Joseph is Delivered to Potiphar

39 Meanwhile, Joseph had been delivered to Egypt and turned over to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s court officials and the Commander-in-Chief of the imperial guards. An Egyptian, he bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.

² But the Lord was with Joseph. He became a very prosperous man while in the house of his Egyptian master, ³ who could see that the Lord was with Joseph,^[a] because the Lord made everything prosper that Joseph^[b] did. ⁴ That’s how Joseph pleased Potiphar^[c] as he served him. Eventually, Potiphar appointed Joseph as overseer of his entire household. Moreover, he entrusted everything that he owned into his care.^{[d] 5} From the time he appointed Joseph to be overseer over his entire household and everything that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The Lord’s blessing rested on Joseph,^[e] whether in Potiphar’s household or in Potiphar’s fields. ⁶ Everything that he owned, he entrusted into Joseph’s care. He never concerned himself about anything, except for the food he ate.

Potiphar’s Wife Accuses Joseph

Now Joseph was well built and good looking. ⁷ That’s why, sometime later, Joseph’s master’s wife looked straight at Joseph and propositioned him: “Come on! Let’s have a little sex!”^[f]

⁸ But he refused, telling his master’s wife, “Look! My master doesn’t have to worry about anything in the house with me in charge, and he has entrusted everything into my care. ⁹ No one has more authority in this house than I do. He has withheld nothing from me, except you, and that’s because you’re his wife. So how can I commit such a horrible evil? How can I sin against God?”

¹⁰ She kept on talking to him like this day after day, but he wouldn’t listen to her. Not only would he refuse to have sex with her, he refused even to stay around her. ¹¹ One day, though,^[g] he went into the house to do his work. None of the household servants^[h] were inside, ¹² so she grabbed Joseph^[i] by his outer garment and demanded “Let’s have some sex!”

Instead, Joseph ran outside, leaving his outer garment still in her hand. ¹³ When she realized that he had left his outer garment right there in her hand, she ran outside ¹⁴ and yelled for her household servants. “Look!” she cried out. “My husband^[j] brought in a Hebrew man to humiliate us. He came in here to have sex with me, but I screamed out loud! ¹⁵ When he heard me starting to scream, he left his outer garment with me and fled outside.” ¹⁶ She kept his outer garment by her side until Joseph’s master came home, ¹⁷ and then this is what she told him: “That Hebrew slave whom you brought to us came in here to rape^[k] me. ¹⁸ But when I started to scream, he left his outer garment with me and ran outside.”

Joseph is Locked in Prison

¹⁹ When Joseph’s master heard his wife’s claim to the effect that “This is how your servant treated me,” he flew into a rage, ²⁰ arrested Joseph, and locked him up in the same prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. So Joseph remained there in prison.

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph. He extended gracious love to him, causing the prison warden to be pleased with Joseph.^{[l] 22} So the prison warden entrusted into Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were confined in prison. Whatever they did, Joseph was in charge of the work detail.^{[m] 23} The prison warden did not have to worry about anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him. That’s why Joseph prospered in everything he did.

Pharaoh’s Dream

41 Two years later—to the day—Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River,^{[a] 2} when all of a sudden seven healthy, plump cows emerged from the Nile to graze in the grass that grew in the reeds that lined the bank.^{[b] 3} Right after that, seven more cows came up out of the Nile. Ugly and gaunt, they stood next to the other cows on the bank of the Nile River. ⁴ But all of a sudden they ate up the seven healthy, plump cows! Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ After he had fallen back to sleep, he had a second dream, in which seven ears of plump, fruit-filled grain grew up on a single stalk. ⁶ Suddenly seven thin ears of grain that had been scorched by an east wind sprouted up right after them ⁷ and ate up the seven plump, fruit-filled ears. Then Pharaoh woke up a second time,^[c] and it had been a very vivid^[d] dream!

Pharaoh Seeks an Interpretation

⁸ The very next morning, he^[e] was frustrated^[f] about the dream, so he sent word to summon all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them what he had dreamed, but no one could interpret them.^[g]

⁹ Then Pharaoh’s senior security advisor^[h] spoke up. “Maybe I should make a confession. ¹⁰ When Pharaoh was angry with some of his servants, he incarcerated me in custody of the captain of the bodyguard, along with Pharaoh’s head chef.^{[i] 11} We each had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. ¹² There was a Hebrew young man incarcerated with us, who was also working as a servant to the captain of the bodyguard.

“We each related our dreams,^[j] and then he interpreted them for us. He provided specific meanings for each of our dreams. ¹³ And what he interpreted for each of us came true! Pharaoh^[k] restored me to my responsibilities, but he executed^[l] the other man.”

Pharaoh Tells Joseph His Dream

¹⁴ Pharaoh sent word to summon Joseph quickly from the dungeon, so they shaved his beard, changed his clothes, and then sent him straight to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ “I’ve had a dream,” Pharaoh told Joseph, “but nobody can interpret it. I’ve heard that you can interpret dreams.”

¹⁶ “I can’t do that,” Joseph replied, “but God is concerned about Pharaoh’s well-being.”

¹⁷ So Pharaoh told Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, ¹⁸ and all of a sudden seven healthy, plump, beautiful cows emerged from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds that line the bank.^{[m] 19} Just then, seven other cows emerged after them, poor, ugly, and appearing very gaunt in their flesh. I’ve never seen anything as ugly as those cows anywhere in the entire land of Egypt! ²⁰ But those thin, gaunt cows gobbled up the first seven healthy cows! ²¹ Not only that,” Pharaoh continued,^[n] “after they had finished devouring the cows, nobody could tell that they had gobbled them up, because they were just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. ²² Later, I also dreamed about seven plump, fruit-filled ears of grain^[o] that grew up out of a single stalk. ²³ All of a sudden, seven thin, withered ears of grain,^[p] scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. ²⁴ But the thin ears gobbled up the seven good ears. I told all this to my advisors, but nobody was able to explain it to me.”

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream

²⁵ “Pharaoh’s dreams are identical,” Joseph replied. “God has told Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do. ²⁶ The seven healthy cows represent seven years, as do the seven healthy ears. The dreams are identical. ²⁷ The seven gaunt cows that arose after the healthy cows^[q] are seven years, as are the seven gaunt ears scorched by the east wind. There will be seven years of famine. ²⁸ So the message that I have for Pharaoh is that God is telling Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do. ²⁹ Be advised that seven years of phenomenal abundance are coming throughout all the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but after them seven years of famine are ahead, during which all of the abundance will be forgotten throughout the land of Egypt. The famine will ravage the land so severely that^{[r] 31} there will be no surplus in the land due to the coming famine, because it will be very severe.

³² “Now since Pharaoh had that dream twice, it means that this event has been scheduled by God, and God will bring it to pass very soon. ³³ Therefore let Pharaoh select a wise, discerning person to place in charge over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Also, let Pharaoh immediately proceed to appoint supervisors over the land of Egypt, who will collect one fifth of its agricultural production^[s] during the coming seven years of abundance. ³⁵ Let them collect all the food during the coming fruitful years, store up the grain in cities governed by Pharaoh’s authority,^[t] and place it under guard. ³⁶ Let the food be kept in reserve to feed^[u] the land for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout Egypt, so the people don’t^[v] die during the famine.”

Pharaoh Appoints Joseph as Regent

³⁷ What Joseph proposed pleased Pharaoh and all of his advisors, ³⁸ so Pharaoh asked his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this—someone in whom the Spirit of God lives? ³⁹ Since God has revealed all of this to you,” Pharaoh told Joseph, “there is no one so wise and discerning as you. ⁴⁰ So you are to be appointed in charge over my palace, and all of my people are to do whatever you command them to do. Only the throne will have greater authority than you.”

⁴¹ “Look!” Pharaoh confirmed^[w] to Joseph, “I’ve put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt!”

⁴² Then Pharaoh^[x] removed his signet ring from his hand, placed it on Joseph’s hand, had him clothed in fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ Then he provided him with a chariot as his second-in-command, outfitted with a group of people who shouted out in front of him, “Bow your knees!” And that’s how Pharaoh set Joseph over the entire land of Egypt.

Pharaoh Rewards Joseph

⁴⁴ Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I’m still Pharaoh, but without your permission nobody in all of the land of Egypt will so much as lift up their hands or take a step!” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh also changed Joseph’s name to Zaphenath-paneah^[y] and gave Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, to him as his wife. And that’s how Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.

Joseph Begins Gathering Grain

⁴⁶ Joseph was 30 years old when he began to serve Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by traveling throughout the land of Egypt, independent from Pharaoh’s oversight.^{[z] 47} While bumper crops grew during the seven abundant years, ⁴⁸ Joseph^[aa] collected the surplus food throughout the land of Egypt, storing food in cities; that is, he gathered the food from fields that surrounded every city and stored it there. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored up so much grain—like sand on the seashore in so much abundance!—that he stopped keeping records because it was proving to be impossible to measure how much they were gathering.

Joseph’s Children are Born

⁵⁰ Before the years of famine arrived, Joseph fathered two sons with Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. ⁵¹ Joseph named his firstborn son^[ab] Manasseh because, he said, “God has made me forget all of my hard life and my father’s house.” ⁵² He named his second son Ephraim because, he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my troubles.”

The Famine Begins

⁵³ As soon as the seven years of abundance throughout the land of Egypt ended, ⁵⁴ the seven years of famine started, just as Joseph had predicted.^[ac] It was an international famine, but there was food everywhere throughout the land of Egypt. ⁵⁵ Eventually, the land of Egypt began to feel the effects of the famine, so the people^[ad] cried out to Pharaoh for food. “Go see Joseph,” Pharaoh announced to all the Egyptians, “and do whatever he tells you to do.”

⁵⁶ Joseph opened all of the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, because the famine was beginning to be severe throughout the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ In addition, all of the surrounding nations^[ae] came to Joseph to buy grain from Egypt, because the famine had become severe throughout the world.

Preparing to Return to Egypt

43 Meanwhile, the famine remained severe throughout the region. ² As a result, when Jacob’s family^[a] was beginning to eat the last of the grain that they had brought back from Egypt, their father Jacob^[b] told his sons, “Go back to Egypt and buy us some food.”

³ But Judah reminded him, “The man distinctly warned us: ‘You’ll never see my face unless your brother comes with you.’ ⁴ So if you send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy some food. ⁵ But if you don’t send him, we’re not going, because the man told us, ‘You’ll never see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

⁶ Israel replied, “Why did you make all this trouble by telling the man that you have another brother?”

⁷ “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives,” they responded. “He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive?’ and ‘Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we have known that he would tell us to bring our brother back with us?”

⁸ “Send the young man with me,” Judah told his father Israel, “and we’ll get up and go so we can survive and not die—and that includes all of us, you and our families.^{[c] 9} I’ll even offer myself to guarantee that I’ll be responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back and present him to you, I’ll personally bear the consequences forever. ¹⁰ After all, if we hadn’t delayed, we could have been there and back^[d] twice by now!”

Jacob Gives Instructions for the Trip

¹¹ “If that’s the way it has to be,” their father Israel replied, “then do this: take some of the best produce of the land in your containers and take them to the man as a gift—some resin ointment, some honey, fragrant resins, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds. ¹² Also take twice as much money with you so you can return the money that had been replaced in the mouth of your sacks. Maybe it was an accounting^[e] mistake on his part. ¹³ And be sure to take your brother, too. So get up, return to the man, ¹⁴ and may God Almighty cause the man to show compassion toward you. May he send all of you back, including your other brother and Benjamin. Now as for me, if I lose my children, I lose them.”

¹⁵ So the men took their gift and twice as much money, got up, took Benjamin with them, and set out for Egypt. Eventually they appeared before Joseph.

Joseph Sees Benjamin

¹⁶ As soon as Joseph noticed that Benjamin had come with them, he ordered his palace manager, “Bring the men into the palace.^[f] Slaughter an animal and prepare it, because these men will be dining with me for lunch.”^{[g] 17} So the man did what Joseph had ordered, and brought the men to Joseph’s palace.

¹⁸ The men were terrified as they were being taken to Joseph’s palace. “It’s because of that money that was returned to our sacks the first time we were brought to him,” they reasoned. “He’s seeking an excuse to attack us, enslave us, and confiscate our donkeys!”

¹⁹ So they approached Joseph’s palace manager and talked with him at the palace entrance. ²⁰ “Your Excellency,” they said, “The first time we came here to buy food, ²¹ when we arrived at our overnight lodging place, we opened our sacks and discovered each man’s money was still in the mouth of his sack. All of our money was there! We’ve brought it back with us in full. ²² We’ve also brought along some more money to buy supplies, but we don’t know who put our money back into our sacks.”

²³ “Relax,” the manager said. “You can stop being afraid, now. Your God, the God of your father, has placed hidden treasure within those sacks for you. I’ve been paid in full.” Then he brought Simeon out to them, ²⁴ ushered the men into Joseph’s palace, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided^[h] fodder for their donkeys. ²⁵ Then off he went to prepare the honorary meal that was to be made ready for Joseph’s arrival at noon, since they had been informed that they were going to be eating there.

Joseph Inquires about His Family

²⁶ When Joseph arrived at his palace, his brothers^[i] brought to him their gifts that they had carried with them and bowed to the ground in front of him.

²⁷ Joseph asked them how they had been doing. “Is your father well, the older gentleman about whom you spoke?” he inquired. “Is he still alive?”

²⁸ “Your servant, our father, is doing well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” Then they bowed down in humility.

²⁹ As Joseph looked up and recognized his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother about whom you spoke to me?” And he addressed him directly, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”^[j]

³⁰ At this, Joseph hurried out, deeply moved because of his brother, and looked for a place to weep by himself. He entered his personal quarters, wept there awhile,^{[k] 31} then washed his face and came out. Barely controlling himself, he ordered his staff to serve the meal.

³² Joseph’s staff^[l] served him by himself, his brothers^[m] separately, and the Egyptian staff members by themselves, because the Egyptians wouldn’t take their meal with the Hebrews, since doing so was detestable for the Egyptians. ³³ Meanwhile, the brothers^[n] were seated in front of Joseph in birth order, from firstborn to youngest. The men stared at one another in astonishment. ³⁴ Joseph^[o] himself brought portions to them from his own table, except that he provided to Benjamin five times as much as he did for each of the others. So they feasted together and drank freely with Joseph.^[p]

Joseph Reveals Himself

45 At this point, Joseph could not control his emotions any longer, so he cried out to everyone who was standing nearby, “Everybody! Leave me!” As a result, none of his staff^[a] was anywhere near^[b] him when he revealed himself to his brothers. ² He cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, including Pharaoh’s household.

³ Joseph blurted out, “I’m Joseph! Is my father really alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, because they had become terrified^[c] to be in his presence.

⁴ Joseph implored his brothers, “Please come close to me.” So they did.

“I’m your brother Joseph, whom you sold into slavery in^[d] Egypt!” he told them. ⁵ “But^[e] don’t be distressed or angry at yourselves because you sold me here, because God sent me ahead of you all in order to deliver us.^{[f] 6} That’s because this famine has been going on for two years now in this region, and there are still five years left, during which there won’t be any plowing or harvesting. ⁷ God sent me ahead of you to keep you alive on the earth, and to save you all in a magnificent way. ⁸ As a result, it wasn’t you who sent me here, but God himself! He established me as a father-figure to Pharaoh himself! I’m in charge of his entire palace and ruler over the entire land of Egypt. ⁹ So hurry up, go back to my father, and tell him that his son Joseph tells him, ‘God has made me master of all of Egypt. Hurry up! Come live with me!’ ¹⁰ You are to live in the land of Goshen, near where I am—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything that you own. ¹¹ I’ll provide for you there, since there are still five years of famine left to go, and you, your households, and everything you own would have otherwise become impoverished.

¹² “Look, now! All of you can see me! And my own brother Benjamin can tell that it’s really me^[g] speaking to you! ¹³ So go tell my father about all of my splendor in Egypt. Tell him about everything that you’ve seen. Be quick about it, and bring my father down here!”

¹⁴ Then he threw his arms around Benjamin^[h] and wept as they embraced.^{[i] 15} He kissed all of his brothers and wept with them, too, and then his brothers were able to talk with him.

Pharaoh is Pleased

¹⁶ As soon as the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had arrived, Pharaoh and his servants were ecstatic. ¹⁷ Pharaoh told Joseph, “Be sure to tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load up your livestock, go back to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ get your father and your households, and come back to me. I’ll give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can live off the abundance of the land.’ ¹⁹ In addition,” Pharaoh ordered, “Do this: take some transport wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones to ride in, along with your wives, and bring your father and come! ²⁰ Don’t worry about your household goods, because the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.”

Joseph’s Brothers Go Back Home

²¹ So Israel’s sons did what they were asked to do, and Joseph provided wagons for them, as Pharaoh had commanded. He also gave them provisions for the journey. ²² He gave each of them some changes of clothes, but he also gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. ²³ He sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the best of Egyptian goods and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provisions for his father during the journey. ²⁴ Then Joseph^[j] sent his brothers away, and they left for home.^[k] As they were leaving, Joseph admonished them, “Don’t quarrel on the way back!”

²⁵ So Joseph’s brothers^[l] left Egypt and returned to the land of Canaan and to their father Jacob, ²⁶ where they informed their father, “Joseph is still alive! As a matter of fact, he’s ruling the entire land of Egypt.” But Jacob didn’t believe them, because he had become cynical.^{[m] 27} However, as soon as his sons^[n] had told him everything Joseph had said, and after he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent along to carry him, their father Jacob’s spirit was encouraged.

²⁸ “It’s enough,” Israel replied. “My son Joseph is still alive. I’m going to go see him before I die!”