Bible Strands
Genesis 41:7
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
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Pharaoh’s reaction at the moment he wakes from his second dream, marking the transition from the vision’s completion to his waking realization. The words — The verb וַתִּבְלַעְנָה (vat.tivla'nah) literally means "and they swallowed," while הַדַּקּוֹת (ha.dak.kot) and הַבְּרִיאוֹת (ha.be.ri.ot) contrast "thin" with "fat" or "plump" grain. The thread — Divine communication through dreams appears in Genesis 20:3 and Genesis 37:5, establishing a pattern where God or future events are revealed in sleep. This verse continues that motif by showing a waking ruler confronted with an unexplained nocturnal vision. Why it lands — The text demands recognition that the dream’s sequence is complete and requires interpretation, placing the burden of understanding on the waking mind rather than the sleeping state.
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 seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
Cross-references
- Genesis 20:3 One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
- Genesis 37:5 Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.