Genesis 41:16
in Genesis 41“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
KJV
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 16) And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying: Without God, salvation will not be given to Pharaoh. In Hebrew, it is different: Without me, God will answer peace to Pharaoh. Finally, Symmachus translated more openly in his own way: Not I, but God will answer peace to Pharaoh.
This 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 cannot do it, and God will give the answer. He had said the same to two prisoners at Genesis 40:8, and thirteen years in slavery and prison have left him saying it the same way. Clarke reads the Hebrew behind the answer as peace, the king's comfort coming from God.
This site's exposition
God will give Pharaoh a sound answer
Daniel answers Nebuchadnezzar the same way at Daniel 2:27 and 28, saying that no wise man can reveal the mystery and that a God in heaven can. Both men stand before a king who holds their lives and give the credit away first. Joseph's humility comes before his answer.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), in which, (1.) He gives honour to God. "It is not in me, God must give it." Note, Great gifts appear most graceful and illustrious when those that have them use them humbly, and take not the praise of them to themselves, but give it to God. To such God gives more grace.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, it is not in me,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
It is not in me, etc. - בלעדי biladai, without or independently of me - I am not essential to thy comfort, God himself has thee under his care. And he will send thee, or answer thee, peace; thou shalt have prosperity (שלום shelom) howsoever ominous thy dreams may appear. By this answer he not only conciliated the mind of the king, but led him to expect his help from that God from whom alone all comfort, protection, and prosperity, must proceed.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨עַן | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| יוֹסֵ֧ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֛ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| לֵאמֹ֖ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּלְעָדָ֑י | biladai | apart from me | H1107 → | 17 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֕ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יַעֲנֶ֖ה | yaaneh | he will answer | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁל֥וֹם | shelom | [the] welfare of | H7965 → | 236 times |
| פַּרְעֹֽה׃ | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
וַיַּ֨עַןand he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
יוֹסֵ֧ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פַּרְעֹ֛הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
לֵאמֹ֖ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בִּלְעָדָ֑יapart from me
biladaiH1107 →17 times
אֱלֹהִ֕יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
יַעֲנֶ֖הhe will answer
yaanehH6030 →331 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁל֥וֹם[the] welfare of
shelomH7965 →236 times
פַּרְעֹֽה׃Pharaoh
parohH6547 →274 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
2 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of…
- Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- John 15:5
I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
Through
Daniel 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.”
it leads to
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 2:28
Through
Numbers 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 3:5
One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- Genesis 31:10–11
When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
- 1 Kings 3:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.