“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. (Joseph is a righteous and upright man and consequently an understanding of the Proverbs 27:2 principle that states “let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips” is inherently ingrained into his very being. It is also important to recognise here that Joseph is yet a prisoner within this context and automatically esteems himself as such; he harbours no ambitions or desire for promotion. I doubt in his humility he is even able to recognise that he himself is the epitome of a wise and discerning man; no, he is merely providing an objective, factual description of the type of man most suitable for the task that he is about to propose, ironically by that very selfsame wisdom of which he speaks.) Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers (or: “overseers”) over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. (Yet another delightful irony is seen here in that Joseph proposes that Pharaoh – in his capacity as ruler over all Egypt and with an authority consequently his own – order and delegate in such and such a manner, and yet it is by these very proposals that Joseph is in fact proving what a capable and perfect ruler he himself is. In other words, if Pharaoh heeds his advice he is in fact merely acting on Joseph’s behalf in re-enacting what Joseph himself would have done had he been in his position. The precious principle of “leading by serving” that our Lord came to fulfil perfectly during His time here on earth is already seen here in our Joseph: Joseph is effectively leading Pharaoh in such a way that Pharaoh comes to see himself as a capable and wise ruler, without realising that he has been beautifully guided and positioned by Joseph to lead well. We are never to cleave to wisdom for our own sakes but are constantly to teach and impart it to others with the heart of a servant.) And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up (how precious to recognise the parallels between what Joseph is proposing here and what he is proving through his own conduct concerning what The LORD has done for him, as described in Proverbs 2:7: “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright . . . ) grain under the authority (literally: “hand”) of Pharaoh (in other words, Joseph inherently understands in his wisdom that the people will never heed his – “a Hebrew man’s”, see Verses 9-13 – advice to store up food during the years of plenty, but would mock the suggestion, not unlike their ancestors mocked Noah when he built the ark; no, it is by the royal decree of Pharaoh alone that he will be able to force the people to act wisely on their own behalf), and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve (literally: “supply”) for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish (or: “be cut off”) during the famine (Joseph is subtly, but effectively warning Pharaoh here that the famine will be so severe that if he does not heed his advice and put the aforementioned measures in place, the land of Egypt will most assuredly be no more).”

“³³Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. ³⁵And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. ³⁶Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

– Genesis 41:33-36 (NKJV)