411 Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile; 2 And out of the Nile came seven cows, good-looking and fat, and their food was the river-grass. 3 And after them seven other cows came out of the Nile, poor-looking and thin; and they were by the side of the other cows. 4 And the seven thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh came out of his sleep. 5 But he went to sleep again and had a second dream, in which he saw seven heads of grain, full and good, all on one stem. 6 And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind. 7 And the seven thin heads made a meal of the good heads. And when Pharaoh was awake he saw it was a dream. 8 And in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent for all the wise men of Egypt and all the holy men, and put his dream before them, but no one was able to give him the sense of it.
9 Then the chief wine-servant said to Pharaoh, The memory of my sin comes back to me now; 10 Pharaoh had been angry with his servants, and had put me in prison in the house of the captain of the army, together with the chief bread-maker; 11 And we had a dream on the same night, the two of us, and the dreams had a special sense. 12 And there was with us a young Hebrew, the captain's servant, and when we put our dreams before him, he gave us the sense of them. 13 And it came about as he said: I was put back in my place, and the bread-maker was put to death by hanging. 14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they took him quickly out of prison; and when his hair had been cut and his dress changed, he came before Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and no one is able to give me the sense of it; now it has come to my ears that you are able to give the sense of a dream when it is put before you. 16 Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.
17 Then Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile: 18 And out of the Nile came seven cows, fat and good-looking, and their food was the river-grass; 19 Then after them came seven other cows, very thin and poor-looking, worse than any I ever saw in the land of Egypt; 20 And the thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows who came up first; 21 And even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep. 22 And again in a dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stem: 23 And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 41:1-23
Commentary on Genesis 41:1-8
(Read Genesis 41:1-8)
The means of Joseph's being freed from prison were Pharaoh's dreams, as here related. Now that God no longer speaks to us in that way, it is no matter how little we either heed dreams, or tell them. The telling of foolish dreams can make no better than foolish talk. But these dreams showed that they were sent of God; when he awoke, Pharaoh's spirit was troubled.
Commentary on Genesis 41:9-32
(Read Genesis 41:9-32)
God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time. If the chief butler had got Joseph to be released from prison, it is probable he would have gone back to the land of the Hebrews. Then he had neither been so blessed himself, nor such a blessing to his family, as afterwards he proved. Joseph, when introduced to Pharaoh, gives honour to God. Pharaoh had dreamed that he stood upon the bank of the river Nile, and saw the kine, both the fat ones, and the lean ones, come out of the river. Egypt has no rain, but the plenty of the year depends upon the overflowing of the river Nile. See how many ways Providence has of dispensing its gifts; yet our dependence is still the same upon the First Cause, who makes every creature what it is to us, be it rain or river. See to what changes the comforts of this life are subject. We cannot be sure that to-morrow shall be as this day, or next year as this. We must learn how to want, as well as how to abound. Mark the goodness of God in sending the seven years of plenty before those of famine, that provision might be made. The produce of the earth is sometimes more, and sometimes less; yet, take one with another, he that gathers much, has nothing over; and he that gathers little, has no lack, Exodus 16:18. And see the perishing nature of our worldly enjoyments. The great harvests of the years of plenty were quite lost, and swallowed up in the years of famine; and that which seemed very much, yet did but just serve to keep the people alive. There is bread which lasts to eternal life, which it is worth while to labour for. They that make the things of this world their good things, will find little pleasure in remembering that they have received them.