Genesis 41:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

NIV: In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

NASB: Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent messengers and called for all the soothsayer priests of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

CSB: When morning came, he was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

NLT: The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant.

KJV: And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

NKJV: Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

Pharaoh's two dreams from the night before left him troubled (Genesis 41:1–7). In both visions, he saw a group of seven pleasant, healthy images consumed by a second group of seven gaunt, unhealthy ones. Egyptian culture placed great emphasis on the importance of dreams. Even so, these visions were especially vivid. Pharaoh knows these are not ordinary dreams: they need to be understood.

As the ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh calls all the magicians and wise men to interpret his dreams of sickly cows and grain eating up healthy ones. These men were likely priests in the Egyptian religious practices. They would have been trained in the ways of magical spiritism, divination, traditional medicine, and such. Throughout the Old Testament, kings often called on guilds of shamans and spiritualists to serve them.

Of course, since these practices are all based in false belief and superstition, they're unable to reveal deeper truths. At "best," they're enabled by demonic spirits who are ultimately hostile to humanity. Whatever power they have is limited (Exodus 8:18–19). The leaders of Egypt would have been disappointed to see their magicians and wise men fail to help Pharaoh. Even with all their training and experience, they cannot interpret Pharaoh's obscure dreams. Those with a biblical perspective are not surprised at all.

There is a hidden element of God's influence in this moment. It would have been easy for Pharaoh's magicians to invent a false meaning for his dream—possibly something minor or encouraging. In some cases, that might have been considered a better option than simply saying "I don't know." That these advisors seem prevented from offering any answers, at all, speaks to the Lord's setup for what comes next.

This helplessness finally inspires the king's cupbearer (Genesis 41:20–23) to mention the dream interpreting ability of Joseph (Genesis 41:9–13). Joseph is still trapped in prison (Genesis 41:1) two years after helping the cupbearer understand his own dream.

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.