Genesis 41:1
in Genesis 41After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
KJV
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIt was certainly a singular honor to be instructed concerning an event yet fourteen years future: for truly the will of God was manifested to Pharaoh, just as if he had been taught by the word, except that the interpretation of it was to be sought elsewhere.
This site's exposition
After two full years had passed
on Genesis 41:1-4
Two full years pass after the cupbearer forgets, and then Pharaoh dreams. He stands beside the Nile, which carried the whole food supply of the country. Jamieson notes that the ox stood in Egyptian picture writing for the earth and its food, so the dream strikes at the nation's life where it starts. Seven thin cows eat the seven well-fed ones and Pharaoh wakes.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it came to pass at the end of two full years,....
There is a time set for the deliverance of God's people; that time will come, though it seem to tarry; and, when it comes, it will appear to have been the best time, and therefore we ought to wait for it ( Hab. ii. 3 ), and not think two full years too long to continue waiting. The means of Joseph's enlargement, which were Pharaoh's dreams, here related.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Pharaoh dreamed--"Pharaoh," from an Egyptian word Phre, signifying the "sun," was the official title of the kings of that country. The prince, who occupied the throne of Egypt, was Aphophis, one of the Memphite kings, whose capital was On or Heliopolis, and who is universally acknowledged to have been a patriot king.
Two full years - שנתים ימים shenathayim yamim, two years of days, two complete solar revolutions, after the events mentioned in the preceding chapter. The river - The Nile, the cause of the fertility of Egypt.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
- Joseph Was Exalted 1. יאר ye'or, “river, canal,” mostly applied to the Nile. Some suppose the word to be Coptic. 2. אחוּ 'āchû, “sedge, reed-grass, marsh-grass.” This word is probably Coptic. 8. חרטמים charṭumı̂ym, ἐξηγηταὶ exēgētai, ἱερογραμματεῖς hierogrammateis, “sacred scribes, hieroglyphs.” חרט chereṭ “stylus,” a graving tool. 43. אברך 'abrēk “bend the knee.” In this sense it is put for הברך habrēk imperative hiphil of ברך bārak.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
BY THE ‘YE’OR’ (RIVER). With the exception of the Nile, none of the other rivers is called ye’or, a word signifying “canal,” because the entire country consists of artificially constructed canals, and the waters of the Nile.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִקֵּ֖ץ | miketz | from [the] end of | H7093 → | 67 times |
| שְׁנָתַ֣יִם | shenatayim | two years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| יָמִ֑ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וּפַרְעֹ֣ה | ufaroh | and Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| חֹלֵ֔ם | cholem | [was] dreaming | H2492 → | 29 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֖ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| עֹמֵ֥ד | ʾomed | [he was] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַיְאֹֽר׃ | hayor | the River | H2975 → | 65 times |
וַיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִקֵּ֖ץfrom [the] end of
miketzH7093 →67 times
שְׁנָתַ֣יִםtwo years
shenatayimH8141 →877 times
יָמִ֑יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
וּפַרְעֹ֣הand Pharaoh
ufarohH6547 →274 times
חֹלֵ֔ם[was] dreaming
cholemH2492 →29 times
וְהִנֵּ֖הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
עֹמֵ֥ד[he was] standing
ʾomedH5975 →521 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַיְאֹֽר׃the River
hayorH2975 →65 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
Genesis 29:14Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 19:12–13
You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’
- Judges 9:2
“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh…
- Genesis 2:23
And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”
- 2 Samuel 19:12–13
Through
Genesis 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.”
it leads to
- Genesis 20:7
Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and…
- Matthew 27:19
While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
- Psalms 105:14
He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:
- Genesis 20:7
Through
Ezekiel 29:3Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says,…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 32:2
“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash…
- Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
- Ezekiel 32:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.