Genesis 41:38
in Genesis 41So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is?
KJV
And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIn whom the Spirit of God is? - רוח אלהים ruach Elohim, the identical words used Gen 1:2; and certainly to be understood here as in the preceding place. If the Egyptians were idolaters, they acknowledged Joseph’s God; and it is not to be supposed that they only became acquainted with him on this occasion.
This site's exposition
This proposal pleased Pharaoh
on Genesis 41:37-40
The plan pleases Pharaoh and all his officials, and the king asks whether anyone can be found in whom the Spirit of God abides. Clarke notes that the Hebrew behind that phrase is the pair of words used at Genesis 1:2, now in an Egyptian king's mouth. Pharaoh hands over his house and the rule of his people and keeps the throne. The man came out of a dungeon that morning.
This site's exposition
Can we find anyone like this man
Pharaoh puts the question to his officials, and the answer is in the question. Babylon's king speaks of Daniel in similar terms at Daniel 4:8, and Numbers 27:18 describes Joshua in nearly the same words. Egypt's king sees the Spirit of God in a Hebrew servant.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Pharaoh said unto his servants,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֖ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֲבָדָ֑יו | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| הֲנִמְצָ֣א | hanimtza' | ¿ has he been found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| כָזֶ֔ה | khazeh | like this one | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אִ֕ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| ר֥וּחַ | ruach | [the] spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בּֽוֹ׃ | bo | [is] in <the> him |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
פַּרְעֹ֖הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֲבָדָ֑יוservants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
הֲנִמְצָ֣א¿ has he been found
hanimtza'H4672 →455 times
כָזֶ֔הlike this one
khazehH2088 →1180 times
אִ֕ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
ר֥וּחַ[the] spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
בּֽוֹ׃[is] in <the> him
bo
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
Job 32:8But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
it leads to
- Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
- Job 38:36
Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?
- 2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
- Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Job 33:4
Through
Numbers 27:18And the LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 34:9
Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Numbers 27:23
and laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD had instructed through Moses.
- Deuteronomy 31:7–8
Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to…
- Deuteronomy 34:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
