Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Joseph explains to Pharaoh the dream of the seven cows and ears of grain concerning the seven years of fertility and sterility to come. Hence, at verse 40, he is set over Egypt by the king; and at verse 46, by his foresight he drives away the seven-year famine from Egypt.
Vulgate Text: Genesis 41:1-57
1. After two years, Pharaoh had a dream. He thought he was standing by the river, 2. from which seven cows ascended, beautiful and very fat, and they were feeding in marshy places. 3. Seven others also emerged from the river, ugly and wasted with leanness, and they were feeding on the very bank of the river in green places: 4. and they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was wonderful. Pharaoh awoke, 5. and fell asleep again, and saw another dream: Seven ears of grain were sprouting on a single stalk, full and beautiful; 6. and as many other ears, thin and blasted with blight, were springing up, 7. devouring all the beauty of the former. Pharaoh, waking from his rest, 8. and when morning came, terrified with fear, sent for all the interpreters of Egypt and all the wise men; and when they were called, he told them his dream, and there was none who could interpret it. 9. Then at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said: I confess my sin. 10. The king, being angry with his servants, ordered me and the chief baker to be thrown back into the prison of the captain of the soldiers: 11. where on a single night each of us dreamed a dream presaging the future. 12. There was there a young Hebrew, a servant of the same captain of the soldiers, to whom we told our dreams, 13. and we heard whatever the event afterwards proved to be true. For I was restored to my office, and he was hung on a cross. 14. Immediately at the king's command, Joseph was brought out of prison, shaved, and having changed his clothes, was presented to him. 15. And the king said to him: I have had dreams, and there is no one who can explain them: and I have heard that you most wisely interpret. 16. Joseph answered: Without me, God will answer Pharaoh with favorable things. 17. So Pharaoh told what he had seen: I thought I was standing on the bank of the river, 18. and seven cows ascended from the stream, very beautiful and of fat flesh, and they were grazing on green pastures in the marshes; 19. and behold, seven other cows followed them, so deformed and lean that I never saw the like in the land of Egypt: 20. and when they had devoured and consumed the former, 21. they gave no sign of being full; but they languished in the same leanness and squalor. Waking, and again overcome by sleep, 22. I saw a dream: seven ears of grain were sprouting on a single stalk, full and most beautiful. 23. Seven other ears also, thin and blasted with blight, were springing from the stalk: 24. and they devoured the beauty of the former. I told the dream to the interpreters, and there is no one who can explain it. 25. Joseph answered: The dream of the king is one: what God is about to do, He has shown to Pharaoh. 26. The seven beautiful cows and the seven full ears are seven years of abundance, and they comprehend the same force of the dream. 27. And the seven thin and lean cows that ascended after them, and the seven thin ears struck with the burning wind, are seven coming years of famine. 28. Which shall be fulfilled in this order: 29. Behold, seven years shall come of great fertility in all the land of Egypt: 30. and after them shall follow seven other years of such great sterility, that all the former abundance shall be forgotten: for the famine shall consume all the land, 31. and the greatness of the want shall destroy the greatness of the abundance. 32. And that you saw a second dream pertaining to the same thing is a sign of firmness, because the word of God shall be accomplished, and shall be speedily fulfilled. 33. Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and set him over the land of Egypt, 34. who shall appoint overseers over all the regions, and let the fifth part of the fruits during the seven years of fertility, 35. which are now about to come, be gathered into storehouses: and let all the grain be stored under the power of Pharaoh, and kept in the cities. 36. And let it be prepared for the famine of the seven years to come, which shall oppress Egypt, and the land shall not be consumed with want. 37. The counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers: 38. and he said to them: Can we find such a man, who is full of the spirit of God? 39. He said therefore to Joseph: Since God has shown you all that you have spoken, shall I be able to find anyone wiser and like you? 40. You shall be over my house, and at the command of your mouth all the people shall obey: only by the royal throne shall I be above you. 41. And Pharaoh said again to Joseph: Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. 42. And he took the ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand; and he clothed him with a robe of fine linen, and put a golden chain about his neck. 43. And he made him ride in his second chariot, with a herald crying out that all should bend their knees before him, and that they should know he was set over all the land of Egypt. 44. And the king said to Joseph: I am Pharaoh; without your command no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. 45. And he changed his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue the Savior of the world. And he gave him as wife Aseneth, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. So Joseph went out to the land of Egypt 46. (and he was thirty years old when he stood in the presence of King Pharaoh), and he went through all the regions of Egypt. 47. And the fertility of the seven years came, and the crops, reduced to sheaves, were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt. 48. And all the abundance of grain was stored in every city. 49. And so great was the abundance of wheat that it was equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded all measure. 50. And before the famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Aseneth, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him. 51. And he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, saying: God has made me forget all my labors and my father's house. 52. And the name of the second he called Ephraim, saying: God has made me grow in the land of my poverty. 53. And when the seven years of abundance that had been in Egypt were passed, 54. the seven years of scarcity began to come, which Joseph had predicted: and famine prevailed throughout the whole world, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55. When the people were hungry, they cried out to Pharaoh, begging for food. To them he replied: "Go to Joseph: and whatever he tells you, do." 56. Moreover the famine increased daily throughout all the land: and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians; for the famine had oppressed them also. 57. And all provinces came into Egypt to buy food and to alleviate the evil of want.
Verse 1: Pharaoh's Dream; The Nile and Fertility
After two years — from the liberation of the chief cupbearer, since he had previously been in prison with Joseph for a year, as I showed in chapter 40, verse 4. From this it is clear that Joseph was in prison for three years, and this by God's design: both so that he might expiate certain light faults, from which not even holy men are free (so St. Augustine, sermon 82 On the Seasons); and so that his patience and virtue might be exercised and sharpened; and so that he might be a type of Christ, who was three days in His passion and death.
St. Augustine adds in the same place a remarkable but noteworthy observation, namely that Joseph was punished with two years of prison because he had trusted more in a man than in God, when he placed the hope of his liberation in the chief cupbearer, and therefore God caused that man to forget him for two years, as if to say: "I am showing you that you should seek help from Me rather than from man." Keen here is the eye of St. Augustine, keener still is God's.
PHARAOH SAW A DREAM: HE THOUGHT HE WAS STANDING OVER THE RIVER — over the bank of the Nile. Note: In Egypt, fertility arises from the flooding of the Nile (for it scarcely rains in Egypt), which, being muddy and rich, by coating the fields with silt and thus as it were manuring them, fattens and fertilizes them. Hence the more, higher, and farther the Nile overflows, the greater is the fertility in Egypt. From the height of the Nile's flood, the Egyptians know for certain how great the fertility will be in that year. Hear Pliny, book V, chapter 9: "Egypt," he says, "at twelve cubits (of the Nile rising in height) feels famine; at thirteen it still hungers; fourteen cubits bring cheerfulness, fifteen security, sixteen delight." For this reason Pharaoh here saw lean cows grazing on the bank of the Nile: for these portended a small flooding of the Nile, and consequently that the pastures would be scanty, and those almost only in the vicinity of the Nile. On the contrary, Pharaoh saw fat cows grazing in the marshes remote from the Nile, because these portended fertility throughout all Egypt.
Verse 4: The Lean Cows Devoured the Fat
And they devoured them. The lean cows ate the fat and well-fed cows. WHOSE APPEARANCE WAS WONDERFUL, AND THEIR BODILY CONDITION — which were of elegant form, fatness, and plumpness, so the Hebrew. This portent signified that seven years of barrenness would consume all the grain of the preceding seven years of fertility, as is clear from verse 30. Shrewdly St. Ambrose infers from the seven fat cows that seven lean ones would follow — that is, that from abundance and luxury, famine would be born — in his book On Joseph, chapter 7:
"Even though," he says, "I am not Joseph, I would nonetheless proclaim that those fat cows signified not only wantonness but also carelessness toward divine reverence. For of the wicked it is said: 'Fat bulls have besieged me.' And of the Jewish people it is written: 'He grew fat, and thick, and broad, and forsook God his Maker.' And therefore that dream of worldly abundance could not be perpetual; but there would come a time when a harsh famine would succeed these things."
Verse 5: Seven Ears of Grain
Seven ears of grain. Note that fertility and barrenness are here portended and foreshadowed by two dreams: one of ears of grain, the other of cows; and fittingly so, because fertility chiefly consists in these two things, namely in grain and in livestock. For good farming and cultivation of the land (which the fat cows denote, says Josephus), and the sowing of good seed (which the beautiful and full ears denote) are the two complete and adequate causes of fertility. So Abulensis.
Verse 6: Blighted by the East Wind
BLIGHTED — by a burning wind, the drying East wind.
Verse 9: The Cupbearer Confesses His Sin
I CONFESS MY SIN — of ingratitude and forgetfulness, by which I left my prophet Joseph, who predicted these favorable things for me, in prison and consigned him to oblivion.
Others understand his former sin, committed against the king two years earlier, for which he had been cast into prison by him, so that by this confession of his sin the cupbearer might, as it were, flatter the king and commend and extol his clemency toward one who had ill deserved it.
Verse 12: A Young Man, a Hebrew
A young man — a youth of 28 years: for Joseph was that age at the time.
Verse 14: Shaved and Clothed
THEY BROUGHT JOSEPH OUT OF PRISON, SHAVED HIM, AND CHANGED HIS CLOTHES, AND PRESENTED HIM TO HIM. Note here that Joseph was shaved and changed his clothes, because the ancients allowed prisoners in jail to let their hair and beards grow, as if mourning and in squalor, as Plutarch says of Milo. But those acquitted and freed would cut their hair and beards, and change their clothes as a sign of joy and of a happy lot and fortune.
Verse 16: Without Me, God Will Answer
Without me, God will give a favorable answer to Pharaoh. Pharaoh supposed (as did the historian Justin, book 36) that Joseph interpreted dreams by natural sagacity, of which kind Cicero says: "He who conjectures well, consider him the best prophet." Joseph removes this opinion from himself, and attributes all his divination and foreknowledge not to himself nor to his own cleverness, but to God and to God's revelation, so that Pharaoh might acknowledge and worship Him. Hence the Chaldean translates: "Not from my wisdom, but from the presence of the Lord shall peace be answered to Pharaoh"; and Symmachus: "Not I, but God will answer favorable things to Pharaoh"; and Vatablus: "There is another besides me who will interpret the dream, namely God, who will interpret favorable things for Pharaoh."
Verse 25: The Two Dreams Are One
It is one — in meaning, because both dreams and symbols, both of the ears of grain and of the cows, signify one and the same thing: for, as I said at verse 5, there is a twofold cause of fertility, namely farming, which is done by means of cows and oxen, and sowing, which is done by means of the seed of grain. Conversely, the lack of cultivation and of seed is a twofold and adequate cause of barrenness: the former is signified by the lean cows, the latter by the thin and slender ears.
Verse 26: The Same Force of the Dream
THEY COMPREHEND THE SAME FORCE OF THE DREAM. "Force" — that is, the meaning and signification, as if to say: The seven fat cows signify the same thing as the seven full ears.
Verse 29: Seven Years of Fertility
SEVEN YEARS OF FERTILITY WILL COME. This continuous and mutually succeeding seven-year fertility and barrenness was brought about not by the power of the stars or of nature, but by the work of God, who let the Nile flow freely in the former seven years and held it back in the latter. Hence it could be foreknown and foretold not by astrologers but by God alone, as is clear from verse 16.
Verse 30: The Famine Will Consume the Land
FOR THE FAMINE WILL CONSUME ALL THE LAND — of Egypt and the neighboring regions.
Verse 32: The Repetition Signifies Firmness
IT IS A SIGN OF FIRMNESS — as if to say: The latter dream confirms the former, which was about the same thing. At the same time, this repetition of the dream signifies that the thing signified by the dream is soon to be fulfilled in reality, as follows.
Verses 34-35: A Fifth Part Stored in Granaries
A FIFTH PART OF THE FRUITS, etc. LET HIM GATHER INTO STOREHOUSES — namely, the public storehouses of the king, divided and distributed through individual cities. For other wealthy private individuals were each able to store their own grain: hence not all felt the famine, at least in the first years of barrenness; in famine people also live more frugally. Therefore a fifth part of the fruits of the seven years of fertility, stored in the king's granaries, sufficed to relieve the public famine of the poor and common people that followed. For in such great fertility the supply of grain was very great and almost innumerable, as is clear from verse 49. Finally, even during the famine some crops, especially near the Nile, did grow, but few, which therefore were counted as almost nothing; so much so that it is said in chapter 45, verse 6: "neither plowing nor sowing was possible."
All the Egyptians therefore, during this seven years of fertility, were compelled by the king's command to sell a fifth part of their crops to the king, to be preserved for the seven years of barrenness; or certainly, as Tostatus holds, during this seven years of fertility the king forbade grain to be exported from Egypt and sold to foreigners: and since the supply of grain was immense, some sold a fourth, others a fifth part of their crops, and Joseph purchased them for the king.
AND LET ALL THE GRAIN BE STORED UNDER PHARAOH'S AUTHORITY. Understand that the grain was not threshed or beaten out, but remained attached to its ears, as is clear from verse 47. And this firstly, so that by this means fodder for the livestock — namely straw and chaff — might be stored at the same time. Secondly, so that the grain itself might be better preserved in this way in its husk and stalks: for it had to be kept for seven years, in such a manner that what was stored in the first year of fertility would be dispensed and eaten after the seven years, in the first year of barrenness; what was stored in the second year of fertility would be eaten in the second year of barrenness; what in the third, in the third, and so on. For in this way the grain could easily be kept unspoiled for seven years. So Philo.
ALL THE GRAIN — of that fifth part already mentioned, which alone was to be preserved.
Verse 40: At Your Command All the People Will Obey
AT THE COMMAND OF YOUR MOUTH ALL THE PEOPLE WILL OBEY. In Hebrew it is: all the people will kiss at your mouth — that is, they will kiss the command of your mouth, and venerate it, and immediately submit to it, and willingly obey. Thus in Psalm 2, verse 12, for "embrace discipline," the Hebrew has "kiss the Son" — that is, venerate the Messiah, the Son of God, and receive Him reverently, lovingly, and obediently, as if you were kissing Him.
Secondly, Vatablus translates: at your command all the people will take food, or will be armed — as if to say: I appoint you as second to me, prince of Egypt in time of peace and war, so that you may be the commander of the army. But the Hebrew nashac properly means "to kiss": therefore the former sense is the genuine one. Hence the Chaldean translates: at your word all my people shall be governed. The Septuagint has as our Translator, "will obey."
The Psalmist adds in Psalm 104, verse 22, that Pharaoh "appointed him (Joseph) lord of his house, etc., that he might instruct his princes as he himself was, and teach his elders wisdom." From this passage it is clear that the Egyptians, such as Trismegistus, drew their wisdom and prudence from Joseph and the Hebrews. This will be more evident at Exodus 2:1, at the end.
See here how wisdom and virtue elevate and ennoble Joseph. Truly did Pope Urban say to someone who reproached him for the lowliness of his birth: "Great men are not born but are made by virtue"; and Emperor Maximilian said to a certain rich man offering many thousands of gold pieces to be designated a nobleman: "I can enrich you, but only your own virtue can ennoble you."
Verse 42: The Ring, the Robe, and the Chain
AND HE TOOK THE RING FROM HIS HAND. This ring therefore was a signet ring, which the king gave to Joseph so that in his name he might decree and seal whatever he wished. A king wears a ring both for sealing and for espousal; for by it he, as it were, betroths the commonwealth to himself, says Philo.
A GOLDEN CHAIN. The chain, says Philo, is symbolically given to the king by the people, as if the people were saying to him: I give you this chain as an ornament in your uprightness and prosperity, but rather as a bond and fetter by which you will be constrained in wrongdoing and adversity.
Again Philo and Rupert note that four royal insignia and ornaments of that ancient age are given here, which the king shared with Joseph. For Joseph: first, in place of the fetters of prison, he received a golden chain from the king. Second, in place of a servile bond and iron ring, he received a royal ring. Third, in place of a sordid garb, he was clothed in a linen robe. Fourth, in place of the squalor of a dungeon, he obtained the ample chariot of empire. These four Rupert applies allegorically to Christ rising from the dead.
Mystically, St. Ambrose says in his book On Joseph: "What does the ring placed on the finger mean, except that we should understand that the pontificate was entrusted to his faith, so that he himself might seal others? What does the robe, which is the garment of wisdom, mean, except that the primacy of heavenly prudence was bestowed on him by that King? The golden chain seems to express good understanding. The chariot signifies the lofty summit of merits."
See here in Joseph how humility precedes glory, and how true is that axiom of Christ: "He who humbles himself will be exalted" — namely, after the clouds comes the sun, and after darkness, light. Hear Wisdom chapter 10, verse 13: "She (Wisdom) did not abandon him (Joseph) when sold, but freed him from sinners, and descended with him into the pit (into the cistern into which he was cast by his brothers), and in chains she did not leave him, until she brought him the scepter of the kingdom and power against those who oppressed him, and showed those who had stained him to be liars, and gave him eternal glory." Rightly therefore let this emblem be given to Joseph: "Patient innocence is immense glory." St. Giles, the companion of St. Francis, said admirably: "Even if the Lord should rain stones and rocks from heaven, they will not harm us if we are such as He requires us to be." And St. Chrysostom, homily 63: "See," he says, "how a captive (Joseph) is suddenly made king of all Egypt. Did you see how great a thing it is to bear temptations with thanksgiving? For this reason Paul also said, Romans 5: 'Tribulation produces patience, patience produces tested character, tested character produces hope: hope does not disappoint.' See therefore: He bore afflictions patiently, patience made him tested, being tested he acted in great hope, hope did not disappoint him." And further on: "Just as merchants who wish to collect money cannot increase their wealth in any other way unless they have endured many dangers on land and sea. For it is necessary that they bear the ambushes of robbers and pirates; yet they undertake everything with great eagerness, and because of the expectation of profit they scarcely feel the bitter things they endure. So also we, thinking of the riches and spiritual wares that we may collect here, ought to rejoice and exult, and not contemplate the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen."
Verse 43: The Second Chariot; Abrech
His second chariot — in which the one second to the king was accustomed to ride. So Lipomanus, Pererius, and others. Hence Vatablus translates: the chariot of the second man — that is, the chariot in which he who was second after the king was accustomed to ride. By this chariot therefore Joseph was declared and made the alter ego of Pharaoh, so that in honor and dignity he would be next to him. See here how Joseph does not become insolent in prosperity, just as he was not broken by adversity. For truly St. Augustine says in his Sentences, no. 246: "No misfortune breaks him whom no good fortune corrupts," and conversely.
WITH A HERALD CRYING OUT THAT ALL SHOULD BOW THE KNEE BEFORE HIM. In Hebrew it reads: with a herald crying out abrech, which Aquila, Elias in the Tishbi, and our Translator here render as "bend the knee," so that abrech is the hiphil imperative from the root berech, that is, "knee," and the aleph is put in place of he, for aleph and he are neighboring guttural letters and interchangeable. Or rather, abrech is Egyptian, not Hebrew: for the Egyptian herald was crying out to Egyptians, naturally in Egyptian, abrech, that is, "bend the knee," as I have said. St. Jerome in his Traditions on Genesis explains abrech as if it were the same as "tender father"; for ab in Hebrew means father, and rach means tender. The Chaldean explains it differently: "They cried out," he says, "Abrech, that is, this is the father of the king; for rech among the Egyptians means the same as king," says Lipomanus. Hence the Targumist also translates: they cried out: "Long live the father of the king, who is a prince in wisdom and tender in years." Philo, in his book On Joseph, marvels at the sudden transformation by which in one day he was raised from the lowest to the highest. "Who," he says, "would have expected that within a single day a servant would become a master, a prisoner the most distinguished of all, a deputy warden of the prison would become viceroy, and would inhabit the palace instead of the prison, and from the deepest disgrace ascend to the supreme pinnacle of honor."
Verse 44: I Am Pharaoh
I am Pharaoh: without your command no one shall move a hand — as if to say: I as king promise and swear to you that I will make all my subjects so obedient to you that no one will dare resist your orders; indeed, without your permission they will scarcely dare to move a foot or a hand. This is hyperbole.
The kings of Egypt were called Pharaohs, from the first Pharaoh; just as the same kings after Alexander the Great were called Ptolemies, from Ptolemy son of Lagus, who after Alexander was the first king of Egypt.
Verse 45: Savior of the World; Aseneth
HE CALLED HIM IN THE EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD — because he had freed the world from the destruction of an impending famine. You see here that Joseph is a type of Christ, the Savior of the world. Note: For "savior of the world," the Hebrew is tsophnat paneach, which is read corruptly in the Septuagint as Psonthomphanech. Some think this is a Hebrew word meaning "revealer of secrets," namely of dreams. So Josephus, Philo, the Chaldean, Theodoret, St. Chrysostom, and the Rabbis. But more credence should be given to St. Jerome, who lived for a long time in Judea, who says this word is not Hebrew but Egyptian; for why would Pharaoh, an Egyptian, impose on Joseph in Egypt not an Egyptian but a Hebrew name? Therefore tsophnat paneach in Egyptian means "savior of the world." Hence although the phrase "in the Egyptian language" is not in the Hebrew, it was nonetheless prudently and rightly added by our Translator for the sake of explanation.
Now compare all these honors with the things Joseph had previously suffered, and you will see that he suffered nothing that was not (as Rupert notes) signally recompensed to him. For first, in place of his brothers' hatred, he gained the favor of the king and his princes. Second, in place of exile he obtained exaltation. Third, in place of the labor of his hands in servitude, he received a golden ring. Fourth, in place of the cloak that the adulteress had stripped from him, he was clothed in a linen robe. Fifth, in place of fetters, he was girded with a golden chain. Sixth, in place of having served prisoners, he is now made prince. Seventh, in place of the lowliness of prison, he sits upon the royal chariot. Eighth, in place of having been despised, he is now honored by all with genuflection. Ninth, in place of the name of a slave, he receives a royal name and is called Savior of the world. Tenth, in place of the scorned adulteress and base pleasure, he receives a most noble wife. If God so rewards the labors and afflictions of His own in this life, what will He do in the life to come? Namely: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him."
Allegorically, the Father exalted Joseph — that is, Christ — saying: "This is My beloved Son." The linen robe is the glory of the body, with which His innocence is clothed. He gave Him the ring because the Father set His seal upon Him. The golden chain signifies the glorious endowments of the body. He placed Him upon the chariot because He gave all things into His hands. The herald who went before was John the Baptist. He set Him over all Egypt, that is, the world. He gave Him judgment, and the name Savior of the world, and the bride, the Church.
AND HE GAVE HIM ASENETH AS A WIFE, THE DAUGHTER OF POTIPHERA. The Hebrews, Jerome, Rupert, and Abulensis think that this Potiphera was the same person as Joseph's first master, who was likewise called Potiphar, as I said in chapter 39, verse 4. But it is more true that this one was different from that one: for this one was a priest, that one a commander of the army; this one lived in Heliopolis, that one in Memphis in the royal court. So St. Augustine, Chrysostom, Lyranus, Lipomanus, Oleaster, and Pererius.
Of Heliopolis. It was called Heliopolis, that is, "city of the sun," from the worship of the sun. In Greek it is called by the Septuagint On, and by Ptolemy, Onion.
Verse 46: Thirty Years Old
HE WAS THIRTY YEARS OLD WHEN HE STOOD BEFORE THE KING. Note: Scripture records this number, first, for chronology. Second, so that we may know that Joseph served for 14 years, namely from age 16 to 30. Third, so that we may see that God abundantly compensated Joseph's labors and afflictions: for his calamity lasted only 14 years, but his principate and prosperity lasted 80 years, namely from age 30 to 110, when he died. Fourth, so that we may know that Joseph's virtue surpassed his years: for as a young man he suffered and accomplished so much. So St. Chrysostom. Fifth, so that we may know that this was a mature age, suitable for governing and teaching. Thus David became king at age 30. Ezekiel began to prophesy at age 30. John the Baptist and Christ began to preach at age 30.
Note for chronology: Joseph was 30 years old when he became prince of Egypt; then followed seven years of fertility; then two years of barrenness and famine, when his brothers and father came to him; they came therefore in the ninth year of his rule. His father was then 130 years old, as is clear from chapter 47, verse 9. Joseph himself was then 39 years old, as is clear from the foregoing.
From this it follows, first, that Joseph was born in the 91st year of Jacob. For subtract 39 years of Joseph's life from Jacob's 130, and you will have 91.
It follows secondly that Jacob, fleeing from Esau, came from Canaan into Mesopotamia in the 77th year of his age, and returned from there to Canaan in his 97th year. For Joseph was born in Jacob's 91st year, and he was born in the 14th year after Jacob had come to Mesopotamia, as I showed in Genesis 30. After Joseph was born, Jacob remained in Mesopotamia for six more years, serving for Laban's flocks, so that in the 20th year from his arrival he returned to Canaan, Genesis 31. Therefore Jacob came to Mesopotamia in the 77th year of his age; and from there after 20 years he returned to Canaan, namely in the 97th year of his age.
Verse 49: Grain as the Sand of the Sea
AS THE SAND OF THE SEA. This is hyperbole.
Verse 51: Manasseh
Manasseh — that is, "causing to forget," or "forgetfulness": for the root nasa means "to forget."
Note here the piety and gratitude of Joseph toward God: lest he should ever forget the mercy bestowed on him by God, he established his sons as a perpetual memorial of it, which would constantly be before his eyes. So also did Moses, happy in his exile, when he named his sons Gershom and Eliezer, Exodus 2:22.
Verse 52: Ephraim
EPHRAIM — that is, "fruitful," "increasing"; or "fruit" and "increase," from the root para, which means "he was fruitful." So St. Jerome.
Verse 54: Famine Throughout the World
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD — that is, in a great part of the lands and regions adjacent to Egypt; because, if there had been famine absolutely throughout the entire world, the storehouses and the fifth part of Egypt's crops would by no means have sufficed to relieve it. So Abulensis.
Verse 56: Joseph and Serapis
AND JOSEPH OPENED ALL THE STOREHOUSES. From this benefit and the provisioning by Joseph, many think that Joseph was called Serapis, and that he was worshipped by the Egyptians under the name of Serapis, and that Serapis was none other than Joseph. For Serapis lived at the same time as Joseph and Jacob went down into Egypt. Clement of Alexandria and St. Augustine, book 18 of the City of God, chapters 4 and 5, relate that at the time of the arrival of Jacob and Joseph in Egypt, Apis, king of the Argives, sailed to Egypt and died there, and being buried in a chest was called Serapis, as if soros Apis, that is, "the chest in which Apis was buried"; and that this Apis, or Serapis, became the greatest god of the Egyptians, because he had relieved them from famine and taught them various arts, just as Isis, the wife of Serapis, taught them letters. Hence they worshipped Serapis in the form of a bull, which is the symbol and prognostic of fertility, as we saw at verses 2 and 27. This bull, as long as it lived, the Egyptians fed most delicately; in Egyptian it was called Apis, that is, "bull"; after death, enclosed in a chest, it was called Serapis. When this bull died, the Egyptians sought and fed another one similar to it, marked with white spots.
This bull therefore, called Apis and Serapis, was the god of the Egyptians, whom the Hebrews recently come from Egypt imitated when in Sinai they fashioned and worshipped the golden calf, Exodus 32. Remove from this history of Apis and Serapis the claim that he was king of the Argives — for which perhaps "of the Hebrews" should be substituted — and all the rest agrees with Joseph. For the Gentiles marvelously corrupted the history of Joseph and other Hebrews, and mixed and distorted it with their own fables and fabrications.
Therefore Julius Firmicus, an ancient author who flourished in the year of Christ 337, in his book On the Error of the Profane Religions (which he dedicated to the Emperors Constantius and Constans, and which is extant in the Library of the Holy Fathers, volume 4, chapter 14), Ruffinus, and from them Baronius, volume 4, page 520, and Pierius, book 3 of the Hieroglyphics, folio 25, letter F (who adds that this is a tradition of the Egyptians), and many others are of the opinion that Joseph, on account of so great a benefit by which he provided grain for the Egyptians in famine, was after his death called Serapis by them and worshipped with divine honors. Just as for the same reason Joseph was called by Pharaoh "Savior of the world," which is greater than Serapis. Hence St. Chrysostom, homily 67, teaches that Joseph foresaw this, and therefore commanded the Hebrews that when leaving Egypt they should carry his bones with them, namely lest the Egyptians, prone to superstition, should worship them as the relics of their Savior, or as relics of a deity.
This opinion is supported by the fact that Serapis is depicted as a beardless youth, carrying a basket — namely of grain and bread — on his head. Hence also the bull sacred to him was called Apis and Serapis: both because Joseph interpreted the seven fat cows that Pharaoh saw as a sign of fertility; and because the ox, by plowing, manuring, and threshing, is a cause of fertility — for which reason Moses compares Joseph to an ox, or bull, Deuteronomy 33:17. Hence also that oracle of Serapis, most worthy of Joseph, is celebrated:
"In the beginning is God, then the Word, and with these the Spirit is one: These three are co-eternal, all tending into one."
Hence finally various authors give various etymologies of Serapis, all of which agree with our Joseph. For first, some quite probably derive Serapis from Sar, that is, "prince," and Apis, that is, "bull" — as if you were to say, "Prince of the bull" or "of bulls" — which namely portended fertility to Pharaoh and Joseph, so that Serapis is a word composed of the Hebrew Sar and the Egyptian Apis. For the Egyptians seem to have given Joseph an Egyptian name, or at least a Hebrew-Egyptian one. For the Hebrew Sar, whence Ser and Sir, has passed into many nations and languages. For the Syrians, Chaldeans, Arabs, Muscovites, Tartars, French, and apparently the Egyptians all call a lord or prince Sar or Sir. Joseph therefore was called by the Egyptians Apis, and then Serapis, as if you were to say, "Prince Apis."
Second, others derive Serapis from siros and Apis, that is, "granary" and "Apis" — namely a grain-storage Apis. Third, Julius Firmicus says: Serapis means "Apis of Sarah," or "Apis the prince descended from Sarah, the wife of Abraham." Fourth, others say: The Egyptians corruptly called Joseph Aseph, and by metathesis Apes or Apis, just as the Dutch say Japic for Jacob.
Fifth, others say: Invert abrech and you will have Cerapis, that is, Cerapis or Serapis. For the herald proclaimed to the people before Joseph, Abrech, that is, "bend the knee," verse 43. Sixth, others say: Serapis is said to be as if Schor appaim, that is, "the face of a bull"; for this bull, which was the hieroglyphic of Serapis, was depicted and sculpted with only the face of a bull; for it was nothing other than the head of a bull or calf. Hence Serapis was also called Osiris, as if from schor, that is, "bull"; although Eusebius, book 1 of the Preparation for the Gospel, chapter 6, holds that Osiris is the sun and Isis is the moon, and says Osiris means "many-eyed," as it were; for the sun diffuses many rays from itself, like eyes, and is the symbol of God's providence, which is everywhere watchful. Hence also the Hebrew root schor means "to gaze at something with fixed and intent eyes"; and because the bull gazes with such fixed eyes, it is therefore called schor. But later Egyptians adapted these things to the sun, as the eye of the world, by a new hieroglyphic; for since they had nothing certain about God, some sought their Serapis in heaven, others on earth, some depicted him in human form, others in the form of an ox; and so they devised one hieroglyphic for Serapis and another for Osiris. For it is very likely that the first Serapis, as well as Jupiter, Mercury, Hercules, and the other gods of the pagans, were distinguished and illustrious men, such as was our Joseph here, whom people enrolled among the gods on account of their virtue, power, or merits to the state, and honored them with divine worship.
I have discussed these matters about Serapis at somewhat greater length because they pertain to Joseph, and because they are rare and have not been treated by anyone. This opinion is confirmed by the Author of On the Wonders of Sacred Scripture, book 1, chapter 15: "Joseph," he says, "as a prophetic man foresaw that the Egyptian people, given to idolatry, would at some time wish to worship him, because he had been the author of their earthly magnificence and had freed them from the peril of famine, which indeed they did: for they set up the image of an ox next to Joseph's tomb, because the ox is compared to the man in agriculture. For the same reason, when the children of Israel wished to fabricate an idol in the desert, they made no other statue than a calf, that is, an ox, for this reason above all, that in Egypt he was worshipped next to Joseph's tomb; therefore, lest Joseph succumb to the idolatry of the Egyptians, he commanded his bones to be carried out of Egypt."
Whence Osiris is said to have taught the Egyptians the art of plowing and cultivating fields, which Scripture testifies Joseph did here by means of oxen. And Plutarch, in his book On Isis and Osiris, asserts that the proper name of Osiris was Arsaphes, which clearly alludes to the name Joseph. Furthermore, Osiris, he says, is the same as polyophthalmos, that is, "many-eyed": for os in Egyptian signifies "much," and Siris means "eye." Was not Joseph "many-eyed," that is, all-knowing through the wisdom divinely bestowed upon him, by which he most prudently governed the Egyptians and taught them not only astrology and mathematics, but also the faith and the worship of God, according to Psalm 105:21: "He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions, that he might instruct his princes as himself, and teach his elders wisdom." Hence also on the temple of Serapis, indeed even on the breast of Serapis, a cross was engraved, says Rhodiginus, book 10, chapter 8. And the cross was for the Egyptians a symbol of salvation and of the blessed life; because Joseph taught and by his suffering prefigured the cross of Christ, from which we have both salvation and the blessed life. Thus the management of the grain supply among the Romans was entrusted only to great and wise men. Hence Pliny in his Panegyric: "The management of the grain supply was entrusted to Pompey the Great, and it added no less glory than the expulsion of bribery from the Campus, the driving of the enemy from the sea, and the pacification of the East and the West by his triumphs."