Genesis 41:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

NIV: The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

NASB: And the thin ears swallowed the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

CSB: The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, full ones. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it was only a dream.

NLT: And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.

KJV: And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

NKJV: And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.

As did the first dream (Genesis 41:1–4), Pharaoh's second vision concludes in a disturbing way. He has seen seven wind-scorched ears of grain sprout up after seeing seven plump, healthy ears of grain. In that part of the world, a desert wind called chamsin can blast crops with heat, sand, and dry air. Now Pharaoh sees those seven thin, ugly, desert-scorched ears swallow up the healthy ones. This is much like the conclusion of his first dream, where seven emaciated cows devoured seven fat ones.

Finally, Pharaoh wakes up for the second time. The reminder that this was a dream suggests the visions were especially vivid. Pharaoh likely needed a moment to fully realize that what he saw was a dream and not reality. The following verses demonstrate that Pharaoh knows these dreams have deeper meaning. However, his advisors will be useless to help (Genesis 41:8). He will need divine help to understand what he has seen (Genesis 41:9–13).

Genesis 41:1–8 describes troubling prophetic dreams as seen by the king of Egypt, whose title is "Pharaoh." Both dreams involve a group of seven pleasant-looking images—first cows, then grain—which are consumed by a second group of seven, which are withered and evil-looking. The nature of these dreams makes it clear they have meaning, but none of the Egyptian diviners or scholars can make sense of them. This will lead one servant—the formerly jailed cupbearer—to finally mention Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams (Genesis 40:23).

Joseph's status in Genesis 41 begins as "forgotten Hebrew prison slave" and ends as "the second most powerful man in Egypt." The cupbearer from the previous chapter finally mentions Joseph two years later, when Pharaoh is troubled by dreams which wise men can't interpret. Joseph reveals the meaning of the dreams: seven years of abundance will be followed by seven years of great famine in the land. Pharaoh, recognizing that God's Spirit is with Joseph, makes him second in command over the entire nation and tasks him with preparing for the famine.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers (Genesis 37:24–28). He then excelled in his work for an Egyptian official, only to be falsely accused and imprisoned (Genesis 39:20). There, he accurately interpreted dreams for servants of the Egyptian ruler (Genesis 40:20–22). Unfortunately, the restored cupbearer failed to mention Joseph, leaving him in prison for two more years (Genesis 40:23). A series of disturbing dreams leads to Joseph's audience with Pharaoh. This, in turn, leads to Joseph becoming the second most powerful man in the nation. The following chapters emphasize Joseph's reunion with his family. Details about his administration of food during the famine are recorded in Genesis 47:13–26.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 9/7/2024 11:13:42 PM