Genesis 40:6
in Genesis 40When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad.
KJV
And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
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This verse in Genesis 40
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
had a dream on the same night
on Genesis 40:5-7
Two men dream on the same night, and Clarke reads both as dreams with an interpretation waiting in them. Joseph comes, sees that they are distraught, and asks why their faces are downcast. He is the one man in Genesis whose own dreams nobody ever interprets for him.
This site's exposition
he saw that they were distraught
Joseph comes in the morning on his rounds, the work the warden gave him at Genesis 39:22. Distraught renders a Hebrew word for men troubled and dejected, and he sees it on two faces. His own wrong leaves him quick to see another man's grief.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Joseph came in unto them in the morning,.... For though Joseph and they were in the same prison, yet not in the same ward.
Note, God has more ways than one to sadden the spirits of those that are to be made sad. Those sinners that are hardy enough under outward troubles, and will not yield to them, yet God can find out a way to punish; he can take off their wheels, by wounding their spirits, and laying loads upon them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they dreamed a dream--Joseph, influenced by the spirit of true religion, could feel for others (Ec 4:1; Observing them one day extremely depressed, he inquired the cause of their melancholy; and being informed it was owing to a dream they had respectively dreamed during the previous night, after piously directing them to God (Da 2:30;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
They were sad - They concluded that their dreams portended something of great importance, but they could not tell what.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֧א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֛ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹסֵ֖ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| בַּבֹּ֑קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַיַּ֣רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹתָ֔ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְהִנָּ֖ם | vehinam | and [were] they | H2005 → | 316 times |
| זֹעֲפִֽים׃ | zoafim | looking dejected | H2196 → |
וַיָּבֹ֧אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֛םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
יוֹסֵ֖ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
בַּבֹּ֑קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
וַיַּ֣רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
אֹתָ֔ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וְהִנָּ֖םand [were] they
vehinamH2005 →316 times
זֹעֲפִֽים׃looking dejected
zoafimH2196 →
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
Daniel 5:6his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
it leads to
- Daniel 7:28
Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 4:5
I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 7:17
Every hand will go limp, and every knee will turn to water.
- Nahum 2:10
She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
- Daniel 7:28
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 7:28Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
it leads to
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; Chuck Missler, The Book of Genesis; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.