Two years after the cupbearer forgot, Pharaoh dreams—seven fat cows devoured by seven thin, seven plump ears swallowed by seven blighted. Egypt’s wise men fail to interpret. Finally, the cupbearer remembers the Hebrew prisoner. Joseph is summoned, shaved, and brought before Pharaoh in a single morning. His response: “It is not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer.” Seven years of plenty, seven of famine—and Joseph offers a plan to survive it. Pharaoh’s response is immediate: signet ring, fine linen, second chariot, authority over all Egypt. Joseph was seventeen in the pit; he’s thirty now. Thirteen years of preparation he didn’t know was preparation. He names his sons Manasseh (“God made me forget my hardship”) and Ephraim (“God made me fruitful in the land of my affliction”). The famine spreads. All the earth comes to buy grain. Including, eventually, ten brothers.

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