dream

Definition

A dream is something that people see or experience in their minds while they are sleeping.

• Dreams often seem like they are really happening, but they are not.
• Sometimes God causes people to dream about something so they can learn from it. He may also speak directly to people in their dreams.
• In the Bible, God gave special dreams to certain people to give them a message, often about something that would happen in the future.
• A dream is different from a vision. Dreams happen while a person is asleep, but visions usually happen when a person is awake.

(See also: vision)

Bible References

• Acts 2:16-17
• Daniel 1:17-18
• Daniel 2:1
• Genesis 37:6
• Genesis 40:4-5
• Matthew 2:13
• Matthew 2:19-21

Examples from the Bible stories

• __8:2 Joseph’s brothers hated him because their father loved him most and because Joseph had dreamed__ that he would be their ruler.
• __8:6 One night, the Pharaoh, which is what the Egyptians called their kings, had two dreams that disturbed him greatly. None of his advisors could tell him the meaning of the dreams__.
• __8:7 God had given Joseph the ability to interpret dreams, so Pharaoh had Joseph brought to him from the prison. Joseph interpreted the dreams__ for him and said, “God is going to send seven years of plentiful harvests followed by seven years of famine.”
• __16:11 So that night, Gideon went down to the camp and heard a Midianite soldier telling his friend about something he had dreamed. The man’s friend said, “This dream__ means that Gideon’s army will defeat the Midianite army!”
• __23:1 He (Joseph) did not want to shame her (Mary), so he planned to quietly divorce her. Before he could do that, an angel came and spoke to him in a dream__.

Word Data

• Strong’s: H1957, H2472, H2492, H2493, G17970, G17980, G36770