Bible Strands
Genesis 40:8
“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chief cupbearer and chief baker answer Joseph’s inquiry about their downcast faces, stating they both had dreams but lack an interpreter. Joseph responds by declaring that interpretations belong to God and commands them to recount their dreams.
The words — The phrase אֵין פֹּתֵר אֹתוֹ (ein poṭer oto) translates literally as “there is not one interpreting it,” noting the absence of human capacity to decode the visions. Joseph counters with וְ/לָ/אֱלֹהִ֖ים הַ/פְּתָר֑וֹת (ve-la/Elohim ha-petarot), meaning “and to God belong interpretations,” establishing divine sovereignty over revelation.
The thread — This assertion that God alone decodes visions appears when Pharaoh later tells Joseph he has a dream but no human can interpret it (Genesis 41:15) and when Daniel credits Nebuchadnezzar’s God as the Revealer of Mysteries (Daniel 2:28, 47).
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that human insight cannot access divine revelation, demanding the reader submit to God’s exclusive authority over hidden matters rather than relying on human expertise.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
Cross-references
- Daniel 2:47 The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
- Genesis 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
- Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:
- Isaiah 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
- 1 Corinthians 12:10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
- Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,
- Psalms 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
- Daniel 2:11 What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
- Daniel 4:8 But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream: