Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Genesis 41:1-57
Joseph the Optimist Genesis 41:33 Neither the personality nor the public position of Joseph accounts for his effect on posterity. His peculiarity is not that he rises to a pinnacle of earthly splendour. It is that his splendour has come out of his dungeon. I. The portrait of Joseph is a philosophical picture the earliest attempt to delineate a theory of the universe in the form of the narrative. Joseph is made the spokesman of the new evangel. He comes before us as the advocate for optimism.... read more
John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 41:1-57
The Dreams of Pharaoh and the Advancement of Joseph1. Pharaoh] It is believed that a dynasty of Asiatic (perhaps Bedouin) conquerors, known as the Hyksôs or Shepherd kings, were now in power in Egypt. Their rule lasted for 500 years, until 1700 or 1600 b.c., when a native Nubian dynasty from Thebes expelled the invaders. The court was at Zoan on the eastern frontier of Egypt. The elevation of Joseph to an almost royal position, and the welcome extended to his kinsmen, were natural at the hands... read more