Genesis 41:16

 Genesis 41:16

And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

a. ASV: And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And Joseph answereth Pharaoh, saying, 'Without me -- God doth answer Pharaoh with peace.' [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: Joseph answered Pharaoh, It is not in me; God [not I] will give Pharaoh a [favorable] answer of peace. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “That is beyond me; it is God Who will respond with Pharaoh's welfare.” [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

f. The Israel Bible: Yosef answered Pharaoh, saying, “Not I”! Hashem will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.” [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

1. “And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me…”

a. [And] Joseph [Strong: 3130 Yowceph yo-safe' future of 3254; let him add (or perhaps simply active participle adding); Joseph, the name of seven Israelites:--Joseph.]

b. answered [Strong: 6030 `anah aw-naw' a primitive root; properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extens. to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce:--give account, afflict (by mistake for 6031), (cause to, give) answer, bring low (by mistake for 6031), cry, hear, Leannoth, lift up, say, X scholar, (give a) shout, sing (together by course), speak, testify, utter, (bear) witness.]

c. Pharaoh [Strong: 6547 Par`oh par-o' of Egyptian derivation; Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kings:--Pharaoh.]

d. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 22 6 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

e. saying [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

f. [It is] not [in me] [Strong: 1107 bil`adey bil-ad-ay' or balmadey {bal-ad-ay'}; constructive plural from 1077 and 5703, not till, i.e. (as preposition or adverb) except, without, besides:--beside, not (in), save, without.]

2. “...God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

a. God [Strong: 430 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

b. [shall give] Pharaoh [Strong: 6547 Par`oh par-o' of Egyptian derivation; Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kings:--Pharaoh.]

c. [an] answer [Strong: 6030 `anah aw-naw' a primitive root; properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extens. to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce:--give account, afflict (by mistake for 6031), (cause to, give) answer, bring low (by mistake for 6031), cry, hear, Leannoth, lift up, say, X scholar, (give a) shout, sing (together by course), speak, testify, utter, (bear) witness.]

d. [of] peace [Strong: 7965 shalowm shaw-lome' or shalom {shaw-lome'}; from 7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:--X do, familiar, X fare, favour, + friend, X great, (good) health, (X perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (X all is, be) well, X wholly.]

1). In accordance with his goodness, for God is a good and merciful God, God was giving Pharaoh a means of averting a disaster for Egypt through the dreams and giving Joseph the interpretation of the dreams. Henry Morris writes in his book The Genesis Record, it was not “for the purpose of embarrassing or dethroning the king of Egypt. As a matter of fact his own control over the country was destined to be strengthened by these events; but the underlying purpose of it all had to do rather with God’s plan for Israel. Therefore not only did God give Joseph the true interpretation of the dreams, but also an effective plan of action for Pharaoh.”

a). Pharaoh was troubled by the dreams. Joseph specificall responded to Pharaoh with the words, “God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

2). God giving dreams and their interpretation here is an example of the gifts of the Spirit, in particular, the word of wisdom, one of the gifts of the Spirit in operation. Kenneth E. Hagin writes in “Concerning Spiritual Gifts”: “The difference between the two gifts, the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom is that the revelation which the word of knowledge brings is always present tense or something which happened in the past. The word of wisdom always speaks of the future.” Here a 14 year plan to avert a disaster that would have come upon the known world. All the nations around Egypt suffered from this famine, that was allowed by God to happen. He did not cause it, but in his goodness, mercy, and grace provided a means to endure through it.