Genesis 41:15
in Genesis 41Pharaoh 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it.
KJV
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
no one can interpret it
on Genesis 41:15-16
Pharaoh credits Joseph with the skill, and Joseph gives it away in his first sentence. He had said the same at Genesis 40:8, and thirteen years have left him saying it the same way. Clarke reads the Hebrew behind the answer as peace, the king's comfort coming from God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Notice how Pharaoh was ashamed to say openly, "None of my sages can interpret the dream." Instead, what? "I had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it; but I have heard them say of you that once you hear of a dream you interpret it." Consider in this case too, I ask you, Joseph's good sense and discretion in the way he replies to Pharaoh: "Don't suspect," he says, "that I utter anything of myself or interpret them by human wisdom. There is, in fact, no way of coming to knowledge of them without revelation from on high. So be aware that without God it is not possible for me to give you a reply." Without God, the text says, Pharaoh will not be given the right solution. So, now that you know that the Lord of all is the one who gives this revelation, don't look for something from human beings (he is saying) that God alone has it in his power to bring to light.See how through his reply Joseph brings Pharaoh to the realization of the limitations of the sages attending him and the power of the Lord. "Since, then, you have learned from me that these utterances of mine spring not from human wisdom or from my own reasoning, tell me what God has communicated to you."
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,...., Immediately, upon his being introduced to him: I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it; that he could yet meet with; none of his magicians or wise men, who made great pretensions to skill in such matters: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it; it had been reported to him, particularly by the chief butler, that when he heard a dream told him, he had such knowledge and understanding, that he could interpret it, tell the meaning of it, what it portended, and what would be the events signified by it.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| פַּרְעֹה֙ | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹסֵ֔ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| חֲל֣וֹם | chalom | a dream | H2472 → | 65 times |
| חָלַ֔מְתִּי | chalamti | I have dreamed | H2492 → | 29 times |
| וּפֹתֵ֖ר | ufoter | and [is one who] interprets | H6622 → | 9 times |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| אֹת֑וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וַאֲנִ֗י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| שָׁמַ֤עְתִּי | shama'ti | I have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| תִּשְׁמַ֥ע | tishma' | you hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| חֲל֖וֹם | chalom | a dream | H2472 → | 65 times |
| לִפְתֹּ֥ר | liftor | to interpret | H6622 → | 9 times |
| אֹתֽוֹ׃ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
פַּרְעֹה֙Pharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹסֵ֔ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
חֲל֣וֹםa dream
chalomH2472 →65 times
חָלַ֔מְתִּיI have dreamed
chalamtiH2492 →29 times
וּפֹתֵ֖רand [is one who] interprets
ufoterH6622 →9 times
אֵ֣יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
אֹת֑וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וַאֲנִ֗יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
שָׁמַ֤עְתִּיI have heard
shama'tiH8085 →1159 times
עָלֶ֙יךָ֙on you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
תִּשְׁמַ֥עyou hear
tishma'H8085 →1159 times
חֲל֖וֹםa dream
chalomH2472 →65 times
לִפְתֹּ֥רto interpret
liftorH6622 →9 times
אֹתֽוֹ׃<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 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
Psalms 25:14The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
it leads to
- John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have…
- John 14:21–23
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- John 7:17
If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.
- Ephesians 1:9
And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ
- 1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- John 15:15
Through
Daniel 5:12did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon…
it leads to
- Daniel 6:3
Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
- Daniel 5:14
I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.
- Daniel 1:7
The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
- Daniel 6:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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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; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 63.14-15 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).