Genesis 41:12
in Genesis 41Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
KJV
And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Today I recall my failures
on Genesis 41:9-13
The cupbearer speaks at last, and his first words are about himself. He describes Joseph as a young Hebrew, a servant under the captain, three descriptions that put him at the bottom of every ladder in Egypt. Two years of silence end on the day Joseph becomes useful.
This site's exposition
he interpreted them for us individually
Joseph had asked the two men for their dreams at 40:8, after they complained that no one could interpret them. He gave each man a different reading, one of life and one of death. Readings that specific could be tested within three days.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And there was there with us a young man,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults--This public acknowledgment of the merits of the young Hebrew would, tardy though it was, have reflected credit on the butler had it not been obviously made to ingratiate himself with his royal master.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He interpreted it in accordance with the dream and consistent with its contents. Thus the words of Rashi.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I have previously explained this. 33 I.E. explains the meaning of each man according to the interpretation of his dreams in his comments on Gen.:5.
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁ֨ם | vesham | and [was] there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אִתָּ֜נוּ | ʾitanu | with us | H854 → | 929 times |
| נַ֣עַר | naar | a young man | H5288 → | 239 times |
| עִבְרִ֗י | ʾivri | a Hebrew | H5680 → | 34 times |
| עֶ֚בֶד | ʾeved | a slave | H5650 → | 799 times |
| לְשַׂ֣ר | lesar | of [the] commander of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| הַטַּבָּחִ֔ים | hatabachim | the bodyguards | H2876 → | 32 times |
| וַנְּ֨סַפֶּר־ | vanesaper- | and we recounted | H5608 → | 159 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| וַיִּפְתָּר־ | vaiyiftor- | and he interpreted | H6622 → | 9 times |
| לָ֖נוּ | lanu | for <the> us | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֲלֹמֹתֵ֑ינוּ | chalomoteinu | dreams our | H2472 → | 65 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כַּחֲלֹמ֖וֹ | kachalomo | according to dream his | H2472 → | 65 times |
| פָּתָֽר׃ | patar | he interpreted | H6622 → | 9 times |
וְשָׁ֨םand [was] there
veshamH8033 →834 times
אִתָּ֜נוּwith us
ʾitanuH854 →929 times
נַ֣עַרa young man
naarH5288 →239 times
עִבְרִ֗יa Hebrew
ʾivriH5680 →34 times
עֶ֚בֶדa slave
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
לְשַׂ֣רof [the] commander of
lesarH8269 →421 times
הַטַּבָּחִ֔יםthe bodyguards
hatabachimH2876 →32 times
וַנְּ֨סַפֶּר־and we recounted
vanesaper-H5608 →159 times
ל֔וֹto <the> him
lo
וַיִּפְתָּר־and he interpreted
vaiyiftor-H6622 →9 times
לָ֖נוּfor <the> us
lanu
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֲלֹמֹתֵ֑ינוּdreams our
chalomoteinuH2472 →65 times
אִ֥ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
כַּחֲלֹמ֖וֹaccording to dream his
kachalomoH2472 →65 times
פָּתָֽר׃he interpreted
patarH6622 →9 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 39:1Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
it leads to
- Genesis 37:28
So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 105:17
He sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.
- Genesis 37:25
And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to…
- Genesis 37:36
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
- Acts 7:9
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Genesis 37:28
Through
Genesis 39:20So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,
it leads to
- Genesis 40:15
For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”
- 1 Peter 2:19
For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.
- Genesis 40:15
Through
Genesis 37:36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
it leads to
- Genesis 40:4
The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he became their personal attendant. After they had been in custody for some time,
- Genesis 40:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Genesis
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.