The Fallible Synthetic Study Bible

✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Genesis 41:1–13 — The Dreams of Pharaoh. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

After two years spent in the prison, the time has now come for Joseph’s elevation to power; and it is to be noticed that this was not brought about by those arts by which men usually attain to greatness, such as statesmanship, or military skill; nor was it by accident, but according to the Biblical rule, by the direct intervention of Providence.

source ↗

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

By this great and long-continued humiliation and trial, he was prepared for the extraordinary exaltation which God designed for him.

source ↗

Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

This dream was not so much for Pharaoh, as is was a means to deliver Joseph and to provide for God's Church.

The Geneva note reads the dream past its dreamer: its true purpose is the deliverance of Joseph and the preservation of the covenant people.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

two full years ] i.e. from the execution of the chief baker. river ] Heb. Yeor , i.e. the Nile, as always in the O.T., except Job 28:10 ; Isaiah 33:21 ; Daniel 12:5-6 . The Heb. word reproduces the Egyptian.

source ↗

After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî šə·nā·ṯa·yim yā·mîm miq·qêṣ ū·p̄ar·‘ōh ḥō·lêm wə·hin·nêh ‘ō·mêḏ ‘al- hay·’ōr

Word by word10 · parsed

וַיְהִ֕יway·hîAfterH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

wayhî (H1961, “and it came to pass”): the consecutive imperfect that opens countless Hebrew narratives; here it marks the long-delayed turn of Joseph's fortunes.

שְׁנָתַ֣יִםšə·nā·ṯa·yimtwo full yearsH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfd

šĕnāṯayim (H8141, dual of shâneh, “two years”): the dual form by itself means “two years”; yāmîm (“days,” the next word) intensifies it to two full years. JFB compares 2 Samuel 14:28 and Jeremiah 28:3 for the same idiom.

יָמִ֑יםyā·mîm. . .H3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural

מִקֵּ֖ץmiq·qêṣhad passedH7093

√ qêts — an extremityPreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct

וּפַרְעֹ֣הū·p̄ar·‘ōhPharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

Pharaoh (H6547) is a title, not a name — “a general title of Egyptian kings.” JFB derive it from Egyptian Phre, “the sun”; the commentators dispute which historical king (Apophis, Amenemha III, and others are proposed) but agree the throne, not the man, is in view.

חֹלֵ֔םḥō·lêmhad a dreamH2492

√ châlam — properly, to bind firmly, iVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

ḥōlēm (Qal participle, H2492 châlam): the root, per Strong's, properly means “to bind firmly,” hence to be made firm/healthy and, derivatively, to dream. The participle keeps the dream in progress.

וְהִנֵּ֖הwə·hin·nêh. . .H2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

wĕhinnēh (H2009, “and behold”): the dreamer's vivid “lo!” — the narrator places us inside Pharaoh's eyes, watching what he watches.

עֹמֵ֥ד‘ō·mêḏHe was standingH5975

√ ʻâmad — to stand, in various relations (literal and figurative, intransitive and transitive)VerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

עַל־‘al-besideH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

הַיְאֹֽר׃hay·’ōrthe NileH2975

√ yᵉʼôr — a channel, eArticleNounproperfeminine singular

hayĕʾōr (H2975): the Nile. Geneva reads the whole scene's purpose past Pharaoh: the dream “was not so much for Pharaoh, as it was a means to deliver Joseph and to provide for God's Church.”

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-came-to-pass at-the-end of-two-years of-days, and-Pharaoh dreaming; and-behold, [he was] standing by the Nile,

Where the English smooths the original

וַיְהִ֕י “After … had passed” renders the bare narrative formula wayhî (H1961 hâyâh), “and it came to pass / and it was.” The same word reappears in v. 13 (“and it happened to us”) and frames the whole report — the storyteller’s hinge that the smooth English temporal clause hides.
שְׁנָתַ֣יִם “Two full years” is two words: šĕnāṯayim yāmîm — literally “two years of days.” Keil & Delitzsch and JFB both flag the Hebrew idiom: “days” (H3117) is added to mean two complete years — the Pulpit literally “two years of days,” JFB “Years of days, for full years” — reckoned (most hold) from the butler’s release, not Joseph’s imprisonment.
חֹלֵ֔ם “Had a dream” translates the participle ḥōlēm (H2492 châlam), “dreaming.” The participle paints an ongoing scene, not a single completed event — Pharaoh is caught mid-vision. The same root (and its noun ḥălôm) recurs through the unit and binds it to Genesis 40 and to Daniel 2.
הַיְאֹֽר “The Nile” renders hayĕʾōr (H2975), not a generic “river.” Ellicott, Cambridge, and the Pulpit agree the word reproduces an Egyptian term for “the great river/canal,” used in the Old Testament almost exclusively of the Nile — a loanword the English “river” flattens into the ordinary.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The cow was regarded by the Egyptians as the symbol of the earth, and of agriculture; and naturally both the kine and the ears of wheat rose out of the river, because as no rain falls in Egypt, its fertility entirely depends upon the overflow of the Nile.

source ↗

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

This suits well with the nature of the thing, for both the fruitfulness and the barrenness of Egypt depended, under God, upon the increase or diminution of the waters of that river.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The Egyptian goddess Hathor is represented with the head of a cow. seven kine ] The number “seven” is commonly employed for the purposes of symbolism. The god Osiris is represented in Egyptian drawings as an ox accompanied by seven cows.

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

He was standing by the Nile, and saw seven fine fat cows ascend from the Nile and feed in the Nile-grass (אחוּ an Egyptian word)

K&D confirm the rare word אָחוּ (ʼâchûw, v. 2) as a genuine Egyptian loan — the narrative speaking in the local idiom of the Nile.

source ↗

when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hin·nêh še·ḇa‘ pā·rō·wṯ yə·p̄ō·wṯ mar·’eh ū·ḇə·rî·’ōṯ bā·śār ‘ō·lōṯ min- hay·’ōr wat·tir·‘e·nāh bā·’ā·ḥū

Word by word12 · parsed

וְהִנֵּ֣הwə·hin·nêhH2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

שֶׁ֣בַעše·ḇa‘when sevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular

šeḇaʿ (H7651, “seven”): Strong's notes the number is reckoned “the sacred full one.” Cambridge: “The number ‘seven’ is commonly employed for the purposes of symbolism.”

פָּר֔וֹתpā·rō·wṯcowsH6510

√ pârâh — a heiferNounfeminine plural

pārôṯ (H6510 pârâh, “cows/heifers”): the heifer was, per Ellicott and Barnes, “the symbol of the earth, and of agriculture” among the Egyptians, the form in which Isis the earth-goddess was adored — so the dream speaks in Egypt's own religious imagery.

יְפ֥וֹתyə·p̄ō·wṯsleekH3303

√ yâpheh — beautiful (literally or figuratively)Adjectivefeminine plural construct

מַרְאֶ֖הmar·’eh. . .H4758

√ marʼeh — a view (the act of seeing)Nounmasculine singular

וּבְרִיאֹ֣תū·ḇə·rî·’ōṯand well-fedH1277

√ bârîyʼ — fatted or plumpConjunctive wawAdjectivefeminine plural construct

bĕrîʾōṯ (H1277 bârîyʼ, “fat/plump”): a key word — it returns for the “plump” ears (v. 5) and the devoured ears (v. 7), binding cattle-dream and grain-dream.

בָּשָׂ֑רbā·śār. . .H1320

√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)Nounmasculine singular

עֹלֹת֙‘ō·lōṯcame upH5927

√ ʻâlâh — to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount)VerbQalParticiplefeminine plural

מִן־min-fromH4480

√ min — properly, a part ofPreposition

הַיְאֹ֗רhay·’ōrthe riverH2975

√ yᵉʼôr — a channel, eArticleNounproperfeminine singular

וַתִּרְעֶ֖ינָהwat·tir·‘e·nāhand began to grazeH7462

√ râʻâh — to tend a flockConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural

בָּאָֽחוּ׃bā·’ā·ḥūamong the reedsH260

√ ʼâchûw — a bulrush or any marshy grass (particularly that along the Nile)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular

bāʾāḥû (H260 ʼâchûw): the rare Nile-grass word. Cambridge traces the Hebrew to Egyptian aḥu; the LXX simply transliterated it as ἄχει, having no Greek equivalent — a translator's confession that the word is foreign.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-behold, from the-Nile [were] coming-up seven cows, beautiful-of-appearance and-fat-of-flesh, and-they-grazed in-the-reed-grass.

Where the English smooths the original

עֹלֹת֙ “Came up” is the participle ʿōlōṯ (H5927 ʿâlâh), “ascending.” That the cows rise out of the Nile is the point: Benson and the Pulpit note the fertility of Egypt depends wholly on the river's inundation, so cattle ascending from it is the natural symbol of years drawn from the Nile's flood — a nuance “came up from the river” renders but does not explain.
יְפ֥וֹת מַרְאֶ֖ה “Sleek” compresses yĕp̄ôṯ marʾeh ‒ literally “beautiful of appearance” (H3303 yâpheh + H4758 marʾeh). The phrase is the exact opposite of the later cows' rāʿôṯ marʾeh, “evil of appearance” (v. 3). The BSB's “sleek / sickly” pairing loses the deliberate beautiful-vs-evil mirroring of the original.
בָּאָֽחוּ “Among the reeds” renders bāʾāḥû (H260 ʼâchûw), a rare Egyptian loanword for Nile marsh-grass that occurs in only three verses of the whole Hebrew Bible. Ellicott and Cambridge both note it appears elsewhere only at Job 8:11 (and v. 18 here) — “the rank herbage which grows luxuriantly along the banks of the Nile.” “Reeds” is a fair guess at a word whose precise sense is debated.
וּבְרִיאֹ֣ת בָּשָׂ֑ר “Well-fed” is two words: bĕrîʾōṯ bāśār, “fat of flesh” (H1277 bârîyʼ + H1320 bâsâr). The same adjective bârîyʼ reappears for the “plump” ears of grain in v. 5, knitting the two dreams together by a shared word the English varies away.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Which shows how sparingly the river overflowed the lands.

Poole reads the lean cows on the bare bank as a picture of a Nile that failed to overflow — the very mechanism of Egyptian famine.

source ↗

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

for the fruitfulness of Egypt was owing to the river Nile; as that overflowed or did not, there was plenty or famine; hence both these sorts of creatures came up out of that.

source ↗

The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

occurs also in a papyrus of the nineteenth dynasty, "I sat down by the lip of the river," which appears to suggest the impression that the verse in the text was written by one who was equally familiar with both languages

The Pulpit marshals an Egyptian-language parallel for the Hebrew idiom “lip of the river” as a mark of an author at home in both tongues.

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

behind them seven others, ugly (according to Genesis 41:19 , unparalleled in their ugliness), lean (בּשׂר דּקּות "thin in flesh,"

source ↗

After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hin·nêh ’a·ḥă·rê·hen še·ḇa‘ ’ă·ḥê·rō·wṯ pā·rō·wṯ rā·‘ō·wṯ mar·’eh wə·ḏaq·qō·wṯ bā·śār ‘ō·lō·wṯ min- hay·’ōr wat·ta·‘ă·mō·ḏə·nāh ’ê·ṣel hap·pā·rō·wṯ ‘al- śə·p̄aṯ hay·’ōr

Word by word18 · parsed

וְהִנֵּ֞הwə·hin·nêhH2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

אַחֲרֵיהֶן֙’a·ḥă·rê·henAfter themH310

√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPrepositionthird person feminine plural

שֶׁ֧בַעše·ḇa‘sevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular

אֲחֵר֗וֹת’ă·ḥê·rō·wṯotherH312

√ ʼachêr — properly, hinderAdjectivefeminine plural

פָּר֣וֹתpā·rō·wṯcowsH6510

√ pârâh — a heiferNounfeminine plural

רָע֥וֹתrā·‘ō·wṯsicklyH7451

√ raʻ — bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)Adjectivefeminine plural construct

rāʿôṯ (H7451 raʿ, “evil/bad”): the same word used for moral evil throughout the Old Testament; here it marks the cows as ill-favoured — the deliberate antonym of yāpheh (“beautiful”) in v. 2.

מַרְאֶ֖הmar·’eh. . .H4758

√ marʼeh — a view (the act of seeing)Nounmasculine singular

וְדַקּ֣וֹתwə·ḏaq·qō·wṯand thinH1851

√ daq — crushed, iConjunctive wawAdjectivefeminine plural construct

daqqôṯ (H1851 daq, “thin/crushed”): the Pulpit derives it from dakak, “to crush or beat small” — wasted-thin, not merely slender.

בָּשָׂ֑רbā·śār. . .H1320

√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)Nounmasculine singular

עֹל֤וֹת‘ō·lō·wṯcame upH5927

√ ʻâlâh — to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount)VerbQalParticiplefeminine plural

מִן־min-fromH4480

√ min — properly, a part ofPreposition

הַיְאֹ֔רhay·’ōrthe NileH2975

√ yᵉʼôr — a channel, eArticleNounproperfeminine singular

וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֛דְנָהwat·ta·‘ă·mō·ḏə·nāhand stoodH5975

√ ʻâmad — to stand, in various relations (literal and figurative, intransitive and transitive)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural

אֵ֥צֶל’ê·ṣelbesideH681

√ ʼêtsel — a sidePreposition

ʾēṣel (H681, “beside”): the lean cows position themselves alongside the fat — Keil notes they “placed themselves beside those fat ones on the brink of the Nile.”

הַפָּר֖וֹתhap·pā·rō·wṯthe [well-fed] cowsH6510

√ pârâh — a heiferArticleNounfeminine plural

עַל־‘al-onH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

שְׂפַ֥תśə·p̄aṯthe bankH8193

√ sâphâh — the lip (as a natural boundary)Nounfeminine singular construct

śĕp̄aṯ (H8193 sâphâh, “lip/edge”): “lip” for shore/brink is common Hebrew (Gen. 22:17; Ex. 14:30); the Pulpit cites an Egyptian parallel for the same phrase.

הַיְאֹֽר׃hay·’ōrof the riverH2975

√ yᵉʼôr — a channel, eArticleNounproperfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-behold, seven other cows coming-up after them from the-Nile, evil-of-appearance and-thin-of-flesh, and-they-stood beside the-cows on the-lip of-the-Nile.

Where the English smooths the original

רָע֥וֹת מַרְאֶ֖ה “Sickly” renders rāʿôṯ marʾeh — literally “evil of appearance” (H7451 raʿ + H4758 marʾeh). The adjective is the ordinary word for moral and natural evil, set in pointed opposition to the “beautiful of appearance” cows of v. 2. The English “sickly” is medical; the Hebrew is morally charged — these are bad cows.
וְדַקּ֣וֹת “Thin” is daqqôṯ (H1851 daq), from a root meaning “crushed, beaten small.” The Pulpit spells out the etymology — “beaten small, dakoth, from dakak, to crush or beat small.” The picture is not merely lean but ground-down, wasted; the same word names the “thin” ears in vv. 6–7.
אֵ֥צֶל “Beside” is ʾēṣel (H681), “at the side of.” The lean cows do not merely appear; they take their stand next to the fat ones — the menacing juxtaposition that prepares the devouring of v. 4.
שְׂפַ֥ת הַיְאֹֽר “The bank of the river” renders śĕp̄aṯ hayĕʾōr — literally “the lip of the Nile” (H8193 sâphâh). The Pulpit observes this very idiom (“I sat down by the lip of the river”) occurs in a nineteenth-dynasty Egyptian papyrus, suggesting a writer “familiar with both languages.” “Bank” is correct but silent about the bodily metaphor.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

was very strange and surprising that animals should devour one another; and especially that tame ones, cows or heifers, should eat those of their own species, which was never known to be done: so Pharaoh awoke; through surprise at the strange sight he had in his dream.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

did eat up ] The fantastic side of the dream. Cf. Genesis 40:11 ; Genesis 40:17 .

Cambridge ties the “fantastic” impossibility of the devouring to the equally strange imagery of the butler's and baker's dreams in ch. 40.

source ↗

The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

And the ill-favored and lean fleshed kine did eat up the seven we favored and fat kine - without there being any effect to show that they had eaten them (ver. 21).

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

which placed themselves beside those fat ones on the brink of the Nile and devoured them, without there being any effect to show that they had eaten them.

source ↗

And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hap·pā·rō·wṯ rā·‘ō·wṯ ham·mar·’eh wə·ḏaq·qōṯ hab·bā·śār ’êṯ wat·tō·ḵal·nāh še·ḇa‘ yə·p̄ōṯ ham·mar·’eh wə·hab·bə·rî·’ōṯ hap·pā·rō·wṯ par·‘ōh way·yî·qaṣ

Word by word14 · parsed

הַפָּר֗וֹתhap·pā·rō·wṯAnd the cowsH6510

√ pârâh — a heiferArticleNounfeminine plural

רָע֤וֹתrā·‘ō·wṯ[that were] sicklyH7451

√ raʻ — bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)Adjectivefeminine plural construct

הַמַּרְאֶה֙ham·mar·’eh. . .H4758

√ marʼeh — a view (the act of seeing)ArticleNounmasculine singular

וְדַקֹּ֣תwə·ḏaq·qōṯand thinH1851

√ daq — crushed, iConjunctive wawAdjectivefeminine plural construct

הַבָּשָׂ֔רhab·bā·śār. . .H1320

√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)ArticleNounmasculine singular

אֵ֚ת’êṯH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

ʾēṯ (H853): the object marker, grammatically pointing to the seven fat cows as the thing consumed — untranslatable but load-bearing.

וַתֹּאכַ֣לְנָהwat·tō·ḵal·nāhdevouredH398

√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural

wattōʾḵalnāh (H398 ʼâkal, “and they ate”): Gill stresses the unnaturalness — cows devouring cows, “very strange and surprising.” The verb is plain; the act is monstrous, which is precisely why it troubles Pharaoh.

שֶׁ֣בַעše·ḇa‘the sevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular

יְפֹ֥תyə·p̄ōṯsleekH3303

√ yâpheh — beautiful (literally or figuratively)Adjectivefeminine plural construct

הַמַּרְאֶ֖הham·mar·’eh. . .H4758

√ marʼeh — a view (the act of seeing)ArticleNounmasculine singular

וְהַבְּרִיאֹ֑תwə·hab·bə·rî·’ōṯwell-fedH1277

√ bârîyʼ — fatted or plumpConjunctive waw, ArticleAdjectivefeminine plural

הַפָּר֔וֹתhap·pā·rō·wṯcowsH6510

√ pârâh — a heiferArticleNounfeminine plural

פַּרְעֹֽה׃par·‘ōhThen PharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular

Pharaoh (H6547): the dreamer surfaces by name at the dream's edge; the verb that follows (wayyîqaṣ) is his return to waking.

וַיִּיקַ֖ץway·yî·qaṣwoke upH3364

√ yâqats — to awake (intransitive)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

wayyîqaṣ (H3364 yâqats, “and he awoke”): the same verb closes the second dream in v. 7; Keil notes “it was only when he woke that he perceived it was a dream.”

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-they-devoured, the-cows evil-of-appearance and-thin-of-flesh, [namely] the seven cows beautiful-of-appearance and-the-fat; and-Pharaoh awoke.

Where the English smooths the original

וַתֹּאכַ֣לְנָה “Devoured” is wattōʾḵalnāh (H398 ʼâkal), the ordinary verb “to eat.” Gill marks how unnatural the sight is — that cattle “should eat those of their own species, which was never known to be done.” The horror is in the plain word doing an impossible thing; the English “devoured” intensifies, but the Hebrew lets the everyday verb carry the dread.
וַיִּיקַ֖ץ “Woke up” is wayyîqaṣ (H3364 yâqats), to awake. It will be repeated exactly in v. 7 (“awoke”), and there with the realization “it was a dream.” The narrator uses the same verb at both panels to mark each dream's close — a structural seam the varied English (“woke up” / “awoke”) slightly obscures.
אֵ֚ת The little untranslatable ʾēṯ (H853) is the definite direct-object marker — Hebrew grammar pointing precisely at which cows are eaten: the seven beautiful, fat ones. It cannot be rendered in English, but it nails down the object and so the reversal.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The wheat cultivated in Egypt is called triticum compositum, because it produces several ears upon the same stalk.

source ↗

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

because ears of corn appearing to any in a dream, did, in the judgment of the Egyptian wise men, signify years, as Josephus notes.

Poole, citing Josephus, notes that in Egyptian dream-lore ears of corn themselves stood for years — so the emblem already pointed the wise men toward Joseph's reading, had they grasped it.

source ↗

Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

All these means God used to deliver his servant, and to bring him into favour and authority.

Geneva again reads the dream's true end: every detail is an instrument in God's deliverance of Joseph.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

a second time ] Here, as in Genesis 37:9 and Genesis 40:16 , the duplication of the dream seems to place its significance beyond dispute.

source ↗

but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yî·šān way·ya·ḥă·lōm šê·nîṯ wə·hin·nêh še·ḇa‘ šib·bo·lîm bə·rî·’ō·wṯ wə·ṭō·ḇō·wṯ ‘ō·lō·wṯ ’e·ḥāḏ bə·qā·neh

Word by word11 · parsed

וַיִּישָׁ֕ןway·yî·šānbut he fell back asleepH3462

√ yâshên — properly, to be slack or languid, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

wayyîšān (H3462 yâshên, “and he slept”): Strong's notes the root means “to be slack or languid”; Pharaoh falls back into sleep, and the second vision follows the same night.

וַֽיַּחֲלֹ֖םway·ya·ḥă·lōmand dreamedH2492

√ châlam — properly, to bind firmly, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

wayyaḥălōm (H2492 châlam, “and he dreamed”): the verb of v. 1 returns; the doubled dreaming is itself part of the sign.

שֵׁנִ֑יתšê·nîṯa second timeH8145

√ shênîy — properly, double, iNumberordinal feminine singular construct

šēnîṯ (H8145, ordinal “second”): Cambridge compares the doubled dreams of Genesis 37:9 and 40:16; the repetition “seems to place its significance beyond dispute.”

וְהִנֵּ֣ה׀wə·hin·nêh. . .H2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

שֶׁ֣בַעše·ḇa‘SevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular

שִׁבֳּלִ֗יםšib·bo·lîmheads of grainH7641

√ shibbôl — a stream (as flowing)Nounfeminine plural

šibbŏlîm (H7641, “ears of grain”): Ellicott identifies the Egyptian many-eared wheat triticum compositum — seven ears on one stalk being agriculturally exact for Egypt.

בְּרִיא֥וֹתbə·rî·’ō·wṯplumpH1277

√ bârîyʼ — fatted or plumpAdjectivefeminine plural

bĕrîʾôṯ (H1277 bârîyʼ, “plump/fat”): the shared adjective with v. 2's cows — one word linking the two dreams into a single warning.

וְטֹבֽוֹת׃wə·ṭō·ḇō·wṯand ripeH2896

√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest senseConjunctive wawAdjectivefeminine plural

עֹל֛וֹת‘ō·lō·wṯcame upH5927

√ ʻâlâh — to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount)VerbQalParticiplefeminine plural

אֶחָ֖ד’e·ḥāḏon oneH259

√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iNumbermasculine singular

בְּקָנֶ֥הbə·qā·nehstalkH7070

√ qâneh — a reed (as erect)Preposition-bNounmasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-he-slept and-he-dreamed a-second-time; and-behold, seven ears-of-grain coming-up on stalk one, plump and-good.

Where the English smooths the original

שֵׁנִ֑ית “A second time” is šēnîṯ (H8145), an ordinal from the root for “double / repeat.” Cambridge and the Pulpit read the doubling as the dream's own signature: “the duplication of the dream seems to place its significance beyond dispute” — the very point Joseph will make in v. 32 (“the dream was doubled … because the thing is established by God”). The English keeps the count but not the theological weight the voices hang on it.
שִׁבֳּלִ֗ים “Heads of grain” is šibbŏlîm (H7641), the word for ears of corn — and, curiously, the same form that means a “stream” (Strong's: “a stream, as flowing”). Ellicott notes the Egyptian wheat is triticum compositum, which “produces several ears upon the same stalk,” so seven ears on one stalk is true to Egyptian agriculture, not fantasy.
אֶחָ֖ד “One” is ʾeḥāḏ (H259), whose root sense is “united.” The seven ears spring from a single stalk — a unity that mirrors the seven cows of one dream; the bare “one stalk” carries the number but not the note of oneness the same word strikes in v. 11 (“one night”).
בְּרִיא֥וֹת “Plump” is bĕrîʾôṯ (H1277 bârîyʼ) — the very adjective used of the “fat” cows in v. 2. By reusing the word, the narrator marks the grain-dream as the same message in a new emblem; the BSB's “well-fed” (cows) versus “plump” (ears) hides that it is one Hebrew word.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

In Egypt the winds generally are from the north or south, but the south-east wind, called Chamsin, blowing from the deserts of Arabia, has even more disastrous effects upon plants than the east wind in Palestine, and from the small dust with which it is laden is baleful also to human life.

source ↗

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Blasted by the east wind — Coming through the parched deserts of Arabia, and very pernicious in Egypt. Thevenot, in his Travels, part 1, Genesis 50:2 , c. 34, says, that in the year 1658 two thousand men were destroyed in one night by one of these blasting winds.

source ↗

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

A boisterous wind, and in those parts of the world very pernicious to the fruits of the earth, Ezekiel 17:10 19:12 Hosea 13:15 .

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

blasted with the east wind ] The east wind in the O.T. is always a synonym for dryness, parching heat, and violence. Cf. Ezekiel 17:10 ; Ezekiel 19:12 ; Hosea 13:15 ; Jonah 4:8 . In Egypt the S.E. wind is the dreaded khamsin , which brings the sandstorms in the spring, Ar. sirocco .

source ↗

After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hin·nêh ’a·ḥă·rê·hen še·ḇa‘ šib·bo·lîm ṣō·mə·ḥō·wṯ daq·qō·wṯ ū·šə·ḏū·p̄ōṯ qā·ḏîm

Word by word8 · parsed

וְהִנֵּה֙wə·hin·nêhH2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

אַחֲרֵיהֶֽן׃’a·ḥă·rê·henAfter themH310

√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPrepositionthird person feminine plural

שֶׁ֣בַעše·ḇa‘seven otherH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular

שִׁבֳּלִ֔יםšib·bo·lîmheads of grainH7641

√ shibbôl — a stream (as flowing)Nounfeminine plural

צֹמְח֖וֹתṣō·mə·ḥō·wṯsproutedH6779

√ tsâmach — to sprout (transitive or intransitive, literal or figurative)VerbQalParticiplefeminine plural

דַּקּ֖וֹתdaq·qō·wṯthinH1851

√ daq — crushed, iAdjectivefeminine plural

daqqôṯ (H1851 daq, “thin”): the same crushed-thin word that described the lean cows (v. 3) now describes the bad ears — the two dreams share their vocabulary of want.

וּשְׁדוּפֹ֣תū·šə·ḏū·p̄ōṯand scorchedH7710

√ shâdaph — to scorchConjunctive wawVerbQalQalPassParticiplefeminine plural construct

šĕḏûp̄ōṯ (H7710 shâdaph, “blasted/scorched”): a rare verb of grain-blight; the participle is passive — the ears are blasted by an outside force.

קָדִ֑יםqā·ḏîmby the east windH6921

√ qâdîym — the fore or front partNounmasculine singular

qāḏîm (H6921, “east wind”): in the Old Testament, Cambridge notes, “always a synonym for dryness, parching heat, and violence” (cf. Ezek. 17:10; 19:12; Hos. 13:15; Jon. 4:8); in Egypt the destructive khamsin.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-behold, seven ears-of-grain thin and-scorched-of [the] east-wind sprouting after them.

Where the English smooths the original

וּשְׁדוּפֹ֣ת “Scorched” is šĕḏûp̄ōṯ (H7710 shâdaph), a passive participle, “blasted / blighted.” The word is specific to the withering of grain by hot wind; Benson reports Thevenot's traveler's tale of two thousand men killed in one night by such a blast. The English “scorched” captures the heat but not the agricultural-disaster sense the word carries.
קָדִ֑ים “By the east wind” renders the single noun qāḏîm (H6921), “the east [wind].” The Pulpit notes the Hebrew is the bare “east,” qāḏîm standing poetically for the fuller rûaḥ qāḏîm (“wind of the east”). Ellicott and Cambridge identify it with Egypt's dreaded khamsin/Chamsin sirocco from the Arabian desert — “east” being the nearest of Hebrew's only four wind-names.
צֹמְח֖וֹת “Sprouted” is the participle ṣōmĕḥôṯ (H6779 tsâmach), “springing up.” It is the participle of living growth — these blighted ears genuinely sprout, only to be useless. The word ironically frames withered grain in the verb of fertility.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Behold the dream, i.e. the dream did not vanish, as dreams commonly do, but was fixed in his mind, and he could not shake it off; by which he saw that it was no common or natural, but a Divine and significant dream.

source ↗

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

not a real fact, but a dream; yet not a common dream, but had some important signification in it; it not vanishing from his mind, but abode upon it, which made him conclude there was something more than common in it

source ↗

The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream - manifestly of the same import as that which had preceded. The dream was doubled because of its certainty and nearness (ver. 32).

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

"Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold it was a dream." The dream was so like reality, that in was only when he woke that he perceived it was a dream.

source ↗

And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

had·daq·qō·wṯ ’êṯ haš·šib·bo·lîm wat·tiḇ·la‘·nāh še·ḇa‘ hab·bə·rî·’ō·wṯ wə·ham·mə·lê·’ō·wṯ haš·šib·bo·lîm par·‘ōh way·yî·qaṣ wə·hin·nêh ḥă·lō·wm

Word by word12 · parsed

הַדַּקּ֔וֹתhad·daq·qō·wṯAnd the thinH1851

√ daq — crushed, iArticleAdjectivefeminine plural

אֵ֚ת’êṯH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הַשִּׁבֳּלִ֣יםhaš·šib·bo·lîmheads of grainH7641

√ shibbôl — a stream (as flowing)ArticleNounfeminine plural

וַתִּבְלַ֙עְנָה֙wat·tiḇ·la‘·nāhswallowed upH1104

√ bâlaʻ — to make away with (specifically by swallowing)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural

wattiḇlaʿnāh (H1104 bâlaʿ, “and they swallowed”): a fiercer verb than the cows' eating; the same root is used of the earth swallowing Korah (Num. 16:32) and of death swallowed up (Isa. 25:8).

שֶׁ֣בַעše·ḇa‘the sevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular

הַבְּרִיא֖וֹתhab·bə·rî·’ō·wṯplumpH1277

√ bârîyʼ — fatted or plumpArticleAdjectivefeminine plural

וְהַמְּלֵא֑וֹתwə·ham·mə·lê·’ō·wṯripeH4392

√ mâlêʼ — full (literally or figuratively) or filling (literally)Conjunctive waw, ArticleAdjectivefeminine plural

הַֽשִּׁבֳּלִ֔יםhaš·šib·bo·lîmonesH7641

√ shibbôl — a stream (as flowing)ArticleNounfeminine plural

פַּרְעֹ֖הpar·‘ōhThen PharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular

וַיִּיקַ֥ץway·yî·qaṣawokeH3364

√ yâqats — to awake (intransitive)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

wayyîqaṣ (H3364 yâqats): the awakening verb of v. 4 repeats, closing the second panel.

וְהִנֵּ֥הwə·hin·nêhand realizedH2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

wĕhinnēh (H2009, “and behold”): Poole hangs the whole reading here — the dream's persistence, marked by the lingering “behold,” is the sign of its divine origin.

חֲלֽוֹם׃ḥă·lō·wmit was a dreamH2472

√ chălôwm — a dreamNounmasculine singular

ḥălôm (H2472, “a dream”): the noun-form of the root that has run through the unit; its appearance at the close (“it was a dream”) seals the panel and prepares the search for an interpreter.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-they-swallowed-up, the-thin ears-of-grain, [namely] the seven ears the-plump and-the-full; and-Pharaoh awoke, and-behold [it was] a-dream.

Where the English smooths the original

וַתִּבְלַ֙עְנָה֙ “Swallowed up” is wattiḇlaʿnāh (H1104 bâlaʿ), “to swallow down, make away with.” The verb differs from the cows' “devoured” (ʼâkal, v. 4) — here the bad ears gulp down the good. Strong's gives the sense “to make away with (specifically by swallowing)”; the English “swallowed up” is apt, but it is a distinct, more violent verb than in the first dream.
וְהַמְּלֵא֑וֹת “Ripe” renders hammĕlēʾôṯ (H4392 mâlêʼ), “full.” It is not “ripe” in the sense of season but filled, plump with grain — the counterpart to the “thin” (empty) ears. The BSB's “ripe” reads agronomy where the Hebrew simply says “full.”
וְהִנֵּ֥ה חֲלֽוֹם “And realized it was a dream” compresses wĕhinnēh ḥălôm — literally “and behold, a dream” (H2009 + H2472). Poole presses the force of the hinnēh: “the dream did not vanish, as dreams commonly do, but was fixed in his mind” — the persistence by which Pharaoh sensed it was “no common or natural, but a Divine and significant dream.” “Realized” supplies a verb the Hebrew leaves to the vivid particle.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The word used here probably means the “sacred scribes,” who were skilled in writing and reading hieroglyphics. But in ancient times the possession of real knowledge was generally accompanied by a claim to an occult and mysterious acquaintance with the secrets of the gods and of nature.

source ↗

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

But the dreams of Pharaoh baffled their united skill. Unlike their Assyrian brethren (Da 2:4), they did not pretend to know the meaning of the symbols contained in them, and the providence of God had determined that they should all be nonplussed in the exercise of their boasted powers, in order that the inspired wisdom of Joseph might appear the more remarkable.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The Heb. ḥartummim used in this chapter and Exodus 7-9 probably designates the priestly class, which was credited with the knowledge of all sacred mysteries, cf. Genesis 41:24 ; Exodus 7:11 , &c. LXX renders by ἐξηγηταί = “interpreters,” Lat. conjectores . The rendering “magicians” represents “possessors of occult knowledge or magic.” The same Heb. word is used in Daniel 2:2 , probably in imitation of this passage

Cambridge identifies the rare word ḥarṭummim as the priestly scribe-class and judges Daniel 2:2 to borrow it directly from this chapter — the verbal seam behind the Joseph↔Daniel thread.

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

But not one of these could interpret it, although the clue to the interpretation was to be found in the religious symbols of Egypt. For the cow was the symbol of Isis, the goddess of the all-sustaining earth, and in the hieroglyphics it represented the earth, agriculture, and food

K&D press the irony: the answer lay in Egypt's own sacred symbols, yet its sacred scribes were struck dumb — “the fate of the wisdom of this world.”

source ↗

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

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ḇab·bō·qer way·hî rū·ḥōw wat·tip·pā·‘em way·yiš·laḥ way·yiq·rā ’eṯ- kāl- ḥar·ṭum·mê kāl- ḥă·ḵā·me·hā miṣ·ra·yim wə·’eṯ- par·‘ōh way·sap·pêr lā·hem ’eṯ- ḥă·lō·mōw wə·’ên- pō·w·ṯêr ’ō·w·ṯām lə·p̄ar·‘ōh

Word by word22 · parsed

בַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ḇab·bō·qerIn the morningH1242

√ bôqer — properly, dawn (as the break of day)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular

וַיְהִ֤יway·hî. . .H1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

רוּח֔וֹrū·ḥōwhis spiritH7307

√ rûwach — windNouncommon singular constructthird person masculine singular

rûḥô (H7307 rûaḥ, “his spirit”): the inner seat of emotion; Geneva: “This fear was enough to teach him that this vision was sent by God.”

וַתִּפָּ֣עֶםwat·tip·pā·‘emwas troubledH6470

√ pâʻam — to tap, iConjunctive wawVerbNifalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine singular

wattippāʿem (H6470 pâʻam, Niphal, “was troubled/beaten”): the same root describes the disturbed spirit of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:1) — a deliberate echo the voices repeatedly note.

וַיִּשְׁלַ֗חway·yiš·laḥso he summonedH7971

√ shâlach — to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

וַיִּקְרָ֛אway·yiq·rā. . .H7121

√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

חַרְטֻמֵּ֥יḥar·ṭum·mêthe magiciansH2748

√ charṭôm — a horoscopist (as drawing magical lines or circles)Nounmasculine plural construct

ḥarṭummê (H2748 charṭôm, “magicians/sacred scribes”): a rare technical term (Strong's: “a horoscopist, as drawing magical lines or circles”). The same word recurs in Exodus 7-9 and Daniel 1-2; Cambridge holds Daniel's usage is “in imitation of this passage.”

כָּל־kāl-andH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

חֲכָמֶ֑יהָḥă·ḵā·me·hāwise menH2450

√ châkâm — wise, (iAdjectivemasculine plural constructthird person feminine singular

ḥăḵāmehā (H2450 châkâm, “its wise men”): the sages, distinguished from the priestly scribes; JFB note the providence of God “had determined that they should all be nonplussed.”

מִצְרַ֖יִםmiṣ·ra·yimof EgyptH4714

√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iNounproperfeminine singular

וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

פַּרְעֹ֤הpar·‘ōhPharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular

וַיְסַפֵּ֨רway·sap·pêrtoldH5608

√ çâphar — properly, to score with a mark as a tally or record, iConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

לָהֶם֙lā·hemthem

Prepositionthird person masculine plural

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

חֲלֹמ֔וֹḥă·lō·mōwhis dreamsH2472

√ chălôwm — a dreamNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

וְאֵין־wə·’ên-but no oneH369

√ ʼayin — a non-entityConjunctive wawAdverb

פּוֹתֵ֥רpō·w·ṯêrcould interpretH6622

√ pâthar — to open up, iVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

pôṯēr (H6622 pâthar, “interpreting”): the rare dream-interpreting verb (7 verses, all in Gen. 40-41). Its conspicuous failure here — “none interpreting” — is the dramatic gap that summons Joseph.

אוֹתָ֖ם’ō·w·ṯāmthemH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural

לְפַרְעֹֽה׃lə·p̄ar·‘ōhfor himH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-came-to-pass in-the-morning, and-troubled [was] his-spirit; and-he-sent and-he-called [for] all the-magicians of-Egypt and-all its-wise-men; and-Pharaoh told them his-dreams, and-none [could] interpret them for-Pharaoh.

Where the English smooths the original

וַתִּפָּ֣עֶם “Was troubled” is wattippāʿem (H6470 pâʻam, Niphal), from a root meaning “to tap, to beat.” His spirit was agitated, struck, beaten upon — the Pulpit renders it “his mind was agitated,” the LXX ἐταράχθη, the Vulgate pavore perterritus (“terrified with dread”). “Troubled” is mild beside the throbbing of the Hebrew verb.
רוּח֔וֹ “His spirit” is rûḥô (H7307 rûaḥ), the same word as “wind.” The Pulpit notes the ruach is here “the seat of the senses, affections, and emotions” — so it is Pharaoh's inner self that is shaken (cf. Dan. 2:1; 4:5). “Spirit” is right, but the word is the very breath/wind that the east wind blasted the grain with in v. 6.
חַרְטֻמֵּ֥י “The magicians” renders ḥarṭummê (H2748 charṭôm), a rare and technical word — the sacred scribe-priests. Cambridge and the Pulpit derive it from a root “to cut/engrave” (the stylus, ḥeret); they are the “sacred scribes,” ἱερογραμματεῖς, who read hieroglyphics and claimed occult skill. The same rare word reappears for Nebuchadnezzar's wise men in Daniel — “magicians” is a loose modern label for a priestly caste.
פּוֹתֵ֥ר “Could interpret” is the participle pôṯēr (H6622 pâthar), “opening up [a dream].” This verb of dream-interpretation occurs in only seven verses of the whole Hebrew Bible, all of them in the Joseph narrative — it is the signature word of Joseph's gift, and its absence here (“none interpreting”) is the vacuum Joseph will fill.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

If the chief butler had at first used his interest for Joseph’s enlargement, and had obtained it, it is probable he would have gone back to the land of the Hebrews, and then he had neither been so blessed himself, nor such a blessing to his family.

source ↗

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

But this man was not much impressed with a sense of the fault he had committed against Joseph; he never thought of God, to whose goodness he was indebted for the prophetic announcement of his release, and in acknowledging his former fault against the king, he was practising the courtly art of pleasing his master.

source ↗

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Not against Joseph by ingratitude, but against the king; by which expression he both acknowledgeth the king’s justice in imprisoning him, and his clemency in pardoning him.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

my faults ] Lit. “my sins” (cf. Genesis 40:1 ). He is not referring to his forgetfulness ( Genesis 40:23 ), but to his offences against Pharaoh.

Cambridge also corrects the verb: the Hebrew is causative, “will make mention of,” not a private “I remember.”

source ↗

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

śar ham·maš·qîm way·ḏab·bêr ’eṯ- par·‘ōh lê·mōr ’eṯ- hay·yō·wm ’ă·nî maz·kîr ḥă·ṭā·’ay

Word by word11 · parsed

שַׂ֣רśarThen the chiefH8269

√ sar — a head person (of any rank or class)Nounmasculine singular construct

śar hammašqîm (H8269 + H4945, “chief of the cupbearers”): the restored butler of ch. 40, the man who “did not remember Joseph, but forgot him” (Gen. 40:23) — now, at last, remembering.

הַמַּשְׁקִ֔יםham·maš·qîmcupbearerH4945

√ mashqeh — properly, causing to drink, iArticleNounmasculine plural

וַיְדַבֵּר֙way·ḏab·bêrsaidH1696

√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-toH854

√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearPreposition

פַּרְעֹ֖הpar·‘ōhPharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular

לֵאמֹ֑רlê·mōr. . .H559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הַיּֽוֹם׃hay·yō·wmTodayH3117

אֲנִ֖י’ă·nîIH589

√ ʼănîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

מַזְכִּ֥ירmaz·kîrrecallH2142

√ zâkar — properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), iVerbHifilParticiplemasculine singular

mazkîr (H2142 zâkar, Hiphil participle, “causing to remember”): the causative stem — a formal “making mention,” the court act of laying a matter before the king.

חֲטָאַ֕יḥă·ṭā·’aymy failuresH2399

√ chêṭᵉʼ — a crime or its penaltyNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common singular

ḥăṭāʾay (H2399, “my sins”): JFB judge the confession self-serving — “practising the courtly art of pleasing his master”; Poole reads it as acknowledging “the king's justice in imprisoning him, and his clemency in pardoning him.”

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-spoke the-chief of-the-cupbearers with Pharaoh, saying, [As for] my-failures, I [am] causing-to-remember [them] today.

Where the English smooths the original

מַזְכִּ֥יר “I recall” is the Hiphil participle mazkîr (H2142 zâkar) — causative, “I cause [them] to be remembered / make mention of.” Cambridge corrects the popular reading: not “I remember” but “will make mention of” — a public, deliberate act of bringing the matter before the king, not a private recollection.
חֲטָאַ֕י “My failures” is ḥăṭāʾay (H2399 chêṭᵉʼ), literally “my sins / crimes.” The voices are divided over which sins — his old offence against Pharaoh, or his ingratitude in forgetting Joseph. Cambridge: “Lit. ‘my sins’ … He is not referring to his forgetfulness, but to his offences against Pharaoh.” The softened “failures” lets both readings stand where the Hebrew says “sins.”
הַיּֽוֹם “Today” is hayyôm (H3117), emphatically placed — “this day.” The cupbearer marks the precise moment of his confession; Benson hears in it a man who, though pardoned by Pharaoh, “had not forgiven himself.” The bare “today” carries that weight of a long-deferred reckoning.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

The chief butler now calls Joseph to mind, and mentions his gift to Pharaoh. "My sins." His offence against Pharaoh. His ingratitude in forgetting Joseph for two years does not perhaps occur to him as a sin.

source ↗

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

and the captain of the guard's house was a prison, or at least there was a prison in it for such sort of offenders; and this was Potiphar's, Joseph's master's, house

Gill identifies the “captain of the guard” as Potiphar — so the prison of Joseph's humiliation is the very house of the master who first cast him down.

source ↗

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

It is right to confess our faults against God, and against our fellow men when that confession is made in the spirit of godly sorrow and penitence.

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

In this dilemma the head cup-bearer thought of Joseph; and calling to mind his offence against the king ( Genesis 40:1 ), and his ingratitude to Joseph ( Genesis 40:23 ), he related to the king how Joseph had explained their dreams to him and the chief baker in the prison

source ↗

Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

par·‘ōh qā·ṣap̄ ‘al- ‘ă·ḇā·ḏāw way·yit·tên ’ō·ṯî ’ō·ṯî wə·’êṯ śar hā·’ō·p̄îm bə·miš·mar bêṯ śar haṭ·ṭab·bā·ḥîm

Word by word14 · parsed

פַּרְעֹ֖הpar·‘ōhPharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular

קָצַ֣ףqā·ṣap̄was once angryH7107

√ qâtsaph — to crack off, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

qāṣap̄ (H7107, “was wroth / broke out”): the eruptive verb of royal anger; the Pulpit cross-references Genesis 40:2, where the same wrath first fell on the two officers.

עַל־‘al-withH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

עֲבָדָ֑יו‘ă·ḇā·ḏāwhis servantsH5650

√ ʻebed — a servantNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular

וַיִּתֵּ֨ןway·yit·tênand he putH5414

√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

אֹתִ֜י’ō·ṯîH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerfirst person common singular

אֹתִ֕י’ō·ṯîmeH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerfirst person common singular

וְאֵ֖תwə·’êṯandH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

שַׂ֣רśarthe chiefH8269

√ sar — a head person (of any rank or class)Nounmasculine singular construct

הָאֹפִֽים׃hā·’ō·p̄îmbakerH644

√ ʼâphâh — to cook, especially to bakeArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine plural

hāʾōp̄îm (H644 ʼâphâh, “the bakers”): the chief baker, the cupbearer's fellow-prisoner — and, by the dream's outcome, the man who was hanged (v. 13).

בְּמִשְׁמַ֗רbə·miš·marin the custodyH4929

√ mishmâr — a guard (the man, the post or the prison)Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

בֵּ֚יתbêṯ. . .H1004

√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcNounmasculine singular construct

שַׂ֥רśarof the captainH8269

√ sar — a head person (of any rank or class)Nounmasculine singular construct

הַטַּבָּחִ֔יםhaṭ·ṭab·bā·ḥîmof the guardH2876

√ ṭabbâch — properly, a butcherArticleNounmasculine plural

haṭṭabbāḥîm (H2876 ṭabbâch, “the slaughterers/guard”): Potiphar's title; the prison stood in his house (so Gill), tying this scene back to Joseph's master in chs. 37 and 39.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Pharaoh was-wroth against his-servants, and-he-put me in-the-custody-of the-house-of the-chief-of the-slaughterers, [both] me and the-chief-of the-bakers.

Where the English smooths the original

קָצַ֣ף “Was once angry” is qāṣap̄ (H7107 qâtsaph), a strong verb — Strong's: “to crack off,” to burst out. The Pulpit renders it “broke out against them.” The English “was angry” is calm beside a word for anger that cracks and erupts.
הַטַּבָּחִ֔ים “The guard” renders haṭṭabbāḥîm (H2876 ṭabbâch), whose root means “a butcher / slaughterer.” The “captain of the guard” is literally the “chief of the slaughterers” — the same title borne by Potiphar (Gen. 37:36; 39:1). The polite “guard” masks the grim original sense of an executioner's office.
בְּמִשְׁמַ֗ר “In the custody” is bĕmišmar (H4929 mishmâr), “a guard, the post or the prison.” The same word framed the butler's and baker's confinement in ch. 40. It names the very ward where Joseph attended them — the setting the cupbearer is now recalling to Pharaoh.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream; they both dreamed exactly what should befall them, as it was interpreted to them; the dreams, the interpretation of them, and the events, answered to each other.

source ↗

Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time.

Henry's paragraph spans vv. 9-32; this opening line states the providential theme that governs the cupbearer's belated remembrance.

source ↗

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

This public acknowledgment of the merits of the young Hebrew would, tardy though it was, have reflected credit on the butler had it not been obviously made to ingratiate himself with his royal master.

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

he related to the king how Joseph had explained their dreams to him and the chief baker in the prison, and how entirely the interpretation had come true.

source ↗

One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’e·ḥāḏ bə·lay·lāh wā·hū ’ă·nî wan·na·ḥal·māh ḥă·lō·wm ’îš ḥă·lō·mōw ḥā·lā·mə·nū kə·p̄iṯ·rō·wn

Word by word10 · parsed

אֶחָ֖ד’e·ḥāḏOneH259

√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iNumbermasculine singular

ʾeḥāḏ (H259, “one”): “one night” — the single night holding two dreams, echoing the “one stalk” of v. 5; the unity is part of the sign's coherence.

בְּלַ֥יְלָהbə·lay·lāhnightH3915

√ layil — properly, a twist (away of the light), iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular

וָה֑וּאwā·hūboth [the chief baker]H1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Conjunctive wawPronounthird person masculine singular

אֲנִ֣י’ă·nîand IH589

√ ʼănîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

וַנַּֽחַלְמָ֥הwan·na·ḥal·māhhad dreamsH2492

√ châlam — properly, to bind firmly, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectfirst person common pluralthird person feminine singular

wannaḥalmāh (H2492 châlam, “and we dreamed”): the unit's binding verb, now on the cupbearer's lips — the same root as Pharaoh's dreaming (v. 1) and the brothers' dreams (Gen. 37).

חֲל֛וֹםḥă·lō·wm. . .H2472

√ chălôwm — a dreamNounmasculine singular

אִ֛ישׁ’îš[and] eachH376

√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular

חֲלֹמ֖וֹḥă·lō·mōwdreamH2472

√ chălôwm — a dreamNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

חָלָֽמְנוּ׃ḥā·lā·mə·nū. . .H2492

√ châlam — properly, to bind firmly, iVerbQalPerfectfirst person common plural

כְּפִתְר֥וֹןkə·p̄iṯ·rō·wnhad its own meaningH6623

√ pithrôwn — interpretation (of a dream)Preposition-kNounmasculine singular construct

kĕp̄iṯrôn (H6623 pithrôwn, “according to the interpretation”): the noun from pâthar; Strong's defines it narrowly as “interpretation (of a dream)” — a word, like its verb, almost confined to the Joseph story.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-we-dreamed a-dream in-night one, I and-he; [each] man according-to-the-interpretation of-his-dream we-dreamed.

Where the English smooths the original

וַנַּֽחַלְמָ֥ה “Had dreams” is wannaḥalmāh (H2492 châlam) — the same dream-root that opened the unit (v. 1). The cupbearer's report deliberately reuses Pharaoh's own verb, drawing the king toward the man who reads such dreams. The English “had dreams” obscures the repeated root that stitches the chapter together.
בְּלַ֥יְלָה אֶחָ֖ד “One night” is bĕlaylāh ʾeḥāḏ ‒ “in one night” (H3915 + H259), the same word ʾeḥāḏ used of the “one stalk” in v. 5. Two men, two dreams, one night — the simultaneity (which Gill stresses, “in one and the same night”) is the marvel that makes the double interpretation so striking.
כְּפִתְר֥וֹן “Had its own meaning” renders kĕp̄iṯrôn (H6623 pithrôwn), “according to the interpretation” — the noun cognate to the rare verb pâthar of v. 8. Each man dreamed exactly what his interpretation would prove to mean; Gill: “the dreams, the interpretation of them, and the events, answered to each other.”

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

he first describes him by his age, a young man, then by his descent, an Hebrew, and by his state and condition, a servant; neither of them tended much to recommend him to the king

source ↗

Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

"A Hebrew lad." The Egyptians were evidently well acquainted with the Hebrew race, at a time when Israel had only a family.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

It will be remembered that, in the E story, Joseph is the slave of the captain, and not a fellow-prisoner of the chief butler.

Cambridge (source-critical) notes a seam between Joseph-as-slave here and Joseph-as-fellow-prisoner elsewhere; reported as the voice's own reading, which the synthesis does not endorse.

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

he related to the king how Joseph had explained their dreams to him and the chief baker in the prison, and how entirely the interpretation had come true.

source ↗

Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

na·‘ar ‘iḇ·rî wə·šām ’it·tā·nū ‘e·ḇeḏ lə·śar haṭ·ṭab·bā·ḥîm wan·nə·sap·per- lō way·yip̄·tār- ḥă·lō·mō·ṯê·nū lā·nū ’eṯ- ’îš ka·ḥă·lō·mōw pā·ṯār

Word by word16 · parsed

נַ֣עַרna·‘arNow a youngH5288

√ naʻar — (concretely) a boy (as active), from the age of infancy to adolescenceNounmasculine singular

naʿar (H5288, “young man/lad”): Gill reckons him about twenty-eight here, two years before he stood at thirty before Pharaoh (v. 46).

עִבְרִ֗י‘iḇ·rîHebrewH5680

√ ʻIbrîy — an Eberite (iNounpropermasculine singular

ʿiḇrî (H5680, “Hebrew”): the outsider's ethnic name; its appearance in an Egyptian court underlines that the interpreter is a despised foreigner.

וְשָׁ֨םwə·šāmwas thereH8033

√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenConjunctive wawAdverb

אִתָּ֜נוּ’it·tā·nūwith usH854

√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearPrepositionfirst person common plural

עֶ֚בֶד‘e·ḇeḏa servantH5650

√ ʻebed — a servantNounmasculine singular

ʿeḇeḏ (H5650, “servant/slave”): Joseph's legal status; Cambridge flags the narrative seam — slave of the captain, per this account.

לְשַׂ֣רlə·śarof the captainH8269

√ sar — a head person (of any rank or class)Preposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

הַטַּבָּחִ֔יםhaṭ·ṭab·bā·ḥîmof the guardH2876

√ ṭabbâch — properly, a butcherArticleNounmasculine plural

וַנְּ֨סַפֶּר־wan·nə·sap·per-We told himH5608

√ çâphar — properly, to score with a mark as a tally or record, iConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectfirst person common plural

ל֔וֹlō[our dreams]

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

וַיִּפְתָּר־way·yip̄·tār-and he interpretedH6622

√ pâthar — to open up, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

wayyip̄tār (H6622 pâthar, “and he interpreted”): the signature dream-verb (7 verses, all Joseph); its success on the slave's lips is the exact answer to its failure among the magicians in v. 8.

חֲלֹמֹתֵ֑ינוּḥă·lō·mō·ṯê·nū[them]H2472

√ chălôwm — a dreamNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common plural

לָ֖נוּlā·nūfor

Prepositionfirst person common plural

אֶת־’eṯ-usH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

אִ֥ישׁ’îšindividuallyH376

√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular

כַּחֲלֹמ֖וֹka·ḥă·lō·mōw. . .H2472

√ chălôwm — a dreamPreposition-kNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

פָּתָֽר׃pā·ṯār. . .H6622

√ pâthar — to open up, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-there [was] with-us a-young-man, a-Hebrew, a-servant to-the-chief-of the-slaughterers; and-we-told him, and-he-interpreted for-us our-dreams, [each] man according-to-his-dream he-interpreted.

Where the English smooths the original

נַ֣עַר “A young man” is naʿar (H5288), a youth/lad. The cupbearer's description, Gill notes, is calculated to belittle: “a young man, then by his descent, an Hebrew, and by his state and condition, a servant; neither of them tended much to recommend him to the king.” The neutral “young Hebrew” loses the dismissive cataloguing of the original three terms.
עִבְרִ֗י “Hebrew” is ʿiḇrî (H5680), an ethnic outsider's label — Strong's: “an Eberite.” In Egyptian court mouths it marks Joseph as a foreigner of low standing (cf. Gen. 39:14, 17). It is the word that makes his coming exaltation a scandal of grace, and the English keeps it but not its edge of contempt.
וַיִּפְתָּר “He interpreted” is wayyip̄tār (H6622 pâthar) — the rare interpreting verb again, now attributed to the unnamed Hebrew slave. The very thing all Egypt's sacred scribes could not do (v. 8, “none interpreting”), this naʿar did. The English renders the verb plainly; the Hebrew sets the slave's success against the priests' failure by reusing their failed word.
עֶ֚בֶד “A servant” is ʿeḇeḏ (H5650), a slave. Cambridge notes the tension with the prison narrative: in this telling Joseph is “the slave of the captain, and not a fellow-prisoner” — the cupbearer recalls Joseph's servile rank, the lowest rung from which God will lift him.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

That is, Joseph foretold his restoration to his office, and the execution of the other. Thus Jeremiah is said to pull down and destroy those nations, whose downfall and destruction he only foretold, Jeremiah 1:10 .

source ↗

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Joseph, of whom he spake last, and who is here said to restore the one, and to hang the other, because he foretold those events, as Jeremiah is said to pull down and destroy those nations, Jeremiah 1:10 , whose destruction he did only foretell.

source ↗

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

The event answered to the interpretation, and showed it to be right; this is frequently hinted and repeated, to show the exactness and certainty of the interpretation given, in order to recommend Joseph to Pharaoh the more

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

Probably, the construction in the original is impersonal, i.e. “me they restored, and him they hanged.” In addressing Pharaoh, and in alluding to Pharaoh’s actions, this impersonal use of the 3rd pers. sing. is doubtless the language of etiquette.

Cambridge reads the unnamed subject as a polite impersonal — a courtier's way of not naming the king as the one who hanged a man.

source ↗

And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî lā·nū ka·’ă·šer pā·ṯar- kên hā·yāh ’ō·ṯî hê·šîḇ ‘al- kan·nî wə·’ō·ṯōw ṯā·lāh

Word by word12 · parsed

וַיְהִ֛יway·hîAnd it happenedH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

wayhî (H1961, “and it came to pass”): the same opening formula as v. 1 now closes the cupbearer's speech — frame and report bound by one word.

לָ֖נוּlā·nūto us

Prepositionfirst person common plural

כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka·’ă·šerjust asH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-kPronounrelative

פָּֽתַר־pā·ṯar-he had interpretedH6622

√ pâthar — to open up, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

pāṯar (H6622, “he interpreted”): the rare verb's final appearance in the unit, here vindicated by the matching outcome.

כֵּ֣ןkên. . .H3651

√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb

הָיָ֑הhā·yāh. . .H1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

אֹתִ֛י’ō·ṯîH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerfirst person common singular

הֵשִׁ֥יבhê·šîḇI was restoredH7725

√ shûwb — to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point)VerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular

hēšîḇ (H7725 shûwb, Hiphil, “he restored”): the contested unnamed subject — Joseph (Poole, Gill), an impersonal “they” (Cambridge), or Pharaoh (Aben Ezra, Jarchi). The synthesis reports the options.

עַל־‘al-toH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

כַּנִּ֖יkan·nîmy positionH3653

√ kên — a stand, iNounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

וְאֹת֥וֹwə·’ō·ṯōwH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object markerthird person masculine singular

תָלָֽה׃ṯā·lāhand the other man was hangedH8518

√ tâlâh — to suspend (especially to gibbet)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

ṯālāh (H8518, “hanged”): the gibbeting verb; the baker's fate fulfilled, completing the two-sided proof of Joseph's gift that recommends him to Pharaoh.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-came-to-pass, just-as he-interpreted for-us, so it-was: me he-restored to my-post, and-him he-hanged.

Where the English smooths the original

כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר פָּֽתַר “Just as he had interpreted” is kaʾăšer pāṯar — once more the rare verb pâthar (H6622). The cupbearer's whole testimony is sealed by the exact correspondence of word and event; the verb that no Egyptian could perform proved infallibly true. The English keeps the sense but not the recurrence of the chapter's key word.
הֵשִׁ֥יב “I was restored” is hēšîḇ (H7725 shûwb, Hiphil), “he caused [me] to return.” The grammar has an unnamed singular subject. Poole and Gill argue it is Joseph who is said to restore and to hang (as a prophet is said to do what he only foretells, Jer. 1:10); Cambridge reads it as an impersonal “they restored … they hanged,” court etiquette avoiding direct mention of Pharaoh. The active “I was restored” chooses neither.
תָלָֽה “Was hanged” is ṯālāh (H8518), “to suspend, especially to gibbet.” The blunt single verb closes the cupbearer's account on the baker's death — the dark half of the doubled fulfillment. Benson: Joseph “foretold his restoration to his office, and the execution of the other,” the prophet credited with the deed he only declared.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The hinge of two full years — verse 1

The unit opens on the narrative hinge wayhî — “and it came to pass” — and on a measure of time the Hebrew states twice over: šĕnāṯayim yāmîm, “two years of days.” Keil & Delitzsch and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown both pause on the idiom, JFB glossing it “Years of days, for full years.” These are full years of waiting, reckoned (most hold) from the cupbearer's release. The voices read the delay as design, not accident. Ellicott: Joseph's elevation “was not brought about by those arts by which men usually attain to greatness, such as statesmanship, or military skill; nor was it by accident, but according to the Biblical rule, by the direct intervention of Providence.” Benson: “By this great and long-continued humiliation and trial, he was prepared for the extraordinary exaltation which God designed for him.” And JFB feel the cost of it: “What a long time for Joseph to experience the sickness of hope deferred!” The dream itself, the Geneva note insists, looks past its dreamer — it “was not so much for Pharaoh, as is was a means to deliver Joseph and to provide for God's Church.” (The Geneva note's “as is was” preserves the 1599 source's own slip for “as it was.”) The scene is set by a single Egyptian word, hayĕʾōr (the Nile), which Cambridge notes “reproduces the Egyptian.”

ii. Two dreams in the symbols of Egypt — verses 2–7

Pharaoh's twin visions are told in Egypt's own sacred vocabulary. Seven cows ascend (ʿōlōṯ) from the Nile, for, as Ellicott and Barnes note, the cow “was regarded by the Egyptians as the symbol of the earth, and of agriculture,” the form of Isis, and “as no rain falls in Egypt, its fertility entirely depends upon the overflow of the Nile.” Poole: “both the fruitfulness and the barrenness of Egypt depended, under God, upon the increase or diminution of the waters of that river.” The first cows are beautiful of appearance (yāpheh); the second are evil of appearance (raʿ) and crushed-thin (daq), and they stand upon the “lip” (śāphâh) of the river — a phrase the Pulpit Commentary matches to a nineteenth-dynasty Egyptian papyrus, evidence of a writer “equally familiar with both languages.” The grain-dream repeats the cattle-dream in a new emblem: seven ears, plump (bârîyʼ — the same word as the fat cows) on a single stalk, the many-eared Egyptian wheat Ellicott names triticum compositum. The thin ears are blasted (šĕḏûp̄ōṯ) by the qāḏîm, the east wind that Cambridge calls “always a synonym for dryness, parching heat, and violence” — Egypt's dreaded khamsin. The doubling is the point: “the duplication of the dream,” says Cambridge, “seems to place its significance beyond dispute,” and the Pulpit, “The dream was doubled because of its certainty and nearness.” Poole alone hears the persistence of the vision in the lingering hinnēh: “the dream did not vanish, as dreams commonly do, but was fixed in his mind … by which he saw that it was … a Divine and significant dream.”

iii. The wisdom of Egypt struck dumb — verse 8

Morning finds Pharaoh's rûaḥ beaten upon — wattippāʿem, a verb of throbbing agitation the Pulpit renders “his mind was agitated.” He summons the ḥarṭummîm, the rare word Ellicott takes for the “sacred scribes,” skilled in hieroglyphics, and the ḥăḵāmîm, the sages — yet, the text records, “there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.” The voices converge on the irony. Keil & Delitzsch: “the clue to the interpretation was to be found in the religious symbols of Egypt,” yet Egypt's own priests were silent — “the fate of the wisdom of this world, that where it suffices it is compelled to be silent.” JFB: “the providence of God had determined that they should all be nonplussed … in order that the inspired wisdom of Joseph might appear the more remarkable.” Benson agrees the failure “was intended to render Joseph's interpretation of these dreams, by the Spirit of God, the more wonderful.” The word for what they could not do — pôṯēr, “interpreting” — is the rarest verb in the chapter, and its conspicuous absence here is the vacuum into which Joseph will be summoned.

iv. The cupbearer's belated remembrance — verses 9–13

Now the chief cupbearer — the man who, the previous chapter ended, did not remember Joseph but forgot him (Gen. 40:23) — at last makes mention. “I do remember my faults this day”; the Hebrew, Cambridge corrects, is causative, “will make mention of,” and “my faults” is literally “my sins,” pointing not to his forgetfulness of Joseph but, in Cambridge's words, “to his offences against Pharaoh.” The voices weigh his motive and find it wanting. JFB: his confession “would … have reflected credit on the butler had it not been obviously made to ingratiate himself with his royal master … he never thought of God.” He recounts the prison, the “captain of the guard” — the title the Pulpit renders “captain of the slaughterers,” and which Gill identifies as Potiphar's own house — and the unnamed interpreter, whom he labels with three belittling words: a naʿar (young man), an ʿiḇrî (Hebrew), an ʿeḇeḏ (servant) — three labels of which Gill says “neither of them tended much to recommend him to the king.” Yet the despised slave did what all Egypt's scribes could not: he interpreted (pâthar), and “as he interpreted to us, so it was.” The double outcome — the one restored, the other hanged — vindicates the gift. The grammar of v. 13 leaves the restorer unnamed; Poole and Benson credit Joseph, who “foretold those events, as Jeremiah is said to pull down and destroy those nations … whose destruction he did only foretell” (Jer. 1:10), while Cambridge reads a courtly impersonal, “me they restored, and him they hanged.” Over the whole, Matthew Henry sets the governing truth: “God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time.”

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read under the rule that Scripture alone is the final authority, this passage — a king's two dreams and a courtier's late memory — is offered as a reading to be tested, not a verdict to be trusted. Three claims press themselves on the text.

God governs the timing, not the schemer. Two full years pass; the cupbearer forgets; the magicians fail. Every human means of Joseph's deliverance breaks down, and that is precisely the point. The Geneva note says the dream was “a means to deliver Joseph and to provide for God's Church,” and Henry adds that God's time “is the fittest time.” The narrative does not credit Joseph's patience or the butler's belated decency; it credits the One who ripens the hour. What looks like delay is preparation (Benson), and what looks like a forgotten man is a man being kept.

The wisdom of the world is silenced so that the wisdom of God may speak. The answer to Pharaoh's dream lay, K&D observe, in Egypt's own sacred symbols — and Egypt's own sacred scribes could not find it. God “nonplussed” them (JFB) on purpose. The Scripture sets a recurring pattern: the diviners of Babylon will be struck dumb before Daniel exactly as the scribes of Egypt are struck dumb before Joseph, “that no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Cor. 1:29). Revelation is a gift, not an art; it is opened (pâthar) by the Spirit, never wrested by technique.

Dreams that come true are God's signature on history. The cupbearer's testimony rests on one fact: “as he interpreted to us, so it was.” The doubled dream is “established by God” (so Joseph will say in v. 32), and its earlier, smaller fulfillment in the prison guarantees the larger one to come. The God who matches word to event in a butler's restoration is the God who matches prophecy to fulfillment in the coming of Christ.

Egypt's wisest could not open the dream; a forgotten Hebrew slave could — because interpretation belongs to God, who opens what no art can pry.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The two dreams and their re-telling — Pharaoh recites to Joseph (Gen. 41:18) verbal / quotation — confirmed

When Pharaoh later repeats his dream to Joseph (Gen. 41:17-24), the narrator reuses the exact vocabulary of the original report. The Verifier finds three shared lexemes between v. 2 and v. 18, anchored by the very rare Nile-grass word ʼâchûw (H260), which occurs in only three verses of the whole Hebrew Bible. The recurrence of so rare a word, together with bârîyʼ (“fat”) and pârâh (“cow”), marks v. 18 as a deliberate verbal echo of v. 2 — the dream told twice in the same words, as dreams in this chapter are doubled for certainty. Keil & Delitzsch and Ellicott both treat the cattle-dream and its recital as one report.

Genesis 41:2 · Genesis 41:18

basis: shared lexemes (Verifier): H260 ʼâchûw (in only 3 vv — rare), H1277 bârîyʼ (in 13 vv), H6510 pârâh (in 22 vv), H3303 yâpheh (in 38 vv). The rare ʼâchûw qualifies the verbal tier; the dream is recited in the same words.

ʼâchûw, the Nile-grass — only here and at Job 8:11 verbal / quotation — confirmed

The word for the marsh-grass in which the cows graze, bāʾāḥû (H260 ʼâchûw), is an Egyptian loanword so rare that it appears in only three verses of the entire Hebrew Bible — twice in this chapter (vv. 2, 18) and once in Job 8:11 (“Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?”). Ellicott states it outright: “The word occurs only in this chapter and in Job 8:11, where it is translated flag”; Cambridge and the Pulpit agree. The shared rare lexeme makes this a genuine verbal link between Genesis and Job — both passages reaching for the same untranslatable Nile-bank reed.

Genesis 41:2 · Job 8:11

basis: shared rare lexeme (Verifier): H260 ʼâchûw (in only 3 vv — Gen 41:2, Gen 41:18, Job 8:11). Very low frequency qualifies a verbal tier; honestly, this is a shared rare word, not a quotation of one verse by the other — both independently use the Egyptian loan for Nile reed-grass.

Joseph in the prison — the dream-interpreting verb pâthar (Gen. 40:8) verbal / quotation — confirmed

The chapter's signature verb, pâthar (H6622, “to interpret a dream”), occurs in only seven verses of the Hebrew Bible — every one of them in the Joseph narrative of Genesis 40-41. Its first appearance is Genesis 40:8, where Joseph tells the imprisoned officers, “do not interpretations belong to God? tell me [your dreams].” The Verifier confirms the shared rare verb (with the noun chălôwm, “dream”) between Gen 41:8 and Gen 40:8. The link is structural and dramatic: the verb that no one in Pharaoh's court can perform (41:8) is the very verb Joseph claimed for God alone in the prison (40:8). Keil & Delitzsch trace the cupbearer's memory straight back to that prison scene.

Genesis 41:8 · Genesis 40:8

basis: shared rare lexeme (Verifier): H6622 pâthar (in only 7 vv, all in Gen 40-41) + H2472 chălôwm (in 55 vv) + H5608 çâphar (in 152 vv). The very rare interpreting-verb binds the prison scene to the throne-room; same narrative, same vocabulary.

The magicians of Egypt and the magicians of Babylon — charṭummîm (Daniel 2:2) verbal / quotation — confirmed

The rare technical word for Pharaoh's diviners, ḥarṭummîm (H2748, “sacred scribes / magicians”), occurs in only ten verses of the Hebrew Bible — in this chapter, in the Exodus plagues, and in Daniel. The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme between Genesis 41:8 and Daniel 2:2 (and Daniel 1:20). Cambridge makes the literary judgment explicit: “The same Heb. word is used in Daniel 2:2, probably in imitation of this passage.” Both stories run the same pattern — a troubled pagan king (Pharaoh's spirit “troubled,” pâʻam; Nebuchadnezzar's likewise, Dan. 2:1, same verb), the assembled ḥarṭummîm who fail, and a Hebrew captive to whom God gives the interpretation. Since Daniel 2's narrative frame is Hebrew here, this is a Hebrew↔Hebrew verbal link on a rare word, not a thematic guess.

Genesis 41:8 · Daniel 2:2 · Daniel 1:20

basis: shared rare lexeme (Verifier): H2748 charṭôm (in only 10 vv — Gen 41, Exodus, Daniel). The low-frequency technical term binds the Joseph and Daniel court-tales; Cambridge judges Daniel borrows it from this passage.

A troubled royal spirit — Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:1) structural / thematic — confirmed

Beyond the shared magicians, the two dream-narratives share the very verb of the king's distress. Pharaoh's spirit “was troubled” (wattippāʿem, H6470 pâʻam, v. 8); Nebuchadnezzar's “spirit was troubled” with the identical verb (Dan. 2:1, 3). The Verifier links Genesis 41:1 to Daniel 2:1 by the shared dream-verb châlam (H2492); the troubled-spirit verb pâʻam (H6470) is shared at v. 8. Benson and Poole both cross-reference Daniel 2:1-3 at this point. Held honestly: these are common-enough verbs (châlam in 25 vv), so the strongest tier here is structural/thematic — the parallel rests on the matching court-tale pattern that the rarer charṭummîm link (above) carries verbally, not on these verbs alone.

Genesis 41:8 · Daniel 2:1 · Daniel 2:3

basis: shared lexemes (Verifier): H2492 châlam (in 25 vv), H2472 chălôwm (in 55 vv); the troubled-spirit verb H6470 pâʻam recurs at Dan 2:1. Moderate frequency — a shared court-dream pattern, not a rare quotation.

The east wind of judgment — qāḏîm (Hosea 13:15) structural / thematic — confirmed

The scorching qāḏîm (H6921, east wind) that blasts the seven thin ears (v. 6) is, across the prophets, a fixed emblem of God's withering judgment. The Verifier links Genesis 41:6 to Hosea 13:15 by the shared word qāḏîm. Poole and Cambridge gather the parallels themselves: Ezekiel 17:10; 19:12; Hosea 13:15; Jonah 4:8 — Cambridge calling the east wind “always a synonym for dryness, parching heat, and violence.” The same wind that signifies famine in Pharaoh's dream signifies the LORD's blast that dries up the spring and spoils the treasure in Hosea. Held honestly: the word is moderately common (64 vv), so the link is a shared motif of judgment-by-east-wind, not a quotation.

Genesis 41:6 · Hosea 13:15 · Ezekiel 19:12

basis: shared lexeme (Verifier): H6921 qâdîym (in 64 vv). Moderate frequency — the connection is the prophetic motif of the east wind as parching judgment, gathered by Poole and Cambridge, not a rare-word quotation.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The despised Hebrew slave who alone can open what is sealed widely-held

The chapter stages a pattern the New Testament will name. All the wisdom of Egypt — its sacred scribes, its sages — stands helpless before a sealed mystery, and the one who opens it is a despised foreigner, a naʿar, an ʿiḇrî, an ʿeḇeḏ (v. 12), summoned from a prison. So Christ comes as one “despised and rejected” (Isa. 53:3), a servant (Phil. 2:7), before whom “the wisdom of the wise” is brought to nothing (1 Cor. 1:19, 27-29). Joseph, who insists “it is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an answer” (Gen. 41:16), foreshadows the One in whom “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3) — the true Revealer who opens what no human art can unseal. The ancient church read Joseph the rejected-then-exalted deliverer as a figure of Christ, and this scene — humiliation preceding the lifting-up — is the hinge of that reading.

Genesis 41:12 · 1 Corinthians 1:27 · Colossians 2:3

Joseph and Daniel — captive Hebrews who reveal God before the nations ancient/widely-held

Genesis 41 and Daniel 2 are bound by more than a shared rare word for magicians (see the threads): both are typological portraits of the same office. A pagan king dreams; his diviners fail; a faithful Hebrew exile, declaring that revelation belongs to God alone, interprets and is exalted to rule. Joseph and Daniel together prefigure the Christ who is both the wisdom of God to the Gentiles and the King exalted over the kingdoms of men. Where the magicians' craft is dumb, the Spirit speaks through the servant — the same Spirit who will rest “without measure” on Jesus (John 3:34). Held honestly: within the Old Testament the Joseph↔Daniel link is verbal (the rare charṭummîm); the forward reach to Christ is typological — a figural reading of two deliverer-interpreters, argued from the pattern, not asserted as a verbal prophecy.

Genesis 41:8 · Daniel 2:28 · Daniel 2:47

The years of plenty laid up against famine — bread for the world novel

The dream Pharaoh cannot read foretells seven years of plenty stored against seven of famine, so that, as the chapter will show, “all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn” (Gen. 41:57). Matthew Henry, commenting over this very unit, lifts the eyes higher: “There is bread which lasts to eternal life, which it is worth while to labour for.” Joseph, lord of the granaries who keeps the world alive through famine, foreshadows Christ, the “bread of life” who says, “he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35), the One in whom the Father has “laid up” salvation against the famine of judgment. Held honestly: this is a typological/figural reading drawn from the dream's content and Henry's own application, not a verbal cross-Testament link — the Genesis text is Hebrew, the Johannine text Greek, with no shared Strong's number.

Genesis 41:5 · Genesis 41:7 · John 6:35

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (public domain, CC0). The named voices are quoted verbatim from public-domain commentaries on Genesis 41 at Bible Hub — Ellicott, Benson, Matthew Henry, Albert Barnes, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Matthew Poole, John Gill, the Geneva Study Bible, the Cambridge Bible, the Pulpit Commentary, and Keil & Delitzsch — attributed in place. Several of these comments are unit-level: Matthew Henry's notes run as two paragraphs over vv. 1-8 and vv. 9-32; Barnes' note covers the recital of the dreams; K&D's runs over vv. 1-7; JFB's chapter-head note spans vv. 1-24. Where such a note is cited on one verse, that is the editor's placement of a passage-level remark.

The Hebrew is the Masoretic tradition; the transliterations, parsings, literal renderings (built from the original up), and the “where the English smooths the Hebrew” notes are this tool's own work (⚙) — careful but fallible; check them against BDB/HALOT and a standard grammar. This unit's cross-references rest on three genuinely rare lexemes confirmed by the Verifier: ʼâchûw (H260, Nile-grass, in only 3 verses), pâthar (H6622, to interpret a dream, in only 7 verses, all in Genesis 40-41), and charṭummîm (H2748, sacred scribes/magicians, in only 10 verses). These low frequencies justify the verbal tier for the Job 8:11, Genesis 40:8, and Daniel 2:2 links respectively — but verbal here means a shared rare word, not a claim that one verse quotes another. The Daniel links deserve a special note: Daniel 2's narrative frame is Hebrew (the Aramaic begins at 2:4b), so the shared Strong's numbers are real Hebrew↔Hebrew verbal connections, and Cambridge judges Daniel 2:2 to use the word ḥarṭummim “in imitation of this passage.” The troubled-spirit parallel (Pharaoh / Nebuchadnezzar, pâʻam) and the east-wind motif (qāḏîm, Hosea 13:15) rest on more common words and are tiered structural/thematic accordingly. All three Christ readings are typological: the rejected-then-exalted interpreter, the Joseph-Daniel pairing, and the bread-against-famine figure are figural readings of the narrative, the first two ancient and widely held, the third (the bread-of-life application drawn from Henry) marked novel; the New-Testament legs are Hebrew→Greek with no shared Strong's number and are never asserted as verbal quotation. One source-critical voice is included for honesty: Cambridge's note at v. 12 on Joseph as “slave of the captain” in “the E story” reflects that commentary's documentary assumptions; it is reported as the voice's own reading and is not endorsed by this synthesis. The parses are sourced from Berean/Strong's and are not contradicted here.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)