Genesis 41:24
in Genesis 41And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
KJV
And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I also saw seven heads of grain
on Genesis 41:22-24
The second dream comes back with one word added, that the thin heads were withered as well as scorched. Pharaoh ends where the chapter began, with no one to explain it to him. The man who can read it has been standing in the room since Pharaoh sent for him. Joseph waits through the whole retelling.
This site's exposition
I told this dream to the magicians
The magicians are the hartummim, Egypt's learned scribes of sacred writing. The same order of men faces Moses at Exodus 7:11 and gives up at Exodus 8:19, saying the finger of God is at work. Egypt's wisdom fails twice before the God of Israel.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears,.... See Gill on Gen 41:7, and I told this unto the magicians; just in the same manner as he had to Joseph: but there was none that could declare it unto me; the meaning of it; what all this should signify or portend.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the thin ears devoured the seven good ears--devoured is a different word from that used in Ge 41:4 and conveys the idea of destroying, by absorbing to themselves all the nutritious virtue of the soil around them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּבְלַ֙עְןָ֙ | vativla'na | and they swallowed | H1104 → | |
| הָשִׁבֳּלִ֣ים | hashibolim | the ears of grain | H7641 → | 19 times |
| הַדַּקֹּ֔ת | hadakot | <the> thin | H1851 → | 14 times |
| אֵ֛ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֶׁ֥בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| הַֽשִׁבֳּלִ֖ים | hashibolim | the ears of grain | H7641 → | 19 times |
| הַטֹּב֑וֹת | hatovot | <the> good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וָֽאֹמַר֙ | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽחַרְטֻמִּ֔ים | hachartumim | the diviner priests | H2748 → | |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַגִּ֖יד | magid | [was one who] told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לִֽי׃ | li | to <the> me |
וַתִּבְלַ֙עְןָ֙and they swallowed
vativla'naH1104 →
הָשִׁבֳּלִ֣יםthe ears of grain
hashibolimH7641 →19 times
הַדַּקֹּ֔ת<the> thin
hadakotH1851 →14 times
אֵ֛ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
שֶׁ֥בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
הַֽשִׁבֳּלִ֖יםthe ears of grain
hashibolimH7641 →19 times
הַטֹּב֑וֹת<the> good
hatovotH2896 →538 times
וָֽאֹמַר֙and I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽחַרְטֻמִּ֔יםthe diviner priests
hachartumimH2748 →
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מַגִּ֖יד[was one who] told
magidH5046 →370 times
לִֽי׃to <the> me
li
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
Exodus 8:19“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
it leads to
- Luke 11:20
But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
- Psalms 8:3
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
- Exodus 7:5
And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
- Matthew 12:28
But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
- Luke 11:20
Through
Genesis 41:8In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
it leads to
- Daniel 4:7
When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.
- Exodus 7:22
But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
- Daniel 4:7
Through
Daniel 4:7When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:25
who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
- Daniel 2:7
They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”
- Isaiah 44:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
This page draws on 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).