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After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
Genesis 41:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river.
  • KJV And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
  • NKJV Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.
  • NASB Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
  • NLT Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.

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

Two years later, Pharaoh has a vivid dream while standing by the Nile.

Overview

The note 'two full years' marks the long delay Joseph endured after the cup bearer forgot him. God now begins to move through Pharaoh's dreams, setting in motion Joseph's deliverance and exaltation. The Lord's purposes unfold in His own time, not ours.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Gen 29:14Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
  • Gen 20:3One 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.”
  • Gen 40:5both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.
  • Exod 4:9But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
  • Deut 11:10For the land that you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden.
  • Exod 1:22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
  • Ezek 29:9The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’
  • Ezek 29:3Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
  • Gen 31:21So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
  • Job 33:15–16In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,
  • Esth 6:1That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.
  • Matt 27:19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
  • Isa 19:5The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty.
  • Gen 37:5–10Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
  • Dan 4:5–18I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.
  • Dan 7:1–8In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.
  • Dan 2:1–3In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
  • Judg 7:13–14And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 41:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 41:1 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.