Joseph concludes his explanation of the king’s dream by proposing a practical way for providing for the years of famine. He would store up grain during the seven years of plenty. The first step to be taken to carry out this plan is to choose someone capable of organizing and administering the project.

Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man discreet and wise: Now therefore shifts Joseph’s speech from the interpretation to a concrete proposal; this introduction of a proposal may be expressed as “With this in mind you should…” or “So I advise you….” In one situation where it is acceptable for people to speak their minds to their leaders, the translation says “Well, you listen to me now, king:….” Select is literally “look for.” Discreet translates a word meaning intelligent, having understanding or insight. This person should also be wise, that is, have knowledge and sound judgment.

Let Pharaoh …: Joseph’s advice to the king is given as a series of third person imperatives. In many languages this will be much more natural if expressed in the second person, as in Good News Translation “you should choose….”

Set him over the land of Egypt: that is, “place him in charge of the country,” or “give him the power to rule….”

We may translate verse 33, for example, “So, your majesty, you should choose an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the whole country.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .