and father, because mom isn't there either...
So Joseph recognizes his brothers, and disguises himself from them, although it's been 10 years and he's gone from being an arrogant boy, to... an arrogant man.
So he accuses his brothers of being spies, of coming to see that Egypt isn't growing any food, the "nakedness of the land".
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
Joseph decides he wants to see his younger brother. So he throws his other brothers in jail for 3 days.
15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
The brothers confer, and (for once) feel kind of bad about Joseph,
21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Reuben says "i told you so"
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
So Joseph throws Simeon in jail while the other brothers go back to Canaan.
Then Joseph fills their sacks with grain, and sends them back to bring Benjamin. (He also put their money back in the bags; which really confused the brothers (and made them scared) because they thought one of the brothers stole back their money, but nobody would confess to the crime) They get back and tell Jacob/Israel that the egypt guy wants to see Benjamin, and Jacob is worried that he'll lose another son.
36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
Reuben promises that if they don't bring Benjamin back, that Jacob can kill his two boys.
37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
Jacob says no, and that ends today's reading.
So what have we learned?
1. Joseph intrepreted dreams.
2. There was a great famine, probably brought about by the Nile river failing to flood, for 7 consecutive years.
3. Jacob/Israel sends 10 of his boys to buy grain from Egypt. Joseph puts them in jail, then sends them all home with grain and their money, except for Simeon.
YIC
V