New Living Translation
Genesis 41:1
1Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.
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
Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. 2In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 3Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank.
Read all of Genesis 41Genesis 41:1 word by word
וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ שְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֑ים וּפַרְעֹ֣ה חֹלֵ֔ם וְהִנֵּ֖ה עֹמֵ֥ד עַל־הַיְאֹֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 41:1
- Genesis 29:14Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!” After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month,
- Genesis 20:3But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”
- Genesis 37:5One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.
- Genesis 40:5While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning.
- Judges 7:13Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream. The man said, “I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat!”
- Esther 6:1That night the king had trouble sleeping, so he ordered an attendant to bring the book of the history of his reign so it could be read to him.
- Job 33:15He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.
- Daniel 2:1One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep.
- Daniel 4:5But one night I had a dream that frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed.
- Daniel 7:1Earlier, during the first year of King Belshazzar’s reign in Babylon, Daniel had a dream and saw visions as he lay in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is what he saw.
- Matthew 27:19Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”
- Genesis 31:21So Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead.
- Exodus 1:22Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”
- Exodus 4:9And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”
- Deuteronomy 11:10For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden.
- Isaiah 19:5The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed 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
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries