Psalms 44:4

44:4 You are my ¹  king, O God!

Decree ²  Jacob’s ³  deliverance!

Genesis 41:11-16

41:11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. ⁴  41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant ⁵  of the captain of the guards, ⁶  was with us there. We told him our dreams, ⁷  and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. ⁸  41:13 It happened just as he had said ⁹  to us – Pharaoh ¹⁰  restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” ¹¹ 

41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned ¹²  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, ¹³  and there is no one who can interpret ¹⁴  it. But I have heard about you, that ¹⁵  you can interpret dreams.” ¹⁶  41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, ¹⁷  but God will speak concerning ¹⁸  the welfare of Pharaoh.” ¹⁹ 

Genesis 41:25

41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. ²⁰  God has revealed ²¹  to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²² 

Proverbs 21:1

21:1 The king’s heart ²³  is in the hand ²⁴  of the Lord like channels of water; ²⁵ 

he turns it wherever he wants.

Daniel 2:30

2:30 As for me, this mystery was revealed to me not because I possess more wisdom ²⁶  than any other living person, but so that the king may understand ²⁷  the interpretation and comprehend the thoughts of your mind. ²⁸ 

Acts 7:10

7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made ²⁹  him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

[44:4]  ¹ sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4]  ² tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4]  ³ tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[41:11]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “slave.”

[41:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “a servant to the captain of the guards.” On this construction see GKC 419-20 §129.c.

[41:12]  ⁷ tn The words “our dreams” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he interpreted for us our dreams, each according to his dream he interpreted.”

[41:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “interpreted.”

[41:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[41:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and Pharaoh sent and called,” indicating a summons to the royal court.

[41:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[41:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”

[41:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[41:15]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “not within me.”

[41:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “God will answer.”

[41:16]  ¹⁹ 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).

[41:25]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the dream of Pharaoh is one.”

[41:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “declared.”

[41:25]  ²² tn The active participle here indicates what is imminent.

[21:1]  ²³ sn “Heart” is a metonymy of subject; it signifies the ability to make decisions, if not the decisions themselves.

[21:1]  ²⁴ sn “Hand” in this passage is a personification; the word is frequently used idiomatically for “power,” and that is the sense intended here.

[21:1]  ²⁵ tn “Channels of water” (פַּלְגֵי, palge) is an adverbial accusative, functioning as a figure of comparison – “like channels of water.” Cf. NAB “Like a stream”; NIV “watercourse”; NRSV, NLT “a stream of water.”

[2:30]  ²⁶ tn Aram “not for any wisdom which is in me more than [in] any living man.”

[2:30]  ²⁷ tn Aram “they might cause the king to know.” The impersonal plural is used here to refer to the role of God’s spirit in revealing the dream and its interpretation to the king. As J. A. Montgomery says, “it appropriately here veils the mysterious agency” (Daniel [ICC], 164-65).

[2:30]  ²⁸ tn Aram “heart.”

[7:10]  ²⁹ tn Or “appointed.” See Gen 41:41-43.