The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
Parallel translations
- WEB The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.
- BSB The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.
- NKJV The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one.
- NASB The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.
- NLT The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity.
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 explains that the seven good cattle and seven good heads of grain both mean seven years.
Overview
He unites the two dreams into one meaning: seven years of plenty are coming. The doubled imagery signifies a single, certain divine plan. Joseph's clarity shows the wisdom God grants to His servant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Gen 41:47And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
- Gen 41:2And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
- Exod 12:11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s passover.
- Gen 41:5And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
- Gen 41:29Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
- 1 Cor 10:4And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
- Gen 41:53And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.
- 1 Jn 5:7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
- Gen 40:18And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
- Gen 40:12And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
- Gen 2:24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
- Exod 26:6And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 41:26 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.