Genesis 41:2

41:2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, ¹  and they grazed in the reeds.

Genesis 41:5

41:5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing ²  on one stalk, healthy ³  and good.

Genesis 41:29

41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:47

41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. ⁴ 

Genesis 41:53

41:53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end.

Genesis 40:18

40:18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent ⁵  three days.

Exodus 12:11

12:11 This is how you are to eat it – dressed to travel, ⁶  your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. ⁷ 

Exodus 12:1

The Institution of the Passover

12:1 ⁸ The Lord said ⁹  to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ¹⁰ 

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ¹¹  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

¹ tn Heb “And look, he was standing by the Nile, and look, from the Nile were coming up seven cows, attractive of appearance and fat of flesh.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to see the dream through Pharaoh’s eyes.

² tn Heb “coming up.”

³ tn Heb “fat.”

⁴ tn Heb “brought forth by handfuls.”

⁵ tn Heb “the three baskets [are].”

⁶ tn Heb “your loins girded.”

⁷ tn The meaning of פֶּסַח (pesakh) is debated. (1) Some have tried to connect it to the Hebrew verb with the same radicals that means “to halt, leap, limp, stumble.” See 1 Kgs 18:26 where the word describes the priests of Baal hopping around the altar; also the crippled child in 2 Sam 4:4. (2) Others connect it to the Akkadian passahu, which means “to appease, make soft, placate”; or (3) an Egyptian word to commemorate the harvest (see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, 95-100). The verb occurs in Isa 31:5 with the connotation of “to protect”; B. S. Childs suggests that this was already influenced by the exodus tradition (Exodus [OTL], 183, n. 11). Whatever links there may or may not have been that show an etymology, in Exod 12 it is describing Yahweh’s passing over or through.

⁸ sn Chapter 12 details the culmination of the ten plagues on Egypt and the beginning of the actual deliverance from bondage. Moreover, the celebration of this festival of Passover was to become a central part of the holy calendar of Israel. The contents of this chapter have significance for NT studies as well, since the Passover was a type of the death of Jesus. The structure of this section before the crossing of the sea is as follows: the institution of the Passover (12:1-28), the night of farewell and departure (12:29-42), slaves and strangers (12:43-51), and the laws of the firstborn (13:1-16). In this immediate section there is the institution of the Passover itself (12:1-13), then the Unleavened Bread (12:14-20), and then the report of the response of the people (12:21-28).

⁹ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “saying.”

¹¹ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).