Genesis 41:1

Genesis 41:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
• New International Version (NIV)When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile,
• English Standard Version (ESV)After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.

Context of Genesis 41:1

Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. 2And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass. 3Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.

Genesis 41:1 word by word

וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ שְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֑ים וּפַרְעֹ֣ה חֹלֵ֔ם וְהִנֵּ֖ה עֹמֵ֥ד עַל־הַיְאֹֽר׃Read the interlinear

• Now it happenedהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• at the endקֵץqêts · endH7093
• of two fullיוֹםyôm · day: yearH3117
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• that Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• hadחָלַםchâlam · to dreamH2492
• a dreamחָלַםchâlam · to dreamH2492
• and beholdהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• he was standingעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• by the Nileיְאֹרye'ôr · NileH2975

Cross-references for Genesis 41:1

• Genesis 29:14Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.
• Genesis 20:3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
• Genesis 37:5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
• Genesis 40:5Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
• Judges 7:13When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.”
• Esther 6:1During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
• Job 33:15In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds,
• Daniel 2:1Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
• Daniel 4:5I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.
• Daniel 7:1In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it.
• Matthew 27:19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”
• Genesis 31:21So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
• Exodus 1:22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
• Exodus 4:9But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”
• Deuteronomy 11:10For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden.
• Isaiah 19:5The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry.

Commentaries on Genesis 41:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Two full years - ימים שנתים shenathayim yamim, two years of days, two complete solar revolutions, after the events mentioned in the preceding chapter. The river - The Nile, the cause of the fertility of Egypt.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. 1Pharaoh's dreams. (1-8) Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams. (9-32) Joseph's counsel, He is highly advanced. (33-45) Joseph's children, The beginning of the famine. (46-57) Verses 1-8 The means of Joseph's being freed from prison were Pharaoh's dreams, as here related. Now that God no longer speaks to us in that way, it is no matter how little we either heed dreams, or tell them. The telling of foolish dreams can make no better than foolish talk. But these…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4Pharaoh's first dream was about cows. Cows often stood half-submerged in the Nile River's reeds to escape the heat and flies. They would leave the water to find grass. The second group of cows worried Pharaoh because they were thin but were able to swallow the fat cows.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-241. at the end of two full years--It is not certain whether these years are reckoned from the beginning of Joseph's imprisonment, or from the events described in the preceding chapter--most likely the latter. What a long time for Joseph to experience the sickness of hope deferred! But the time of his enlargement came when he had sufficiently learned the lessons of God designed for him; and the plans of Providence were matured. Pharaoh dreamed--"Pharaoh,"…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 41:1

• Dream
• Heathen
• Joseph
• Prisoners
• Promotion
• Seven

In the dictionaries

• Pharaoh
• Euphrates River, the River
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Appoint
• Array
• Cry
• Discreet
• Dungeon
• Empty
• Famine

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