Bible Strands
Genesis 41:38
So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Pharaoh speaks to his officials immediately after Joseph explains the dreams and outlines a famine strategy. He poses a rhetorical question asking whether another man indwelt by God's Spirit can be found.
The words — The Hebrew הֲ/נִמְצָ֣א (ha./nim.Tza') literally asks whether someone "has been found," while אֲשֶׁ֛ר ('a.Sher) functions as a relative pronoun meaning "whom" or "in whom." These terms frame the inquiry as a search for a specific, divinely equipped individual.
The thread — The linkage of a divine spirit to human understanding appears in Job 32:8 and Numbers 27:18, while Daniel 5:14 records a ruler acknowledging a spirit of insight in a servant. Each passage ties supernatural discernment to leadership or prophetic function without conflating the spirit's source.
Why it lands — The text states that exceptional wisdom and administrative capacity originate from God's Spirit rather than human merit. It requires readers to submit to divine authority when facing crisis or assuming governance.
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 Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
Cross-references
- Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
- Daniel 5:14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.
- Numbers 27:18 And the LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.
- Daniel 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,
- Daniel 4:18 This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
- Daniel 4:6 So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me.
- 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:
- Daniel 6:3 Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.