Sermon Tone Analysis

Wednesday January 10, 2007

Genesis: Genesis 41:17-24-Pharaoh Relates His Dreams To Joseph

Lesson # 262

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 41:1.

This evening we will continue with our studies of Genesis 41, which records Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams and making a recommendation to him in light of these dreams, which results in Pharaoh promoting him to prime minister, second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.

By way of review, we have noted the following in this chapter:

In Genesis 41:1-7, we read where Pharaoh of Egypt had two dreams and in Genesis 41:8, we read the account of Pharaoh summoning the priests who were skilled in the occult sciences in order to interpret his dreams but there were none that could.

Then we saw that Pharaoh’s cupbearer whose dream Joseph interpreted two years before made Pharaoh aware of Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams and this is recorded in Genesis 41:9-13.

This was followed by the Lord delivering Joseph from prison by causing Pharaoh to summon Joseph from prison to interpret his dream, which is recorded in Genesis 41:14.

In Genesis 41:15-16, we read where in response to Pharaoh’s flattery, Joseph ascribes to God his ability to interpret dreams, which demonstrates his great humility.

This evening we will study Genesis 41:17-24, which records Pharaoh relating his dreams to Joseph.

Genesis 41:1, “Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.”

Genesis 41:2, “And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.”

Genesis 41:3, “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.”

Genesis 41:4, “The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows.

Then Pharaoh awoke.”

Genesis 41:5, “He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.”

Genesis 41:6, “Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.”

Genesis 41:7, “The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears.

Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.”

Genesis 41:8, “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.”

Genesis 41:9, “Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, ‘I would make mention today of my own offenses.’”

Genesis 41:10, “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.”

Genesis 41:11, “We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.”

Genesis 41:12, “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.”

Genesis 41:13, “And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.”

Genesis 41:14, “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.”

Genesis 41:15, “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.’”

Genesis 41:16, “Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’”

Genesis 41:17-21 records Pharaoh recounting to Joseph in detail his first dream, which is recorded Genesis 41:2-4.

Though the narrator’s account of Pharaoh’s dream agrees in many ways with Pharaoh’s account of his dream, the narrator’s account of Pharaoh’s dream does differ significantly than Pharaoh’s account of the dream.

In both accounts there are seven fat and beautiful cows, which graze on the marsh grass of the Nile and seven ugly and gaunt cows, which ate up the seven fat cows.

In both accounts, Pharaoh is described as standing by the Nile River.

However, in the narrator’s account there are seven ugly and gaunt cows whereas in Pharaoh’s account these cows are further described as “poor.”

Furthermore, when speaking of these cows, he adds in his account, “I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt.”

Also, in Pharaoh’s account, when speaking again of the poor, ugly and gaunt cows, he says that when they had devoured the seven fat and beautiful cows that it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before.

Genesis 41:17-18, “So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, ‘In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.’”

“Dream” is the singular form of the noun chalom (<w)lj&) (khal-ome) even though Pharaoh had two dreams since Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and Pharaoh himself viewed the dreams as identical in meaning.

Dreams were significant in the cultures of the ancient Middle East and were often considered to be divine revelation and in the days of the patriarchs, dreams were a common means of divine communication and were of a prophetic nature.

Pharaoh’s dreams were a revelation from God and were prophetic in nature, revealing to Pharaoh the economic life of Egypt for the next fourteen years.

“My dream” indicates that Pharaoh regarded his dream as a warning about the future of his nation since the Nile River is the setting for his dream, which is significant since this river was literally the lifeline of Egypt, the source of its economy and power and thus the source of Pharaoh’s power.

The first “behold” is the interjection hinneh (hN@h!) and links the two dreams, drawing the reader in, letting him view Pharaoh’s dreams from his perspective.

The second “behold” is also the interjection hinneh (hN@h!), which prepares the reader for something unusual and further links this first dream with the second.

The fact that the cows came up out of the Nile is not unusual but would be familiar to Pharaoh since cows like to stand half-submerged in the Nile among its reeds to seek relief from the heat and insects and then come up out of the water for pasture.

In a religious sense, the cows in his dream would have impressed him since in ancient Egypt, the cow was the symbol of Isis, the goddess of the all-sustaining earth.

In Egyptian hieroglyphics, the cow represented the earth, agriculture, and food and the Nile, by its overflowing, was the source of the fertility of the land.

It is interesting that in the Egyptian “Book of the Dead,” the chief religious writing in Egypt, the god of vegetation and the nether world, Osiris, is represented as a great bull accompanied by seven cows.

Therefore, the seven cows were a part of his religious frame of reference and would get his attention.

The cows would also impress Pharaoh in an economic sense since they were abundant in Egypt and were important to its economy.

Genesis 41:2 describes the first seven cows as being “sleek,” which translates the noun yapheh (hp#y*) (yaw-feh), which means, “beautiful” and the noun mar’eh (ha#r+m^), which means, “appearance” and thus, these first seven cows were “beautiful in appearance.”

However, in Genesis 41:18, “sleek” translates the adjective yapheh (hp#y*) (yaw-feh), which means, “beautiful” and the noun to’ar (ra^T)) (to-ar), which refers to the shape of the body of these seven cows.

The expression yephoth mar’eh (tw)py+ ha#r+m^), “beautiful in appearance” in Genesis 41:2 presents a general description of the first seven cows whereas the expression wiphoth to’ar (tp)yw!

Ra^T), “beautiful in shape” in Genesis 41:18 defines in what way they were beautiful in appearance.

These first seven cows are described in Genesis 41:2 and 18 as being “fat,” which translates the adjective bari’ (ayr!B*) (baw-ree), “fat” and the noun basar (rc*B*) (baw-sawr), “flesh, body,” and together they literally mean, “fat of flesh,” or “fat of body.”

In Genesis 41:18, the expression beri’oth basar, “fat of body” appears before the expression wiphoth to’ar, “beautiful in shape” whereas in Genesis 41:2 it appears after the expression yephoth mar’eh, “beautiful in appearance” since the emphasis in Genesis 41:18 is to define in what way these seven cows were beautiful.

The first seven cows that were beautiful and fat would be symbolic of prosperity since fat cows are the direct result of abundant pastureland.

Genesis 41:19-20, “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 and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.”

In Genesis 41:19 just as in Genesis 41:3, we see another seven cows coming up out of the Nile that are described as “ugly and gaunt.”

“Ugly” translates the adjective ra` (ur^) (raw), “bad” which is used in contrast with the noun yapheh (hp#y*) (yaw-feh), “beautiful” and it modifies the noun mar’eh (ha#r+m^), “appearance,” thus these seven cows were “ugly in appearance.”

“Gaunt” translates the adjective daq (qD^), “thin,” which is used in contrast with the adjective bari’ (ayr!B*) (baw-ree), “fat” and it modifies the noun basar (rc*B*) (baw-sawr), “flesh, body,” and together they literally mean, “thin of flesh.”

Therefore, the seven cows described in Genesis 41:3 and 19, which were ugly in appearance and thin and are in direct contrast to the first seven cows, which were beautiful and fat.

The ugly and thin cows would be symbolic of famine since thin and ugly cows are the direct result of a lack of abundant pastureland

As we noted earlier, in Pharaoh’s account in Genesis 41:19, these seven cows are further described as “poor” whereas in the narrator’s account in Genesis 41:3, they are not.

“Poor” is the adjective dal (lD^), which means, “weak” in the sense that these seven cows were deprived of sufficient pastureland, thus the word emphasizes their weakened condition.

As we noted earlier, unlike the narrator’s account of these cows in Genesis 41:3, Pharaoh in his account adds, “I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh’s statement “I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt” expresses his fear for the well-being of his nation.

Then, something unusual and shocking took place where the ugly and thin cows consumed the beautiful fat cows.

We would expect the fatter beautiful cows to consume the thin and ugly ones but this is not the case indicating something unusual.

This shocking and unusual occurrence in his dream awoke Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:21, “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.”

Pharaoh’s statement “Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before” according to Joseph’s interpretation in Genesis 41:31 means that the seven years of prosperity will be forgotten because of the severity of the seven years of famine.

Genesis 41:22-24 records Pharaoh’s account of his second dream and Genesis 41:5-7 presents the narrator’s account of this dream.

Pharaoh’s second dream is “agricultural” and has the same meaning as his first dream, thus emphasizing the future fulfillment of these dreams (See Genesis 37:5-11; 41:25, 32).

Genesis 41:22, “I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk.”

“Ears of grain” is the noun shibboleth (tl#B)v!) (shib-bo-leth), which in Egypt would be wheat.

Egypt was famous in the ancient world not only for its cattle but also its wheat and was known as the breadbasket of the Roman Empire.

Like Pharaoh’s first dream that appealed to his Egyptian frame of reference, so this second dream would appeal to his Egyptian frame of reference since Egypt was known as the granary of the ancient world.

In Pharaoh’s second dream, he saw seven ears of grain, which would be wheat in Egypt, coming up on one stalk, plump and good.

Like the first seven cows, in Pharaoh’s first dream, these seven ears of grain were “full” symbolizing prosperity and would further link this second dream with the first.

In Pharaoh’s account in Genesis 41:22, he uses the adjective male (al@m*) (maw-lay), “full” whereas the narrator in his account in Genesis 41:5 employs the adjective bari’ (ayr!B*) (baw-ree), “fat.”

In Genesis 41:22, the adjective male, “full” emphasizes the high quality of these seven ears of grain whereas in Genesis 41:4, the adjective bari, “fat” emphasizes the size of these seven ears of grain.

Therefore, the seven years of prosperity, which are represented by these seven ears of grain would not only be the result of the large quantity of grain harvested but also be the result of the high quality of grain harvested during this period.

These first seven ears of grain are described as being “good,” which refers to the fact that they exceeded expectations of Egyptian farmers indicating an exceptional crop.

The fact that these seven ears of grain came up out of one stalk, fat and good, was an exceptional phenomenon symbolizing abundance.

Genesis 41:23, “and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.”

In Genesis 41:23 just as in Genesis 41:6, “lo,” which is the interjection hinneh (hN@h!) prepares the reader for something unusual and further links this second dream with the first.

Like the second set of seven cows, in Pharaoh’s first dream, these second set of seven ears of grain were “thin” which further links this second dream with the first.

Like the thin cows in Pharaoh’s dream, the thin ears of corn would be symbolic of famine and a lack of abundance.

In Pharaoh’s account in Genesis 41:23, he uses the participle form of the verb tsanum (<n%x*) (tsaw-nam), “withered” emphasizing the poor quality of these seven ears of grain whereas the narrator in his account in Genesis 41:6 does not employ the word.

Pharaoh uses the verb tsanum (<n%x*) (tsaw-nam), “withered” and the narrator does “not” since the word expresses his dismay at the poor condition of these seven ears of grain since wheat made Egypt an economic power in the ancient world.

The “east wind” mentioned in Genesis 41:6 and 32 is called by Egyptians khamsin and refers to the wind that blew into Egypt from the Sahara Desert (See Hosea 13:15) in late spring and early fall and often brought famine since it withered vegetation (See Isaiah 40:7; Ezekiel 17:10).

Notice that unlike the first seven ears of grain, these last seven are not said to come upon a single stalk, thus implying that each grew on its own stalk.

In appearance, these seven ears of grain, which were thin and scorched by the east wind from the Sahara, are in direct contrast to the first ears of grain, which were plumb and good.

The first ears of grain that were plump and good would be symbolic of prosperity since plump ears of grain are the direct result of excellent weather conditions.

The thin ears of grain would be symbolic of famine since thin ears of grain are the direct result of extremely bad weather conditions.

Then, just as in Pharaoh’s first dream, something unusual and shocking takes place in his second dream where the thin ears of grain swallowed up the plump and good ears of grain.

Genesis 41:24, “and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears.