Genesis 37:10
in Genesis 37He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
KJV
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
⋯
This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
7 notes on this verseMoreover, Joseph saw another dream and told it to his father and brothers, that the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him. On this account his father reproved him and said, "What will be the meaning of this vision that you have dreamed? Can it be that I and your mother and your brothers will come and bow to the ground before you?" Who is he before whom parents and brothers bowed down to the ground but Jesus Christ?
This site's exposition
the sun and moon and eleven stars
on Genesis 37:9-11
The second dream says the same thing on a larger scale, the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down. Jacob rebukes the telling and then keeps in mind what Joseph said. Rachel had already died at Genesis 35:19, and Clarke names that difficulty about the moon and leaves it standing. His brothers were jealous of him.
This site's exposition
but his father rebuked him
Jacob asks, with a rebuke, whether he himself will bow to the ground before his son. Isaac had blessed Jacob at Genesis 27:29 with the wish that his mother's sons would bow down to him. Now he hears that blessing spoken over his own son.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Moreover, Joseph had another dream in which the sun, the moon and eleven stars worshiped him. His father replied to him, "Can it be that I and your mother and your brothers will come to bow to the ground before you?"
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren,....
Note, The faith of God's people in God's promises is often sorely shaken by their misunderstanding the promises and then suggesting the improbabilities that attend the performance; but God is doing his own work, and will do it, whether we understand him aright or no.
Modern Voices1 voice
Numbers in dreams generally represent the identical number in waking life. However, the number will probably be linked to something that needs to be interpreted symbolically. For example, when Joseph dreamed of eleven stars, the eleven was literal but the stars were symbolic and actually represented his brothers.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He told his father of this dream concerning the sun, moon and stars, but not of the first one concerning the sheaves because he himself recognized its interpretation and knew that the sun alluded to his father, and his father rebuked him.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
In his mind. This is also the correct meaning of kept in They kept His testimonies (Ps.:7).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְסַפֵּ֣ר | vaysaper | and he recounted [it] | H5608 → | 159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אָבִיו֮ | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶחָיו֒ | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיִּגְעַר־ | vaiyigar- | and he rebuked | H1605 → | |
| בּ֣וֹ | bo | <in> <the> him | ||
| אָבִ֔יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| מָ֛ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הַחֲל֥וֹם | hachalom | [is] the dream | H2472 → | 65 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָלָ֑מְתָּ | chalameta | you have dreamed | H2492 → | 29 times |
| הֲב֣וֹא | havo' | ¿ really <come> | H935 → | 2568 times |
| נָב֗וֹא | navo' | will we come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֲנִי֙ | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| וְאִמְּךָ֣ | veimekha | and mother your | H517 → | 220 times |
| וְאַחֶ֔יךָ | veacheikha | and brothers your | H251 → | 630 times |
| לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֥ת | lehishtachavot | to bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אָֽרְצָה׃ | ʾaretzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיְסַפֵּ֣רand he recounted [it]
vaysaperH5608 →159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אָבִיו֮father his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
אֶחָיו֒brothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
וַיִּגְעַר־and he rebuked
vaiyigar-H1605 →
בּ֣וֹ<in> <the> him
bo
אָבִ֔יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֔וֹto <the> him
lo
מָ֛הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
הַחֲל֥וֹם[is] the dream
hachalomH2472 →65 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חָלָ֑מְתָּyou have dreamed
chalametaH2492 →29 times
הֲב֣וֹא¿ really <come>
havo'H935 →2568 times
נָב֗וֹאwill we come
navo'H935 →2568 times
אֲנִי֙I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
וְאִמְּךָ֣and mother your
veimekhaH517 →220 times
וְאַחֶ֔יךָand brothers your
veacheikhaH251 →630 times
לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֥תto bow down
lehishtachavotH7812 →172 times
לְךָ֖to <the> you
lekha
אָֽרְצָה׃[the] ground towards
ʾaretzahH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 60:14The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy…
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 3:9
Look at those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead. I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know…
- Hebrews 12:22
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- Isaiah 45:14
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge…
- Isaiah 14:1–2
For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
- Isaiah 49:23
Through
Genesis 27:29May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
it leads to
- Numbers 24:9
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Romans 9:12
not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
- Numbers 24:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Joseph the Patriarch; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 89.4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament; Mark Virkler, Understanding Your Prophetic Dreams! (Elijah List article) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.