The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 516

1ent and called tor all the magioiana of Ver, 14.-Then Pharaoh aent and oalled Egypt,-the c•rp~~r,, from ~11:1 (tmused_l, to .Joseph, a.nd they brought him hastily (liter- engra,e, whence ~:;io, II stylus (Gesemus), all,:v1 caused him to run) out of the dungeon or from i-m, to see or explain, and Cl~~. to (vuu eh. xl. 16): and he shaved himself,- wnceal, i. e. he who explains hidden or this was exactly in accordance with Egyptian mysterious t.hiugs (Kalisch), were sacred custom (Herod. ii. 36). Wilkinson statos scribes, i•poypaµµan,,, bel_ougiu_g to ~he that "the custom of shaving the head o.s priestly cnste, who were skilled m makmg well as beard wns not confined to the priests and deciphering the hieroglyphics., Besi,i_~s in Egypt, but WM general among all classes " figuring in the Cour~ of Pha~aoh (Exo_d. vu. (Rawlinson's 'Herodotus,' vol. ii. p. 49 ; cf. 11 22 • .iii. 3 • XlV. 15) m the time of • Ancient Egyptians,' vol. ii. pp. 330-332, M~ses, they rcct{r again at a later period in ed. 1878). That the verb is not more exactly that of the Babylonian monarch Nebuchad- defined by a term following, such as the head nezzar (Dan. i. 20 ; ii. 2)-and all the wise (Numb. vi. 9), the beard (2 Sam. x. 4), but men thereof. The c•~~q, from tl;l':1, the stands alone (the only instance of its in- transitive use), appears to suggest that the 11rimary idea of which is that of _jud[png writer was familiar with the ctractica of (Gesenius), were persons capable of Judgmg, shaving (vide Havernick, 'Intro . , ' § 21)- hence persons endowed with pre-eminent and che.nged hie raiment,-as required by abilities for the prosecution of the ordinary the customs of Egypt ("llide Hengstenberg's business of life, the cultivation of the arts ' Egypt,' p. 30 ; cf. eh. xxxv. ~)-and came and sciences, the practice of di vina tio_n, tho (or went) in unto Pharaoh. interpreting of dreams, and other kmdred Ver, 15.-And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, occupations. They were the sages of the I have dreamed a dream, and there is none nation. And Pharaoh told them bis dream; that can interpret it (literally, and inter- but there was none that could interpret preting it there is no one) : a.nd I have them unto Pharaoh. The magicians of heard say of thee, that thou canst under- Egypt 'll'ere not so conceited as their brethren stand a dream to interpret it-literally, I in Babylon afterwards showed themselves to have heard of thee, saying, thou hearest a be, Dan. ii 4 (Lawson). That they conld dream to interpret it. not explain the dream, though couched in the symbolical language of the time, was no Ver. 16.-And Joseph answered Pharaoh, doubt surprising; bnt "the things of God saying, It is not in me (literally, not I): knoweth no man, bnt the Spirit of God" God-Elohim (cf. eh. xl. 8)-shall give (1 Cor. ii. 11), and they~ whom the Spirit shall Pharaoh an answer of peace - literally, :ioth reveal them (1 Cor. u. 10). amwer the peace of Pharaoh, i e. what shaJl be for the welfare of Pharaoh. Vers. 9-13.-Then spake the chief butler The rendering • Av,v roii 0,oii ovr: a.1ror:p,- unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my e;,,nra, ro <1WT71p,ov wapa,:. (LXX. ), though faults this day :-literally, my faults I (sc. giving the sense, fails in accuracy of trans- am) remembering to-day; but whether he lation. understood by his faults his ingratitude to Vera. 17-24.-Pharaoh then relates his Joseph or his offence against Pharaoh com- dreams in substantially the same term_s o.s mentators are not agreed, though the latter those in which they have already been remted, seems the more probable-Pharaoh waa only adding concerning the lean kine that wroth with his servants,-literally, broke they were (vor. 19) such as I never_ saw out against them (vide eh. xl. 2)-and put (literally, I never saw such as these) 1n all me in ward in the captain of the guard's the land of Egypt for badness : and that house -literally, put me in custody of the (ver. 21) when they had eaten them (i. e. the lwuse ' of the captain of the slaughterers good kine) up, it oould not be known they (cf. eh. xl. 3)-both me and the chief baker: had eaten them ;-literally, and they (i e, and we dreamed a dream in one night, I the good kine) went ~nto the _interior_P,arts, and he· we dreamed each man according to i. e. the stomach (of the bad kme), andit1~a,a the interpretation of bia dream (vide eh. not known that they had gone int~ the in- xl. 5). And there was there with ua a terior parts-but they (the bad k_rne) were young man, an B'ebre~, servant .~o the still ill-favoured, as at the beglllllmg- captain of the guard (vi.de eh. xxxvn. 36); literally, and their appeai-ance was bad as and we told him (sc. our dreams), and he in the beqinnin(l, i. c. previously; and con- interpreted to us our dreams ("llide eh. xl. cerning the thin and blasted cars, thnt they 12, 13, 18, 19); to each man accor_ding to were also (ver. 23) withered--TW-'~~. from bis dream he did interpret. And 1t came l:J~:i to be hard meaning either barren (Gese- to paaa, as he interpreted to us, so it was i me he (not Pharaoh, but Joseph) resto1;ed ni;s•), tlry(Fiirst), or sapless (Kaliscb)-a wo~d unto mine office, and him he hanged {vide which the LXX. and the Ynlgate both omit, eh. xl. 21, 22). Onkelos ex_plains by 1¥~, flowering, but not OB. XLI. 1-46.] THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 463