Amplified Bible
Genesis 41:16
16Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me [to interpret the dream]; God [not I] will give Pharaoh a favorable answer [through me].”
Genesis 41:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
- New International Version (NIV)“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
Context of Genesis 41:16
14Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when Joseph shaved himself and changed his clothes [making himself presentable], he came to Pharaoh. 15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you that you can understand a dream and interpret it.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me [to interpret the dream]; God [not I] will give Pharaoh a favorable answer [through me].” 17So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile; 18and seven fat, sleek and handsome cows came up out of the river, and they grazed in the reed grass [of a marshy pasture].
Read all of Genesis 41Genesis 41:16 word by word
וַיַּ֨עַן יוֹסֵ֧ף אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֛ה לֵאמֹ֖ר בִּלְעָדָ֑י אֱלֹהִ֕ים יַעֲנֶ֖ה אֶת־שְׁל֥וֹם פַּרְעֹֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 41:16
- Genesis 40:8And they said to him, “We have [each] dreamed [distinct] dreams and there is no one to interpret them.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell me [your dreams].”
- Numbers 12:6And He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision And I will speak to him in a dream.
- 2 Kings 6:27He said, “If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I get you help? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”
- Daniel 2:18in order that they might seek compassion from the God of heaven regarding this secret, so that Daniel and his companions would not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
- Daniel 4:2It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.
- Acts 3:7Then he seized the man’s right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankles became strong and steady,
- Acts 14:14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
- 1 Corinthians 15:10But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are sufficiently qualified in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency and qualifications come from God.
- Genesis 37:14Then Jacob said to him, “Please go and see whether everything is all right with your brothers and all right with the flock; then bring word [back] to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem.
- Luke 19:42saying, “If [only] you had known on this day [of salvation], even you, the things which make for peace [and on which peace depends]! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
Commentaries on Genesis 41:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16It 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-57Verses 1-57 - Joseph Was Exalted 1. יאר ye'or “river, canal,” mostly applied to the Nile. Some suppose the word to be Coptic. 2. אחוּ 'āchû “sedge, reed-grass, marsh-grass.” This word is probably Coptic. 8. חרטמים charṭumı̂ym ̓̀ exēgētai ̔͂ hierogrammateis “sacred scribes, hieroglyphs.” חרט chereṭ “stylus,” a graving tool. 43. אברך 'abrēk “bend the knee.” In this sense it is put for הברך habrēk imperative hiphil of ברך bārak Those who take the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-32Verses 9-32 God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time. If the chief butler had got Joseph to be released from prison, it is probable he would have gone back to the land of the Hebrews. Then he had neither been so blessed himself, nor such a blessing to his family, as afterwards he proved. Joseph, when introduced to Pharaoh, gives honour to God. Pharaoh had dreamed that he stood upon the bank of the river Nile, and saw the kine, both…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Joseph knew that only God could explain Pharaoh’s dreams (compare 40:8). He was sure God would reveal their meaning, as the dreams had a purpose (41:25, 28).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1615-16. Pharaoh said, ... I have dreamed a dream--The king's brief statement of the service required brought out the genuine piety of Joseph; disclaiming all merit, he ascribed whatever gifts or sagacity he possessed to the divine source of all wisdom, and he declared his own inability to penetrate futurity; but, at the same time, he expressed his confident persuasion that God would reveal what was necessary to be known.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 41:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 41
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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