Genesis 28:12

28:12 and had a dream. ¹  He saw ²  a stairway ³  erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it

Genesis 31:24

31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ⁴  “Be careful ⁵  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ⁶ 

Genesis 37:5

37:5 Joseph ⁷  had a dream, ⁸  and when he told his brothers about it, ⁹  they hated him even more. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 37:9

37:9 Then he had another dream, ¹¹  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ¹²  he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Genesis 40:8

40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, ¹³  but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them ¹⁴  to me.”

Genesis 41:1-36

Joseph’s Rise to Power

41:1 At the end of two full years ¹⁵  Pharaoh had a dream. ¹⁶  As he was standing by the Nile, 41:2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, ¹⁷  and they grazed in the reeds. 41:3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, ¹⁸  and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. ¹⁹  41:4 The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

41:5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing ²⁰  on one stalk, healthy ²¹  and good. 41:6 Then ²²  seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. ²³ 

41:8 In the morning he ²⁴  was troubled, so he called for ²⁵  all the diviner-priests ²⁶  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ²⁷  but no one could interpret ²⁸  them for him. ²⁹  41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. ³⁰  41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker. 41:11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. ³¹  41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant ³²  of the captain of the guards, ³³  was with us there. We told him our dreams, ³⁴  and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. ³⁵  41:13 It happened just as he had said ³⁶  to us – Pharaoh ³⁷  restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” ³⁸ 

41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned ³⁹  Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, ⁴⁰  and there is no one who can interpret ⁴¹  it. But I have heard about you, that ⁴²  you can interpret dreams.” ⁴³  41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, ⁴⁴  but God will speak concerning ⁴⁵  the welfare of Pharaoh.” ⁴⁶ 

41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing ⁴⁷  by the edge of the Nile. 41:18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. ⁴⁸  41:19 Then ⁴⁹  seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows ⁵⁰  as these in all the land of Egypt! 41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven ⁵¹  fat cows. 41:21 When they had eaten them, ⁵²  no one would have known ⁵³  that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 41:22 I also saw in my dream ⁵⁴  seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 41:23 Then ⁵⁵  seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this ⁵⁶  to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” ⁵⁷ 

41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. ⁵⁸  God has revealed ⁵⁹  to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ⁶⁰  41:26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. ⁶¹  41:27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent ⁶²  seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told ⁶³  Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 41:30 But seven years of famine will occur ⁶⁴  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ⁶⁵  the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered ⁶⁶  because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. ⁶⁷  41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh ⁶⁸  because the matter has been decreed ⁶⁹  by God, and God will make it happen soon. ⁷⁰ 

41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look ⁷¹  for a wise and discerning man ⁷²  and give him authority ⁷³  over all the land of Egypt. 41:34 Pharaoh should do ⁷⁴  this – he should appoint ⁷⁵  officials ⁷⁶  throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt ⁷⁷  during the seven years of abundance. 41:35 They should gather all the excess food ⁷⁸  during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority ⁷⁹  they should store up grain so the cities will have food, ⁸⁰  and they should preserve it. ⁸¹  41:36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.” ⁸² 

Job 4:12-13

Ungodly Complainers Provoke God’s Wrath

4:12 “Now a word was secretly ⁸³  brought ⁸⁴  to me,

and my ear caught ⁸⁵  a whisper ⁸⁶  of it.

4:13 In the troubling thoughts ⁸⁷  of the dreams ⁸⁸  in the night

when a deep sleep ⁸⁹  falls on men,

Job 33:15

33:15 In a dream, a night vision,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they sleep in their beds.

Matthew 1:20

1:20 When he had contemplated this, an ⁹⁰  angel of the Lord ⁹¹  appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 2:12-13

2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ⁹²  they went back by another route to their own country.

The Escape to Egypt

2:13 After they had gone, an ⁹³  angel of the Lord ⁹⁴  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ⁹⁵  is going to look for the child to kill him.”

Matthew 27:19

27:19 As ⁹⁶  he was sitting on the judgment seat, ⁹⁷  his wife sent a message ⁹⁸  to him: ⁹⁹  “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; ¹⁰⁰  I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream ¹⁰¹  about him today.”

[28:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ² tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the Lord himself” (Narrative Art in Genesis [SSN], 51-52).

[28:12]  ³ tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.

[31:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.

[37:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[37:5]  ⁹ sn Some interpreters see Joseph as gloating over his brothers, but the text simply says he told his brothers about it (i.e., the dream). The text gives no warrant for interpreting his manner as arrogant or condescending. It seems normal that he would share a dream with the family.

[37:5]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.

[37:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”

[37:9]  ¹² tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.

[40:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”

[40:8]  ¹⁴ tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “two years, days.”

[41:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “was dreaming.”

[41:2]  ¹⁷ 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.

[41:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “And look, seven other cows were coming up after them from the Nile, bad of appearance and thin of flesh.”

[41:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the Nile.” This has been replaced by “the river” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “coming up.”

[41:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “fat.”

[41:6]  ²² tn Heb “And look.”

[41:7]  ²³ tn Heb “And look, a dream.”

[41:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[41:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he sent and called,” which indicates an official summons.

[41:8]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew term חַרְטֹם (khartom) is an Egyptian loanword (hyr-tp) that describes a class of priests who were skilled in such interpretations.

[41:8]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew text has the singular (though the Samaritan Pentateuch reads the plural). If retained, the singular must be collective for the set of dreams. Note the plural pronoun “them,” referring to the dreams, in the next clause. However, note that in v. 15 Pharaoh uses the singular to refer to the two dreams. In vv. 17-24 Pharaoh seems to treat the dreams as two parts of one dream (see especially v. 22).

[41:8]  ²⁸ tn “there was no interpreter.”

[41:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for Pharaoh.” The pronoun “him” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “sins, offenses.” He probably refers here to the offenses that landed him in prison (see 40:1).

[41:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we dreamed.”

[41:12]  ³² tn Or “slave.”

[41:12]  ³³ tn Heb “a servant to the captain of the guards.” On this construction see GKC 419-20 §129.c.

[41:12]  ³⁴ tn The words “our dreams” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and he interpreted for us our dreams, each according to his dream he interpreted.”

[41:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “interpreted.”

[41:13]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:13]  ³⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and Pharaoh sent and called,” indicating a summons to the royal court.

[41:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[41:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”

[41:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “saying.”

[41:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “you hear a dream to interpret it,” which may mean, “you only have to hear a dream to be able to interpret it.”

[41:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “not within me.”

[41:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “God will answer.”

[41:16]  ⁴⁶ tn The expression שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה (shÿlom par’oh) is here rendered “the welfare of Pharaoh” because the dream will be about life in his land. Some interpret it to mean an answer of “peace” – one that will calm his heart, or give him the answer that he desires (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[41:17]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “In my dream look, I was standing.” The use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here (and also in vv. 18, 19, 22, 23) invites the hearer (within the context of the narrative, Joseph; but in the broader sense the reader or hearer of the Book of Genesis) to observe the scene through Pharaoh’s eyes.

[41:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and look, from the Nile seven cows were coming up, fat of flesh and attractive of appearance, and they grazed in the reeds.”

[41:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:19]  ⁵⁰ tn The word “cows” is supplied here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:20]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the seven first fat cows.”

[41:21]  ⁵² tn Heb “when they went inside them.”

[41:21]  ⁵³ tn Heb “it was not known.”

[41:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and I saw in my dream and look.”

[41:23]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “And look.”

[41:24]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “all this” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:24]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and there was no one telling me.”

[41:25]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”

[41:25]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “declared.”

[41:25]  ⁶⁰ tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.

[41:26]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “one dream it is.”

[41:27]  ⁶² tn Heb “are.” Another option is to translate, “There will be seven years of famine.”

[41:28]  ⁶³ tn Heb “it is the word that I spoke.”

[41:30]  ⁶⁴ tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.

[41:30]  ⁶⁵ tn The Hebrew verb כָּלָה (kalah) in the Piel stem means “to finish, to destroy, to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.

[41:31]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “known.”

[41:31]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “heavy.”

[41:32]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and concerning the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh two times.” The Niphal infinitive here is the object of the preposition; it is followed by the subjective genitive “of the dream.”

[41:32]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “established.”

[41:32]  ⁷⁰ tn The clause combines a participle and an infinitive construct: God “is hurrying…to do it,” meaning he is going to do it soon.

[41:33]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “let Pharaoh look.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

[41:33]  ⁷² tn Heb “a man discerning and wise.” The order of the terms is rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:33]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and let him set him.”

[41:34]  ⁷⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”

[41:34]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

[41:34]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “appointees.” The noun is a cognate accusative of the preceding verb. Since “appoint appointees” would be redundant in English, the term “officials” was used in the translation instead.

[41:34]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “and he shall collect a fifth of the land of Egypt.” The language is figurative (metonymy); it means what the land produces, i.e., the harvest.

[41:35]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “all the food.”

[41:35]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”

[41:35]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.

[41:35]  ⁸¹ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.

[41:36]  ⁸² tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”

[4:12]  ⁸³ tn The LXX of this verse offers special problems. It reads, “But if there had been any truth in your words, none of these evils would have fallen upon you; shall not my ear receive excellent [information] from him?” The major error involves a dittography from the word for “secret,” yielding “truth.”

[4:12]  ⁸⁴ tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal.” The Pual form in this verse is probably to be taken as a preterite since it requires a past tense translation: “it was stolen for me” meaning it was brought to me stealthily (see 2 Sam 19:3).

[4:12]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “received.”

[4:12]  ⁸⁶ tn The word שֵׁמֶץ (shemets, “whisper”) is found only here and in Job 26:14. A cognate form שִׁמְצָה (shimtsah) is found in Exod 32:25 with the sense of “a whisper.” In postbiblical Hebrew the word comes to mean “a little.” The point is that Eliphaz caught just a bit, just a whisper of it, and will recount it to Job.

[4:13]  ⁸⁷ tn Here too the word is rare. The form שְׂעִפִּים (sÿ’ippim, “disquietings”) occurs only here and in 20:2. The form שַׂרְעַפִּים (sar’appim, “disquieting thoughts”), possibly related by dissimilation, occurs in Pss 94:19 and 139:23. There seems to be a connection with סְעִפִּים (sÿ’ippim) in 1 Kgs 18:21 with the meaning “divided opinion”; this is related to the idea of סְעִפָּה (sÿ’ippah, “bough”). H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 47) concludes that the point is that like branches the thoughts lead off into different and bewildering places. E. Dhorme (Job, 50) links the word to an Arabic root (“to be passionately smitten”) for the idea of “intimate thoughts.” The idea here and in Ps 139 has more to do with anxious, troubling, disquieting thoughts, as in a nightmare.

[4:13]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “visions” of the night.

[4:13]  ⁸⁹ tn The word תַּרְדֵּמָה (tardemah) is a “deep sleep.” It is used in the creation account when the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam; and it is used in the story of Jonah when the prophet was asleep during the storm. The LXX interprets it to mean “fear,” rendering the whole verse “but terror falls upon men with dread and a sound in the night.”

[1:20]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[1:20]  ⁹¹ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[2:12]  ⁹² sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:13]  ⁹³ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:13]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[2:13]  ⁹⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.

[27:19]  ⁹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:19]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

[27:19]  ⁹⁸ tn The word “message” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[27:19]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:19]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The Greek particle γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated here.

[27:19]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.