Bible Strands
Genesis 41:24
And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Pharaoh recounts his second dream to Joseph, describing how the thin heads of grain consumed the seven healthy ones, and notes his prior failed attempts to secure an interpretation from Egypt’s magicians.
The words — תִּבְלַעְנָהּ (tiv.La'.na) translates as “they swallowed,” and שְׂבָלִים (she.bo.Lim) denotes “ears of grain,” emphasizing the unnatural consumption described in the vision.
The thread — This motif of failed human interpretation appears when Pharaoh’s magicians could not explain his dreams (Genesis 41:8), when Babylonian diviners failed to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s vision (Daniel 4:7), and when Egyptian magicians ultimately acknowledged divine agency (Exodus 8:19).
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human wisdom cannot decode divine revelation, directing the reader to seek interpretation solely from God.
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 the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
Cross-references
- Daniel 4:7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.
- Genesis 41:8 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.
- Exodus 8:19 “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.