---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Genesis 41"
description: "CHAPTER 41   :-. PHARAOH"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41"
---

![Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible](/images/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible.jpg)

 The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
 
Include 66 books
 
Denomination: calvinism
 
 GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong Of SolomonIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950 

CHAPTER 41

. PHARAOH'S
DREAM.

**1. at the end of two full years**—It
is not certain whether these years are reckoned from the beginning of
Joseph's imprisonment, or from the events described in the preceding
chapter—most likely the latter. What a long time for Joseph to
experience the sickness of hope deferred! But the time of his
enlargement came when he had sufficiently learned the lessons of God
designed for him; and the plans of Providence were matured.
**Pharaoh dreamed**—"Pharaoh,"
from an Egyptian word *Phre,* signifying the "sun,"
was the official title of the kings of that country. The prince, who
occupied the throne of Egypt, was Aphophis, one of the Memphite
kings, whose capital was On or Heliopolis, and who is universally
acknowledged to have been a patriot king. Between the arrival of
Abraham and the appearance of Joseph in that country, somewhat more
than two centuries had elapsed. Kings sleep and dream, as well as
their subjects. And this Pharaoh had two dreams in one night so
singular and so similar, so distinct and so apparently significant,
so coherent and vividly impressed on his memory, that his spirit was
troubled.

**8. he called for all the magicians
of Egypt**—It is not possible to define the exact distinction
between "magicians" and "wise men"; but they
formed different branches of a numerous body, who laid claim to
supernatural skill in occult arts and sciences, in revealing
mysteries, explaining portents, and, above all, interpreting dreams.
Long practice had rendered them expert in devising a plausible way of
getting out of every difficulty and framing an answer suitable to the
occasion. But the dreams of Pharaoh baffled their united skill.
Unlike their Assyrian brethren (), they did not pretend to know the meaning of the symbols
contained in them, and the providence of God had determined that they
should all be nonplussed in the exercise of their boasted powers, in
order that the inspired wisdom of Joseph might appear the more
remarkable.

**9-13. then spake the chief butler
unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults**—This public
acknowledgment of the merits of the young Hebrew would, tardy though
it was, have reflected credit on the butler had it not been obviously
made to ingratiate himself with his royal master. It is right to
confess our faults against God, and against our fellow men when that
confession is made in the spirit of godly sorrow and penitence. But
this man was not much impressed with a sense of the fault he had
committed against Joseph; he never thought of God, to whose goodness
he was indebted for the prophetic announcement of his release, and in
acknowledging his former fault against the king, he was practising
the courtly art of pleasing his master.

**14. Then Pharaoh sent and called
Joseph**—Now that God's set time had come (), no human power nor policy could detain Joseph in prison.
During his protracted confinement, he might have often been
distressed with perplexing doubts; but the mystery of Providence was
about to be cleared up, and all his sorrows forgotten in the course
of honor and public usefulness in which his services were to be
employed.
**shaved himself**—The
Egyptians were the only Oriental nation that liked a smooth chin. All
slaves and foreigners who were reduced to that condition, were
obliged, on their arrival in that country, to conform to the cleanly
habits of the natives, by shaving their beards and heads, the latter
of which were covered with a close cap. Thus prepared, Joseph was
conducted to the palace, where the king seemed to have been anxiously
waiting his arrival.

**15, 16. Pharaoh said, . . . I have
dreamed a dream**—The king's brief statement of the service
required brought out the genuine piety of Joseph; disclaiming all
merit, he ascribed whatever gifts or sagacity he possessed to the
divine source of all wisdom, and he declared his own inability to
penetrate futurity; but, at the same time, he expressed his confident
persuasion that God would reveal what was necessary to be known.

**17. Pharaoh said, In my dream,
behold, I stood upon the bank of the river**—The dreams were
purely Egyptian, founded on the productions of that country and the
experience of a native. The fertility of Egypt being wholly dependent
on the Nile, the scene is laid on the banks of that river; and oxen
being in the ancient hieroglyphics symbolical of the earth and of
food, animals of that species were introduced in the first dream.

**18. there came up out of the river
seven kine**—Cows now, of the buffalo kind, are seen daily
plunging into the Nile; when their huge form is gradually emerging,
they seem as if rising "out of the river."
**and they fed in a meadow**—Nile
grass, the aquatic plants that grow on the marshy banks of that
river, particularly the lotus kind, on which cattle were usually
fattened.

**19. behold, seven other kine . . .
poor and ill-favoured**—The cow being the emblem of fruitfulness,
the different years of plenty and of famine were aptly represented by
the different condition of those kine—the plenty, by the cattle
feeding on the richest fodder; and the dearth, by the lean and
famishing kine, which the pangs of hunger drove to act contrary to
their nature.

**22. I saw in my dream, and, behold,
seven ears**—that is, of Egyptian wheat, which, when "full
and good," is remarkable in size (a single seed sprouting into
seven, ten, or fourteen stalks) and each stalk bearing an ear.

**23. blasted with the east
wind**—destructive everywhere to grain, but particularly so in
Egypt; where, sweeping over the sandy deserts of Arabia, it comes in
the character of a hot, blighting wind, that quickly withers all
vegetation (compare [Ezekiel 19:12](../../../kjv/ezekiel/19/12);
[Hosea 13:15](../../../kjv/hosea/13/15)).

**24. the thin ears devoured the seven
good ears**—*devoured* is a different word from that used in
[Genesis 41:4](../../../kjv/genesis/41/4) and conveys the idea of
destroying, by absorbing to themselves all the nutritious virtue of
the soil around them.
[Genesis 41:4](../../../kjv/genesis/41/4). JOSEPH
INTERPRETS PHARAOH'S
DREAMS.

**25. Joseph said, . . . The dream . .
. is one**—They both pointed to the same event—a remarkable
dispensation of seven years of unexampled abundance, to be followed
by a similar period of unparalleled dearth. The repetition of the
dream in two different forms was designed to show the absolute
certainty and speedy arrival of this public crisis; the
interpretation was accompanied by several suggestions of practical
wisdom for meeting so great an emergency as was impending.

**33. Now therefore let Pharaoh look
out a man**—The explanation given, when the key to the dreams was
supplied, appears to have been satisfactory to the king and his
courtiers; and we may suppose that much and anxious conversation
arose, in the course of which Joseph might have been asked whether he
had anything further to say. No doubt the providence of God provided
the opportunity of his suggesting what was necessary.

**34. and let him appoint officers
over the land**—overseers, equivalent to the beys of modern
Egypt.
**take up the fifth part of the
land**—that is, of the land's produce, to be purchased and stored
by the government, instead of being sold to foreign corn merchants.
. JOSEPH MADE
RULER OF EGYPT.

**38. Pharaoh said unto his
servants**—The kings of ancient Egypt were assisted in the
management of state affairs by the advice of the most distinguished
members of the priestly order; and, accordingly, before admitting
Joseph to the new and extraordinary office that was to be created,
those ministers were consulted as to the expediency and propriety of
the appointment.
**a man in whom the Spirit of
God is**—An acknowledgment of the being and power of the true
God, though faint and feeble, continued to linger amongst the higher
classes long after idolatry had come to prevail.

**40. Thou shalt be over my house**—This
sudden change in the condition of a man who had just been taken out
of prison could take place nowhere, except in Egypt. In ancient as
well as modern times, slaves have often risen to be its rulers. But
the special providence of God had determined to make Joseph governor
of Egypt; and the way was paved for it by the deep and universal
conviction produced in the minds both of the king and his
councillors, that a divine spirit animated his mind and had given him
such extraordinary knowledge.
**according unto thy word shall
all my people be ruled**—literally, "kiss." This refers
to the edict granting official power to Joseph, to be issued in the
form of a firman, as in all Oriental countries; and all who should
receive that order would kiss it, according to the usual Eastern mode
of acknowledging obedience and respect for the sovereign [WILKINSON].

**41. Pharaoh said, . . . See, I have
set thee over all the land**—These words were preliminary to
investiture with the insignia of office, which were these: the
signet-ring, used for signing public documents, and its impression
was more valid than the sign-manual of the king; the *khelaat*
or dress of honor, a coat of finely wrought linen, or rather cotton,
worn only by the highest personages; the gold necklace, a badge of
rank, the plain or ornamental *form* of it indicating the degree
of rank and dignity; the privilege of riding in a state carriage, the
second chariot; and lastly—

**43. they cried before him, Bow the
knee**—*abrech,* an Egyptian term, not referring to
prostration, but signifying, according to some, "father"
(compare [Genesis 45:8](../../../kjv/genesis/45/8)); according to
others, "native prince"—that is, proclaimed him
naturalized, in order to remove all popular dislike to him as a
foreigner.

**44.** These ceremonies of
investiture were closed in usual form by the king in council solemnly
ratifying the appointment.
**I am Pharaoh, and without
thee,** &c.—a proverbial mode of expression for great power.

**45. Zaphnath-paaneah**—variously
interpreted, "revealer of secrets"; "saviour of the
land"; and from the hieroglyphics, "a wise man fleeing from
pollution"—that is, adultery.
**gave him to wife Asenath, the
daughter of**—His naturalization was completed by this alliance
with a family of high distinction. On being founded by an Arab
colony, Poti-pherah, like Jethro, priest of Midian, might be a
worshipper of the true God; and thus Joseph, a pious man, will be
freed from the charge of marrying an idolatress for worldly ends.
**On**—called Aven () and also Beth-shemesh (). In looking at this profusion of honors heaped suddenly
upon Joseph, it cannot be doubted that he would humbly yet thankfully
acknowledge the hand of a special Providence in conducting him
through all his checkered course to almost royal power; and we, who
know more than Joseph did, cannot only see that his advancement was
subservient to the most important purposes relative to the Church of
God, but learn the great lesson that a Providence directs the
minutest events of human life.

**46. Joseph was thirty years old when
he stood before Pharaoh**—seventeen when brought into Egypt,
probably three in prison, and thirteen in the service of Potiphar.
**went out . . . all the
land**—made an immediate survey to determine the site and size of
the storehouses required for the different quarters of the country.

**47. the earth brought forth by
handfuls**—a singular expression, alluding not only to the
luxuriance of the crop, but the practice of the reapers grasping the
ears, which alone were cut.

**48. he gathered up all the food of
the seven years**—It gives a striking idea of the exuberant
fertility of this land, that, from the superabundance of the seven
plenteous years, corn enough was laid up for the subsistence, not
only of its home population, but of the neighboring countries, during
the seven years of dearth.

**50-52. unto Joseph were born two
sons**—These domestic events, which increased his temporal
happiness, develop the piety of his character in the names conferred
upon his children.

**53-56. The seven years of
plenteousness . . . ended**—Over and above the proportion
purchased for the government during the years of plenty, the people
could still have husbanded much for future use. But improvident as
men commonly are in the time of prosperity, they found themselves in
want, and would have starved by thousands had not Joseph anticipated
and provided for the protracted calamity.

**57. The famine was sore in all
lands**—that is, the lands contiguous to Egypt—Canaan, Syria,
and Arabia.

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/?s={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Genesis 41"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Genesis 41","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"CHAPTER 41   :-. PHARAOH'S\nDREAM. 1. at the end of two full years—It\nis not certain whether these years are reckoned from the beginning of\nJoseph's impris","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis","name":"Genesis"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/41","name":"41"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```