Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
- KJV And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
- ESV Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
- NKJV Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
- NASB Then he had yet another dream, and informed his brothers of it, and said, “Behold, I have had yet another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
- NLT Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joseph dreams again of the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing to him. This second dream confirms his coming exaltation.
Overview
In a second dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow before Joseph, signifying that his whole family, including his parents, would honor him. The doubling of the dream marks it as firmly established by God (cf. Genesis 41:32). The cosmic imagery elevates Joseph's destiny, pointing beyond him to the One whom all creation will ultimately acknowledge as Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Acts 7:9–14Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Gen 46:29Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.
- Dan 8:10It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth, and trampled them.
- Gen 37:7We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”
- Gen 43:28“Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him.
- Phil 2:15so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- Gen 50:15–21When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.”
- Gen 45:9Now return quickly to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay.
- Gen 47:12Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.
- Gen 44:14When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
- Gen 37:10He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”
- Gen 41:32Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.
- Gen 44:19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
- Gen 41:25At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 37:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.