Genesis 37:9
in Genesis 37Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me.
KJV
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
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This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe dreamed yet another dream - This is as clear as the preceding. But how could Jacob say, Shall I and thy mother, etc., when Rachel his mother was dead some time before this? Perhaps Jacob might hint, by this explanation, the impossibility of such a dream being fulfilled, because one of the persons who should be a chief actor in it was already dead. But any one wife or concubine of Jacob was quite sufficient to fulfill this part of the dream.
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.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Of these twelve modes of generation, it is said in Genesis: "I had another dream," he said. "The sun, the moon and eleven stars were worshiping me."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Observe, Joseph dreamed of his preferment, but he did not dream of his imprisonment. Thus many young people, when they are setting out in the world, think of nothing but prosperity and pleasure, and never dream of trouble.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he dreamed yet another dream,....
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
On the verses either side of this one
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.
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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּחֲלֹ֥ם | vaiyachalom | and he dreamed | H2492 → | 29 times |
| עוֹד֙ | ʾod | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| חֲל֣וֹם | chalom | a dream | H2472 → | 65 times |
| אַחֵ֔ר | ʾacher | another | H312 → | 166 times |
| וַיְסַפֵּ֥ר | vaysaper | and he recounted | H5608 → | 159 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְאֶחָ֑יו | leechav | to brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| חָלַ֤מְתִּֽי | chalamti | I have dreamed | H2492 → | 29 times |
| חֲלוֹם֙ | chalom | a dream | H2472 → | 65 times |
| ע֔וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֧ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הַשֶּׁ֣מֶשׁ | hashemesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| וְהַיָּרֵ֗חַ | vehaiyareach | and the moon | H3394 → | |
| וְאַחַ֤ד | veachad | and one [plus] | H259 → | 971 times |
| עָשָׂר֙ | ʾasar | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| כּֽוֹכָבִ֔ים | kokhavim | stars | H3556 → | 37 times |
| מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֖ים | mishtachavim | [were] bowing down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לִֽי׃ | li | to <the> me |
וַיַּחֲלֹ֥םand he dreamed
vaiyachalomH2492 →29 times
עוֹד֙again
ʾodH5750 →490 times
חֲל֣וֹםa dream
chalomH2472 →65 times
אַחֵ֔רanother
ʾacherH312 →166 times
וַיְסַפֵּ֥רand he recounted
vaysaperH5608 →159 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
לְאֶחָ֑יוto brothers his
leechavH251 →630 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּ֨הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
חָלַ֤מְתִּֽיI have dreamed
chalamtiH2492 →29 times
חֲלוֹם֙a dream
chalomH2472 →65 times
ע֔וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
וְהִנֵּ֧הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הַשֶּׁ֣מֶשׁthe sun
hashemeshH8121 →134 times
וְהַיָּרֵ֗חַand the moon
vehaiyareachH3394 →
וְאַחַ֤דand one [plus]
veachadH259 →971 times
עָשָׂר֙ten
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
כּֽוֹכָבִ֔יםstars
kokhavimH3556 →37 times
מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֖ים[were] bowing down
mishtachavimH7812 →172 times
לִֽי׃to <the> me
li
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
Genesis 37:7We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”
it leads to
- Genesis 43:26
When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 42:6
Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the…
- Genesis 44:14
When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
- Genesis 42:9
Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- Genesis 43:26
Through
Daniel 8:10It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth, and trampled them.
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:13
You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of…
- Revelation 12:4
His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child…
- Isaiah 14:13
Through
Genesis 46:29Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.
it leads to
- Luke 15:20
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and…
- Luke 15:20
Through
Genesis 43:28“Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him.
it leads to
- Genesis 37:7
We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”
- Genesis 37:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Mark Virkler, Understanding Your Prophetic Dreams! (Elijah List article) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.