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Genesis 40:8

in Genesis 40

“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you.

KJV

And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

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This verse in Genesis 40

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

There is no interpreter - They either had access to none, or those to whom they applied could give them no consistent, satisfactory meaning. Do not interpretations belong to God? - God alone, the Supreme Being, knows what is in futurity; and if he have sent a significant dream, he alone can give the solution.

This site's exposition

Don’t interpretations belong to God

Egypt was full of men paid to interpret dreams, and these two in a cell can reach none of them. Joseph hands the credit away before anyone offers it to him, and Henry sets that beside Daniel doing the same before Nebuchadnezzar. Interpretations belong to God is his answer.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Joseph premises a caveat against his own praise, and is careful to transmit the glory to God, as Daniel, ch. ii. Joseph suggests, "If interpretations belong to God, he is a free agent, and may communicate the power to whom he pleases, and therefore tell me your dreams." Now, 1.
And they said unto him, we have dreamed a dream,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

they dreamed a dream--Joseph, influenced by the spirit of true religion, could feel for others (Ec 4:1; Observing them one day extremely depressed, he inquired the cause of their melancholy; and being informed it was owing to a dream they had respectively dreamed during the previous night, after piously directing them to God (Da 2:30;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

The words behind it

16 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said

    vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • אֵלָ֔יוto him

    ʾelavH413 →5510 times

  • חֲל֣וֹםa dream

    chalomH2472 →65 times

  • חָלַ֔מְנוּwe dreamed

    chalamnuH2492 →29 times

  • וּפֹתֵ֖רand [is one who] interprets

    ufoterH6622 →9 times

  • אֵ֣יןthere not

    ʾeinH369 →789 times

  • אֹת֑וֹ<obj.> it

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • אֲלֵהֶ֜םto them

    ʾalehemH413 →5510 times

  • יוֹסֵ֗ףJoseph

    yosefH3130 →213 times

  • הֲל֤וֹא¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • לֵֽאלֹהִים֙[belong] to God

    lelohimH430 →2601 times

  • פִּתְרֹנִ֔ים[do] interpretations

    pitronimH6623 →5 times

  • סַפְּרוּ־recount [it]

    saperu-H5608 →159 times

  • נָ֖אplease

    na'H4994 →404 times

  • לִֽי׃to <the> me

    li

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Daniel 2:28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:10 worksDaniel 2:47The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”7 worksGenesis 41:16“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”7 worksGenesis 41:15–16Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”6 worksJudges 7:15When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”6 worksActs 3:12And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Daniel 5:16But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”4 worksDaniel 2:3he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”4 worksIsaiah 8:19When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?3 works1 Corinthians 12:10–11to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.3 worksAmos 3:7Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.3 worksGenesis 20:3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”3 worksDaniel 4:8But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:2 worksPsalms 25:14The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.2 worksDaniel 5:11–15There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,2 worksJob 33:15–16In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,2 worksDaniel 2:11What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”2 worksNumbers 20:10Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 8:19

    When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 10:13

      So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,

    • Leviticus 20:6

      Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

    • 2 Chronicles 33:6

      He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking…

    • Psalms 106:28

      They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.

    • Leviticus 19:31

      You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

  • Through

    Daniel 2:47

    The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

    it leads to

    • Daniel 2:22

      He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Daniel 2:28

      But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your…

  • Through

    Daniel 2:28

    But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your…

    it leads to

    • Amos 4:13

      For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God…

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 40 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 40 →