Joseph Becomes Ruler of Egypt

Pharaoh dreams twice: seven fat cows devoured by seven lean ones, and seven full ears swallowed by seven withered ones. None of Egypt's wise men can give an interpretation that satisfies him, until the butler remembers the Hebrew youth in the dungeon. Joseph is rushed out, shaved and reclothed after twelve years in prison, and speaks without flattery: "It is not me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace." The reading is simple and terrible — seven years of great plenty, then seven years of famine that will consume the land. Unasked, he adds a plan: let Pharaoh appoint a discerning man to gather a fifth of the harvest during the years of plenty. Pharaoh answers, "Can we find such a one, in whom is the spirit of God?" — takes the ring from his own hand, dresses Joseph in fine linen, sets him in the second chariot and names him Zaphenath-Paneah. Joseph is thirty. Through seven years of abundance he stores grain "as the sand of the sea, without number."