The first seven years of plenty were meant to prepare for the second seven years of dearth. It gives hope that the people heeded and were able to prepare sufficiently.
Genesis 41:
Genesis 41:
14 ¶Then Pharaoh
sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he
shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have
dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say
of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is
not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream,
behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
18 And, behold, there came up out of the river
seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after
them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all
the land of Egypt for badness:
20 And the lean and the ill favoured kine did
eat up the first seven fat kine:
21 And when they had eaten them up, it could
not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at
the beginning. So I awoke.
22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven
ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
23 And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin,
and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good
ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare
it to me.
25 ¶And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of
Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven good kine are seven years; and
the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
27 And the seven thin and ill favoured kine
that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with
the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
28 This is the thing which I have spoken unto
Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great
plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30 And there shall arise after them seven
years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt;
and the famine shall consume the land;
31 And the plenty shall not be known in the
land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
32 And for that the dream was doubled unto
Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will
shortly bring it to pass.
33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man
discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint
officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the
seven plenteous years.
35 And let them gather all the food of those
good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them
keep food in the cities.
36 And that food shall be for store to the
land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt;
that the land perish not through the famine.
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46 ¶And Joseph was
thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went
out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth
brought forth by handfuls.
48 And he gathered up all the food of the
seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the
cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in
the same.
49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the
sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before
the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of
On bare unto him.
51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn
Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my
father’s house.
52 And the name of the second called he
Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
53 ¶And the seven years of plenteousness, that
was in the land of Egypt, were ended.
54 And the seven years of dearth began to
come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all
the land of Egypt there was bread.
55 And when all the land of Egypt was
famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the
Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
56 And the famine was over all the face of the
earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and
the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.
57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph
for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
