Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 41

Pharaoh dreamed.—After two years spent in prison, the time has now come for Joseph’s elevation to power; and it should be noted that this was not brought about by the methods by which men usually achieve greatness, such as statesmanship, or military skill; nor was it by accident, but according to Biblical principle, by the direct intervention of Providence. Just as centuries later, Daniel rose to high office in Babylon when God made known to him the dream of Nebuchadnezzar; so here, the transplantation of Israel into Egypt was brought about by the revelation to Joseph of “what was to be hereafter.”

The river—Hebrew, Yeor, the Egyptian word for “great river.” It is the usual name in the Bible for the Nile, but is also used for the Tigris in Daniel 12:5-6, and for any large river in Job 28:10. The Pharaoh in whose reign Joseph became governor of Egypt is generally thought to have been Apophis, the most famous of the shepherd kings. However, Canon Cook, in his Essay, On the bearings of Egyptian History upon the Pentateuch, after carefully reviewing the whole subject, decides in favour of King Amenemha III, the greatest monarch of the noble twelfth dynasty, and the last king of all Egypt.

Cows. —The cow was regarded by the Egyptians as the symbol of the earth, and of agriculture; and naturally both the cows and the ears of wheat rose out of the river, because as no rain falls in Egypt, its fertility entirely depends upon the overflow of the Nile. The cows sacred to Isis were seven in number, and in a copy of the Ritual of the Dead, Mr. Malan (p. 192) found a picture of the seven sacred cows with the divine bull.

In a meadow. —Hebrew, in the marsh-grass. The word occurs only in this chapter and in Job 8:11, where it is translated flag. It is the name of the rank herbage which grows luxuriantly along the banks of the Nile; or, as some think, of one special kind of marsh-grass, called by botanists cyperus esculentus.

Seven ears ... upon one stalk. —The wheat cultivated in Egypt is called triticum compositum, because it produces several ears upon the same stalk. The statement of Herodotus (ii. 36), that the Egyptians regarded it as disgraceful to feed upon wheat or barley, is disproved by the paintings in the temples, especially in the district of Thebes, which show that it was the main crop there, and its cultivation held in high honour. Maspero, Hist. Ancienne, p. 9, says, “In spite of Herodotus, the usual food of the people was wheat and other cereals, which the soil of Egypt produces in abundance.”

East wind. — In Palestine, the prevalent winds are those that blow from the west or east. The latter, coming across arid deserts, is harmful to vegetation.

In Egypt, the winds generally blow from the north or south. However, the southeast wind, called Chamsin, blowing from the deserts of Arabia, has even more disastrous effects on plants than the east wind in Palestine. Laden with fine dust, it is also harmful to human life.

Since Hebrew has words only for the four principal winds, this southeastern wind may be meant. Alternatively, as kçdim, east wind, became the usual name for any wind that burned up vegetation, the term may be employed in a general sense.

Magicians. The word used here probably means the “sacred scribes,” who were skilled in writing and reading hieroglyphics. But in ancient times, the possession of real knowledge was generally accompanied by a claim to an occult and mysterious acquaintance with the secrets of the gods and of nature. And as the people regarded the knowledge that such scribes really possessed as more than human, the claim was easily maintained, or, rather, grew naturally out of the superstition of the multitude.

So, too, the “wise men” were men educated and trained, but it was probably the profession of magic, divination, and astrology that gained them wealth and honour, not the possession of whatever real science existed in Egypt at that time. We find, subsequently, even Joseph claiming the power of divination.

There was none that could interpret... Probably many of the wise men made the attempt, but in such an imperfect manner that they could not satisfy Pharaoh’s mind or allay the agitation of his spirit.