Genesis 41:21

Genesis 41:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
• New International Version (NIV)But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.
• English Standard Version (ESV)but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

Context of Genesis 41:21

19Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt! 20The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows. When they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 22I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 23Then seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

Genesis 41:21 word by word

וַתָּבֹ֣אנָה אֶל־קִרְבֶּ֗נָה וְלֹ֤א נוֹדַע֙ כִּי־בָ֣אוּ אֶל־קִרְבֶּ֔נָה וּמַרְאֵיהֶ֣ן רַ֔ע כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר בַּתְּחִלָּ֑ה וָאִיקָֽץ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when they had eaten them upקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• And when they had eaten them upבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• it could not be knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• stillמַרְאֶהmar'eh · appearanceH4758
• ill favouredרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• as at the beginningתְּחִלָּהtechillâh · beginningH8462
• So I awokeיָקַץyâqats · to awakeH3364

Cross-references for Genesis 41:21

• Ezekiel 3:3He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.
• Revelation 10:9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”
• Psalms 37:19They will not be ashamed when hard times come; when famine comes they will have enough to eat.
• Isaiah 9:20They devoured on the right, but were still hungry, they ate on the left, but were not satisfied. People even ate the flesh of their own arm!

Commentaries on Genesis 41:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21And when they had eaten them up, etc. - Nothing can more powerfully mark the excess and severity of the famine than creatures of the beeve or of the hippopotamus kind eating each other, and yet without any effect; remaining as lean and as wretched as they were before. A sense of want increases the appetite, and stimulates the digestive powers to unusual action; hence the concoction of the food becomes very rapid, and it is hurried through the intestines…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. 17-24Pharaoh recounted his dreams and testified that no human wisdom could interpret them.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 41:21

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

In the dictionaries

• Appoint
• Array
• Cry
• Discreet
• Dungeon
• Empty
• Famine
• Fault
• Pharaoh
• Plenteous

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