Bible Strands
Job 33:15
In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elihu addresses Job, having just stated that God speaks "in one way and in another" (v.14); he is now specifying one channel: the nocturnal, unconscious mode.
The words — The verse pairs חלום (châ·lôm, "a dream") with חזיון (chêzî·yôn, "a vision"), two distinct Hebrew terms for two distinct revelatory experiences, both occurring under תּרדמה (tar·dê·mâh, "deep sleep," a sleep that falls upon the person rather than one they choose).
The thread — Job 4:13 uses nearly identical phrasing ("deep sleep falls on men") for Eliphaz's own theophany; Numbers 12:6 establishes God's pattern of revealing Himself "in a vision" to prophets; Genesis 20:3 shows God interrupting a sleeping king with a warning.
Why it lands — The recipient is asleep, passive, unaware; the verse presents divine communication as something that reaches a person precisely when they are not looking for it, which is what makes v.14's "no one notices" a genuine problem rather than a mere oversight.
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
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Cross-references
- Numbers 12:6 He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
- Job 4:13 In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- 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 31:24 But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
- Daniel 4:5 I had a dream, and it frightened me; while I was in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.
- Jeremiah 23:28 Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.
- Daniel 8:18 While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, helped me to my feet,
- Genesis 15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
- Hebrews 1:1 On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.