Genesis 40 B,41, 42 A - Joseph in Egypt -

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Alright, we are in one of those sections that reads like a novel, full of emotion and plot shifts. Therefore not a lot of commentary is required. So we are going to pick where we ended last time and get right into it.

Please stand as we read from Gen 40 verses 9-15.So we ended last

Genesis 40:9–15 (NASB95)

9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me;

The cupbearer would be a confidant to king as well as a taster. Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes .

10 and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.

Notice that the theme of three days is all throughout the scriptures. The words three days occurs 75 times. Also notice that the dreams come to Joseph in pairs. Going back to the dreams about his family bowing down to him. We have the butler and the baker and the Pharaohs dreams are a pair as well.

11 “Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;

13 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.

14 “Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.

15 “For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”

So we ended last time with Joseph pleading with the butler to not forget him. So the Cup-bearer runs back and tells Pharaoh right? No he forgets all about him.

Genesis 40:16–23 (NASB95)

16 When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head;

17 and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

Notice here that the birds are eating out of the basket. Birds are nearly always symbolically bad in scripture.

Matthew 13:32 Parable of Mustard Seed

Birds are naturally attracted to the taste of the mustard seed. Matthew identifies the birds of the air as "the wicked one" (Matthew 13:4, 19). Mark connects them with "Satan" (Mark 4:4, 15), and Luke links them to "the devil" (Luke 8:5, 12). In Genesis 15:11, fowls swoop down on Abraham's sacrifices, and he has to drive them away (see Deuteronomy 28:26). The end-time Babylon becomes "a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird" (Revelation 18:2).

In the parable, Jesus predicts the birds of the air would lodge in the branches. These "birds," demons led by "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), have continually tried to infiltrate the church. Upon the unsuspecting early church, Satan moved quickly to implant his agents in it to teach false doctrine while appearing to be true Christians. Just as God permitted Satan to tempt Job intensely (Job 1:12; 2:6) and to sift Peter as wheat (Luke 22:31), He has allowed antichrists to lodge within His church (I Corinthians 11:18-19). From Bibletools.org

So birds in scripture not a good thing! We move on.

18 Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;

19 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

20 Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.

21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand;

22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.

23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

So Joseph remains in prison, unjustly, but God has a plan. We, like Joseph, are living out an adventure in faith. Not fully aware of the details, taking each step trusting God to work out His plan. Sometimes things are not going our way at least it seems that way but we as the song says, trust and obey because there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

It seems Josephs message in prison was please remember me. Someone listening tonight maybe feeling the same way, alone and forgotten. But let me assure you God has not forgotten you. One of the most memorable words given to me from the Lord was, I have not forgotten you. Perhaps you are feeling forgotten; reach out to Him, behold He stands at the door and is knocking, open up tonight, let Him in.

The story continues in Chapter 41.

Genesis 41 (NASB95)

1 Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.

2 And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.

3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.

4 The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.

5 He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; (notice a second dream!) and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.

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

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

8 Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, 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.

Again we see a parallel to Daniel except with Daniel the king Nebuchadnezzar would not reveal what was in his dream.

9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of my own offenses.

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.

11 “We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.

12 “Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.

13 “And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.”

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.

This is the point made by those who do not accept the Hyksos pharaoh theory, because they felt the needed to shave Joseph.

15 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.”

16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

Notice- Joseph refuses to accept any glory for dream interpretation.

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

18 and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.

19 “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;

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

21 “Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

22 “I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk;

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

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.”

25 Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

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

27 “The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.

28 “It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

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

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.

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

32 “Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.

Here Joseph tells reason for the dreams coming in pairs.

33 “Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

Here again notice how prepared Joseph was when his moment arose. Reminds us of Nehemiah.

34 “Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.

35 “Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it.

36 “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 will not perish during the famine.”

37 Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.

38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?”

This section lend to the Hyksos Pharaoh theory. Promoting Joseph so quickly. Really from prison to the West Wing of the White House.

39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are.

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.”

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

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.

43 He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt.

44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

45 Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.

Article- Zaphenath-paneah meaning

Another idea:

Pharaoh changes Joseph’s name. The Asiatics that settled in the Nile delta region spoke Canaanite and West Semitic dialects that would be very similar if not identical to ancient Hebrew. Thus,there would have been no need to change Joseph’s name, and if it were changed the new name would be easily translated into Hebrew. Instead, Pharaoh gives Joseph an Egyptian name, “Zaphnathpaaneah”. Egyptian slaves were often given Egyptian names and we have texts where they are referred to as [Semitic name] , he who is called,[Egyptian name]. Egyptian for, “he who is called”, is, spelled phonetically, “Zatenaf”. Kenneth Kitchen and David Rohl have (separately) identified “Zaphnath” as being a corruption of Zatenaf.[5]Thus, the name is more correctly, Joseph, he who is called Pa-Aneah. This last part is a phonetic spelling for the Egyptian word ‘ankh’, meaning ‘life’, with Pa-Aneah being best translated, ‘the one who lives’. Thus, if we are looking for Joseph in Egyptian history we should be looking for a variant of the name ‘Ankh’. 10/12/22, 11:40 AM Joseph – The Biblical Timeline

46 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

Remember he was sold at age 17 so he had been in Egypt 13 years most of which were in prison.

47 During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.

48 So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.

Video-Joseph in Egypt- The Research and Discoveries of Ron Wyatt 7:17

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.

50 Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.

51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

52 He named the second Ephraim, “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

53 When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end,

54 and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

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.”

56 When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

57 The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

The story continues in Gen 42.

Genesis 42:1–17 (NASB95)

1 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

2 He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.”

3 Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.

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

5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.

This is a huge famine effecting the whole region.

6 Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

7 When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

8 But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.

9 Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.”

This lends to the idea of Hyksos rulers as they came from the land around Syria just north of Canaan.

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

11 “We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.”

12 Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!”

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 longer alive.”

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

15 by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here!

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. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”

17 So he put them all together in prison for three days.

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