Genesis 41:18
in Genesis 41when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored: and they fed in the reed-grass:
KJV
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
5 notes on this verseSeven kine, fat-fleshed - See Clarke on Gen 41:2 (note). And observe farther, that the seven fat and the seven lean kine coming out of the same river plainly show, at once, the cause both of the plenty and the dearth. It is well known that there is scarcely any rain in Egypt; and that the country depends for its fertility on the overflowing of the Nile; and that the fertility is in proportion to the duration and quantity of the overflow.
This site's exposition
I was standing on the bank of the Nile
on Genesis 41:17-21
Pharaoh tells the first dream again, and the retelling runs longer than the telling. He adds that he never saw cows so ugly in all the land of Egypt, and that after the thin ones had devoured the well-fed ones no one could tell they had. Genesis prints both accounts in full. The detail the king adds is the one that makes the famine terrible, that the abundance will leave no mark behind.
This site's exposition
well-fed and sleek
Pharaoh's first words match the narrator's account at verse 2, with the two descriptions of the cows in reverse order. A full river meant a full harvest in Egypt. The fat cows grazing at the water's edge picture the Nile at its height.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine,.... Cows or heifers; see Gill on Gen 41:2; the account of them is the same here as there, and of the place where they fed, only the words are transposed.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there came up out of the river seven kine--Cows now, of the buffalo kind, are seen daily plunging into the Nile; when their huge form is gradually emerging, they seem as if rising "out of the river." and they fed in a meadow--Nile grass, the aquatic plants that grow on the marshy banks of that river, particularly the lotus kind, on which cattle were usually fattened.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּ֣ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַיְאֹ֗ר | hayor | the River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| עֹלֹת֙ | ʾolot | [were] coming up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| שֶׁ֣בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| פָּר֔וֹת | parot | cows | H6510 → | 26 times |
| בְּרִיא֥וֹת | beriot | fat of | H1277 → | 13 times |
| בָּשָׂ֖ר | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| וִיפֹ֣ת | vifot | and good looking of | H3303 → | 42 times |
| תֹּ֑אַר | toar | form | H8389 → | 15 times |
| וַתִּרְעֶ֖ינָה | vatireinah | and they grazed | H7462 → | 177 times |
| בָּאָֽחוּ׃ | baachu | among the reed[s] | H260 → |
וְהִנֵּ֣הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַיְאֹ֗רthe River
hayorH2975 →65 times
עֹלֹת֙[were] coming up
ʾolotH5927 →890 times
שֶׁ֣בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
פָּר֔וֹתcows
parotH6510 →26 times
בְּרִיא֥וֹתfat of
beriotH1277 →13 times
בָּשָׂ֖רflesh
basarH1320 →270 times
וִיפֹ֣תand good looking of
vifotH3303 →42 times
תֹּ֑אַרform
toarH8389 →15 times
וַתִּרְעֶ֖ינָהand they grazed
vatireinahH7462 →177 times
בָּאָֽחוּ׃among the reed[s]
baachuH260 →
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
Jeremiah 24:5“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land…
it leads to
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Nahum 1:7
The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Zechariah 13:9
Through
Jeremiah 24:8But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 43:1
When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything that the LORD had sent him to say—
- Jeremiah 37:17
Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the…
- Jeremiah 24:2
One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early, but the other basket contained very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
- Jeremiah 29:16–18
this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—
- Jeremiah 39:2–9
And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.
- Jeremiah 43:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).