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.
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.”
- BSB 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.”
- 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 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 7:9–14And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
- Gen 46:29And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
- Dan 8:10And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
- Gen 37:7For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
- Gen 43:28And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
- Phil 2:15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
- Gen 50:15–21And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
- Gen 45:9Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
- Gen 47:12And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.
- Gen 44:14And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
- Gen 37:10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
- Gen 41:32And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
- Gen 44:19My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
- Gen 41:25And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed 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
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