After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river,

Post duos annos vidit Pharao somnium. Putabat se stare super fluvium,

Then, two years afterwards, Pharao himself had a dream. He thought that he was standing by the Nile,

Out of which came up seven kine, very beautiful and fat: and they fed in marshy places.

de quo ascendebant septem boves, pulchræ et crassæ nimis: et pascebantur in locis palustribus.

and out of its channel there came up seven heifers, sleek and well fattened, which began feeding on the river bank, among the reeds.

Other seven also came up out of the river, ill favoured, and leanfleshed: and they fed on the very bank of the river, in green places:

Aliæ quoque septem emergebant de flumine, fœdæ confectæque macie: et pascebantur in ipsa amnis ripa in locis virentibus:

Then seven others came up, also out of the river, ill-favoured and ill-nourished; and these too stood grazing where it was green, close to the river.

And they devoured them, whose bodies were very beautiful and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke.

devoraveruntque eas, quarum mira species et habitudo corporum erat. Expergefactus Pharao,

And it seemed as if they ate up those other seven, that were so fine and well fed. With that Pharao awoke,

He slept again, and dreamed another dream: Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk full and fair:

rursum dormivit, et vidit alterum somnium: septem spicæ pullulabant in culmo uno plenæ atque formosæ:

and when he slept again, it was to dream a second dream. This time, there were seven ears of corn growing from a single stalk, all plump and fair,

Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted,

aliæ quoque totidem spicæ tenues, et percussæ uredine oriebantur,

and another seven ears, all shrunken and blighted, came up in their turn,

And devoured all the beauty of the former. Pharao awaked after his rest:

devorantes omnium priorum pulchritudinem. Evigilans Pharao post quietem,

to eat up the fair promise of the other seven. Pharao, then, awoke from his dream,

And when morning was come, being struck with fear, he sent to all the interpreters of Egypt, and to all the wise men: and they being called for, he told them his dream, and there was not any one that could interpret it.

et facto mane, pavore perterritus, misit ad omnes conjectores Ægypti, cunctosque sapientes, et accersitis narravit somnium, nec erat qui interpretaretur.

and as soon as it was daylight, he sent in great confusion of mind for all the diviners and all the wise men of Egypt. When they answered his summons, he told them of his dream, without finding anyone who could interpret it.

Then at length the chief butler remembering, said: I confess my sin:

Tunc demum reminiscens pincernarum magister, ait: Confiteor peccatum meum:

And now, at last, the chief cup-bearer remembered; I am much to blame, he said.

The king being angry with his servants, commanded me and the chief baker to be cast into the prison of the captain of the soldiers:

iratus rex servis suis, me et magistrum pistorum retrudi jussit in carcerem principis militum:

When thou, my lord, wast vexed with thy servants, thou didst commit me and thy chief cook to prison, with the captain of thy guard in charge of us;

Where in one night both of us dreamed a dream foreboding things to come.

ubi una nocte uterque vidimus somnium præsagum futurorum.

and there, on a single night, either of us had a dream which foretold what was to become of us.

There was there a young man a Hebrew, servant to the same captain of the soldiers: to whom we told our dreams,

Erat ibi puer hebræus, ejusdem ducis militum famulus: cui narrantes somnia,

One of our fellow-prisoners, a Hebrew slave, belonging to this same captain, heard what our dreams were,

And we heard what afterwards the event of the thing proved to be so. For I was restored to my office: and he was hanged upon a gibbet.

audivimus quidquid postea rei probavit eventus; ego enim redditus sum officio meo, et ille suspensus est in cruce.

and gave us an account of them which the event proved right, when I was restored to my office, and that other was hung on a gibbet.

Forthwith at the king’s command, Joseph was brought out of the prison, and they shaved him, and changing his apparel, brought him in to him.

Protinus ad regis imperium eductum de carcere Joseph totonderunt: ac veste mutata obtulerunt ei.

With that, the king sent to have Joseph released from prison and brought before him, with his beard shaved and new clothes to wear.

And he said to him: I have dreamed dreams, and there is no one that can expound them: now I have heard that thou art very wise at interpreting them.

Cui ille ait: Vidi somnia, nec est qui edisserat: quæ audivi te sapientissime conjicere.

I have had certain dreams, he said, and no one can tell me the meaning of them; I have heard of thee as one who can interpret such things with sovereign skill.

Joseph answered: Without me, God shall give Pharao a prosperous answer.

Respondit Joseph: Absque me Deus respondebit prospera Pharaoni.

No skill of mine is needed, said Joseph; the Lord will give Pharao his answer, and a favourable one.

So Pharao told what he had dreamed: Methought I stood upon the bank of the river,

Narravit ergo Pharao quod viderat: Putabam me stare super ripam fluminis,

So Pharao described what he had seen; I thought I was standing on the river bank,

And seven kine came up out of the river exceeding beautiful and full of flesh: and they grazed on green places in a marshy pasture.

et septem boves de amne conscendere, pulchras nimis, et obesis carnibus: quæ in pastu paludis virecta carpebant.

and seven heifers came up out of the stream, sleek and well fed, that grazed on the rushes, there in the marsh-land.

And behold, there followed these, other seven kine, so very ill favoured and lean, that I never saw the like in the land of Egypt:

Et ecce, has sequebantur aliæ septem boves, in tantum deformes et macilentæ, ut numquam tales in terra Ægypti viderim:

Then, on a sudden, seven other heifers followed them, so pinched and starved that in all this land of Egypt I never saw the like.

And they devoured and consumed the former,

quæ, devoratis et consumptis prioribus,

These ate up the first seven, wholly consuming them,

And yet gave no mark of their being full: but were as lean and ill favoured as before. I awoke, and then fell asleep again,

nullum saturitatis dedere vestigium: sed simili macie et squalore torpebant. Evigilans, rursus sopore depressus,

and yet they shewed no sign of having had their fill; they languished there, as gaunt and wretched as ever. Then I woke up, but was soon plunged in sleep again;

And dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn grew upon one stalk, full and very fair.

vidi somnium. Septem spicæ pullulabant in culmo uno plenæ atque pulcherrimæ.

and this time I dreamed that seven ears of corn, plump and fair, were growing from a single stalk,

Other seven also thin and blasted, sprung of the stock:

Aliæ quoque septem tenues et percussæ uredine, oriebantur e stipula:

until seven others, all shrunken and blighted, sprang up out of the stubble near by

And they devoured the beauty of the former: I told this dream to the conjecturers, and there is no man that can expound it.

quæ priorum pulchritudinem devoraverunt. Narravi conjectoribus somnium, et nemo est qui edisserat.

and devoured all the fair promise of the first seven. This is the dream I have told to these diviners of mine, and none of them can tell me what it means.

Joseph answered: The king’s dream is one: God hath shewn to Pharao what he is about to do.

Respondit Joseph: Somnium regis unum est: quæ facturus est Deus, ostendit Pharaoni.

My lord, answered Joseph, the two dreams are all one, God is warning my lord Pharao of what he intends to do.

The seven beautiful kine, and the seven full ears, are seven years of plenty: and both contain the same meaning of the dream.

Septem boves pulchræ, et septem spicæ plenæ, septem ubertatis anni sunt: eamdemque vim somnii comprehendunt.

The seven sleek cattle, the seven plump ears, have the same sense in the two dreams; they stand for seven years of plenty.

And the seven lean and thin kine that came up after them, and the seven thin ears that were blasted with the burning wind, are seven years of famine to come:

Septem quoque boves tenues atque macilentæ, quæ ascenderunt post eas, et septem spicæ tenues, et vento urente percussæ, septem anni venturæ sunt famis.

Whereas the seven gaunt, starved cattle which came up after them, and the seven shrunken, blighted ears of corn, prophesy seven years of famine.

Which shall be fulfilled in this order:

Qui hoc ordine complebuntur:

And they will come about in this order;

Behold, there shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt:

ecce septem anni venient fertilitatis magnæ in universa terra Ægypti,

first, there will be seven harvests of great abundance all over this land of Egypt,

After which shall follow other seven years of so great scarcity, that all the abundance before shall be forgotten: for the famine shall consume all the land,

quos sequentur septem anni alii tantæ sterilitatis, ut oblivioni tradatur cuncta retro abundantia: consumptura est enim fames omnem terram,

and they will be followed by seven years of such drought as will efface the memory of the good times that went before them. Famine will ravage the whole country,

And the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the greatness of the plenty.

et ubertatis magnitudinem perditura est inopiæ magnitudo.

till the evil effect of the drought does away with all the good effect of those abundant harvests.

And for that thou didst see the second time a dream pertaining to the same thing: it is a token of the certainty, and that the word of God cometh to pass, and is fulfilled speedily.

Quod autem vidisti secundo ad eamdem rem pertinens somnium: firmitatis indicium est, eo quod fiat sermo Dei, et velocius impleatur.

That thou shouldst have dreamed twice to the same purpose, is proof that God’s decree stands firm; what he foretells will come about, and there will be no delay in its fulfilment.

Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt:

Nunc ergo provideat rex virum sapientem et industrium, et præficiat eum terræ Ægypti:

It is for thee, my lord king, to find some man that has the wisdom and the skill for it, and put the whole of Egypt under his charge.

That he may appoint overseers over all the countries: and gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits, during the seven fruitful years,

qui constituat præpositos per cunctas regiones: et quintam partem fructuum per septem annos fertilitatis,

He must appoint a commissioner for each region, to collect a fifth of the harvest during the seven years of plenty which are now upon us, and store it up in barns.

That shall now presently ensue: and let all the corn be laid up under Pharao’s hands, and be reserved in the cities.

qui jam nunc futuri sunt, congreget in horrea: et omne frumentum sub Pharaonis potestate condatur, serveturque in urbibus.

All this reserve of corn must be held at the royal disposition, and kept in the various cities,

And let it be in readiness, against the famine of seven years to come, which shall oppress Egypt, and the land shall not be consumed with scarcity.

Et præparetur futuræ septem annorum fami, quæ oppressura est Ægyptum, et non consumetur terra inopia.

to make provision for the seven years’ famine by which Egypt will be overtaken; if not, the whole land will perish for want of it.

The counsel pleased Pharao and all his servants.

Placuit Pharaoni consilium et cunctis ministris ejus:

The plan commended itself to Pharao and to all his courtiers.

And he said to them: Can we find such another man, that is full of the spirit of God?

locutusque est ad eos: Num invenire poterimus talem virum, qui spiritu Dei plenus sit?

And now he asked them, Where are we to find another man such as this, so full of God’s inspiration?

He said therefore to Joseph: Seeing God hath shewn thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee?

Dixit ergo ad Joseph: Quia ostendit tibi Deus omnia quæ locutus es, numquid sapientiorem et consimilem tui invenire potero?

Then he turned to Joseph, and said, Every word thou hast spoken comes to thee revealed by God, and shall I look for some other whose wisdom can match thine?

Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee.

Tu eris super domum meam, et ad tui oris imperium cunctus populus obediet: uno tantum regni solio te præcedam.

Thou shalt have charge of my household and all my people shall obey thy word of command; thou shalt share all I have, except this royal throne.

And again Pharao said to Joseph: Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt.

Dixitque rursus Pharao ad Joseph: Ecce, constitui te super universam terram Ægypti.

Hereby, Pharao said to Joseph, I put the whole land of Egypt under thy care.

And he took his ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand: and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold about his neck.

Tulitque annulum de manu sua, et dedit eum in manu ejus: vestivitque eum stola byssina, et collo torquem auream circumposuit.

And with that, he took off the signet-ring from his own hand, and put it on Joseph’s hand instead; gave him robes, too, of lawn, and hung a gold chain about his neck;

And he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt.

Fecitque eum ascendere super currum suum secundum, clamante præcone, ut omnes coram eo genu flecterent, et præpositum esse scirent universæ terræ Ægypti.

then bade him mount on a chariot that was next in honour to his own, and would have a herald proclaim that all must do him reverence, and acknowledge him as ruler of the whole land of Egypt.

And the king said to Joseph: I am Pharao; without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

Dixit quoque rex ad Joseph: Ego sum Pharao: absque tuo imperio non movebit quisquam manum aut pedem in omni terra Ægypti.

And he gave Joseph this assurance, On the word of Pharao, no one in all Egypt shall be free to move hand or foot without thy permission.

And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue, The saviour of the world. And he gave him to wife Aseneth the daughter of Putiphare priest of Heliopolis. Then Joseph went out to the land of Egypt:

Vertitque nomen ejus, et vocavit eum, lingua ægyptiaca, Salvatorem mundi. Deditque illi uxorem Aseneth filiam Putiphare sacerdotis Heliopoleos. Egressus est itaque Joseph ad terram Ægypti

He gave him a new name, calling him in Egyptian Saviour of the World; and bestowed on him the hand of Aseneth, daughter of Putiphare, that was priest at Heliopolis.So Joseph set out on his mission to the land of Egypt,

(Now he was thirty years old when he stood before king Pharao) and he went round all the countries of Egypt.

(triginta autem annorum erat quando stetit in conspectu regis Pharaonis), et circuivit omnes regiones Ægypti.

having thus won the favour of king Pharao when he was only thirty years old; and there was no part of Egypt he did not visit.

And the fruitfulness of the seven years came: and the corn being bound up into sheaves was gathered together into the barns of Egypt.

Venitque fertilitas septem annorum: et in manipulos redactæ segetes congregatæ sunt in horrea Ægypti.

Seven years of abundance came, and the corn was bound in sheaves and taken away to all the storehouses that could be found in Egypt;

And all the abundance of grain was laid up in every city.

Omnis etiam frugum abundantia in singulis urbibus condita est.

all that could be spared of the crops was thus stored away in the various cities.

And there was so great abundance of wheat, that it was equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded measure.

Tantaque fuit abundantia tritici, ut arenæ maris coæquaretur, et copia mensuram excederet.

And indeed the yield of wheat was so rich that it might have been sand by the sea-shore; there was no measuring the amount of it.

And before the famine came, Joseph had two sons born: whom Aseneth the daughter of Putiphare priest of Heliopolis bore unto him.

Nati sunt autem Joseph filii duo antequam veniret fames: quos peperit ei Aseneth filia Putiphare sacerdotis Heliopoleos.

In these years before the famine came, Joseph’s wife Aseneth, daughter of Putiphare that was priest at Heliopolis, bore him two sons.

And he called the name of the firstborn Manasses, saying: God hath made me to forget all my labours, and my father’s house.

Vocavitque nomen primogeniti Manasses, dicens: Oblivisci me fecit Deus omnium laborum meorum, et domus patris mei.

He called his first-born Manasses, Oblivion; God has bidden me forget all my troubles, said he, forget my home.

And he named the second Ephraim, saying: God hath made me to grow in the land of my poverty.

Nomen quoque secundi appellavit Ephraim, dicens: Crescere me fecit Deus in terra paupertatis meæ.

The second he called Ephraim, as if he would say of God, Hiphrani, he has made me fruitful, in this land where I was once so poor.

Now when the seven years of the plenty that had been in Egypt were past:

Igitur transactis septem ubertatis annis, qui fuerant in Ægypto,

So the first seven years passed, years of plenty for Egypt;

The seven years of scarcity, which Joseph had foretold, began to come: and the famine prevailed in the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.

cœperunt venire septem anni inopiæ, quos prædixerat Joseph: et in universo orbe fames prævaluit, in cuncta autem terra Ægypti panis erat.

and now, as Joseph had prophesied, seven years of scarcity began; famine reigned all over the world, but everywhere in Egypt there was bread to be had.

And when there also they began to be famished, the people cried to Pharao for food. And he said to them: Go to Joseph: and do all that he shall say to you.

Qua esuriente, clamavit populus ad Pharaonem, alimenta petens. Quibus ille respondit: Ite ad Joseph: et quidquid ipse vobis dixerit, facite.

When food grew scarce, there was ever a cry made to Pharao for bread, and still he would answer, Betake yourselves to Joseph, do what he bids you.

And the famine increased daily in all the land: and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold to the Egyptians: for the famine had oppressed them also.

Crescebat autem quotidie fames in omni terra: aperuitque Joseph universa horrea, et vendebat Ægyptiis: nam et illos oppresserat fames.

And Joseph, as the famine grew daily worse everywhere, opened the storehouses and made the Egyptians, too, buy their corn, for they were as hungry as the rest.

And all provinces came into Egypt, to buy food, and to seek some relief of their want.

Omnesque provinciæ veniebant in Ægyptum, ut emerent escas, et malum inopiæ temperarent.

Soon the whole world was coming to Egypt and buying food to relieve its want.