Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one. The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine. That is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt are coming. Seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous. The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
Parallel Translations
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Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.
The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.
The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine.
That is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Behold, seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt are coming.
Seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land,
and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous.
The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
-
And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
Show all 3 translations
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And Joseph said unto Pharaoh: 'The dream of Pharaoh is one; what God is about to do He hath declared unto Pharaoh.
The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
And the seven lean and ill-favoured kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine.
That is the thing which I spoke unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do He hath shown unto Pharaoh.
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt.
And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous.
And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
Cross-references (63)
- Numbers 23:19 (v32) God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and…
- Isaiah 46:10-11 (v32) I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all…
- Daniel 2:45 (v25) Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the…
- 2 Kings 8:1 (vv27, 30) Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while…
- Genesis 41:25 (v28) Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.
Show all 61 cross-references
- Genesis 41:54 (v30) The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was…
- Genesis 47:13 (v30) There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of…
- Genesis 41:2 (v26) Behold, seven cattle came up out of the river. They were sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass.
- Genesis 41:47 (v26) In the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly.
- Revelation 4:1 (v25) After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one…
- Genesis 41:5 (v26) He slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good.
- Genesis 41:29 (v26) Behold, seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt are coming.
- Genesis 41:46-47 (v29) Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout…
- Genesis 41:53 (v26) The seven years of plenty, that were in the land of Egypt, came to an end.
- Exodus 12:11 (v26) This is how you shall eat it: with your belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in…
- Isaiah 14:24-27 (v32) Yahweh of Armies has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will…
- Isaiah 24:20 (v31) The earth will stagger like a drunken man, and will sway back and forth like a hammock. Its disobedience will be heavy on it, and it will…
- Daniel 2:28-29 (v25) but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your…
- Matthew 24:35 (v32) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 (v26) and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 13:1 (v32) This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
- 1 John 5:7 (v26) For there are three who testify:
- Genesis 41:16 (vv25, 28) Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
- Genesis 2:24 (v26) Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
- Genesis 37:7 (v32) for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around,…
- Genesis 37:9 (v32) He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the…
- Genesis 40:12 (v26) Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.
- Genesis 40:18 (v26) Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days.
- Genesis 41:26 (v29) The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.
- Genesis 41:49 (v29) Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it was without number.
- Joshua 11:6 (v25) Yahweh said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid because of them; for tomorrow at this time, I will deliver them up all slain before Israel. You…
- 1 Samuel 5:6 (v31) But Yahweh’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
- 2 Samuel 24:19 (v27) David went up according to the saying of Gad, as Yahweh commanded.
- Job 33:14-15 (v32) For God speaks once, yes twice, though man pays no attention. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in…
- Psalms 98:2 (v25) Yahweh has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
- Psalms 105:16 (v30) He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
- Isaiah 30:33 (v32) For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood.…
- Isaiah 41:22-23 (v25) “Let them announce and declare to us what will happen! Declare the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the…
- Isaiah 43:9 (v25) Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let…
- Daniel 2:47 (v25) The king answered to Daniel, and said, “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you…
- Amos 3:7 (v25) Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
- Matthew 24:40 (v25) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left.
- Matthew 25:34 (v32) Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of…
- Matthew 25:41 (v32) Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his…
- Mark 10:40 (v32) but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.”
- Mark 13:23 (v25) But you watch. “Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 (v32) But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has…
- Ephesians 1:17 (v25) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,
- James 5:17 (v30) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years…
- Revelation 9:15 (v32) The four angels were freed who had been prepared for that hour and day and month and year, so that they might kill one third of mankind.
- Genesis 41:21 (v30) and when they had eaten them up, it couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
- Genesis 41:27 (v30) The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind;…
- Genesis 41:51 (v30) Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, “For”, he said, “God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.”
- Genesis 41:56 (v30) The famine was over all the surface of the earth. Joseph opened all the store houses, and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in…
- Exodus 9:14 (v25) For this time I will send all my plagues against your heart, against your officials, and against your people; that you may know that there…
- Exodus 26:6 (v26) You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains to one another with the clasps. The tabernacle shall be a unit.
- 2 Samuel 24:13 (v30) So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months…
- 1 Kings 17:1 (v30) Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there…
- Proverbs 31:7 (v30) Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
- Isaiah 65:16 (v30) so that he who blesses himself in the earth will bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of…
- Luke 4:25 (v30) But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a…
61 distinct cross-references across this passage (63 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v32 32. And for that the dream was doubled. Joseph…
32. And for that the dream was doubled. Joseph does not mean to say, that what God may have declared but once, is mutable: but he would prevent Pharaoh’s confidence respecting the event revealed, from being shaken. For since God pronounces nothing but from his own fixed and steadfast purpose, it is enough that he should have spoken once. But our dullness and inconstancy cause him to repeat the same thing the more frequently, in order that what he has certainly decreed, may be fixed in our hearts; otherwise, as our disposition is variable, so, what we have once heard from his mouth, is tossed up and down by us, until it entirely escapes our memory. Moreover, Joseph not only commemorates the stability of the heavenly decree, but also declares that what God has determined to do, is near at hand, lest Pharaoh himself should slumber in the confident expectation of longer delay. For though we confess that the judgments of God are always hanging over our heads, yet unless we are stimulated by the thought of their speedy approach, we are but slightly affected with anxiety and fear respecting them.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 31 Both his dreams tend to one end.
Both his dreams tend to one end.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 32 Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream…
Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh [is] one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he [is] about to do.
Ver. 25. The dream of Pharaoh is one.] One in signification, but diverse in respect of vision. Why it was doubled, {Gen 41:32} Repetitions in Scripture are not tautologies, but serve to set forth to us the necessity, excellency, or difficulty of the thing so reinforced. "To write" to the Philippians "the same things," to St Paul, "it is not grievous, and for them it is safe." {Php 3:1} Nunquam satis dicitur, quod nunquam satis discitur. {a} Away then with those nice novelists that can abide to hear nothing but what is new minted. Ministers meet with many that are slow of heart and dull of hearing; these must have "precept upon precept, line upon line," &c.; many also of brawny breasts and horny heart strings; that, as ducklings stoop and dive at any little stone thrown by a man at them, yet shrink not at the heaven’s great thunder, &c. Here a minister must beat and inculcate; turn himself into all fashions of spirit and speech, to win and work upon his hearers. He must so long pursue and stand upon one and the same point, saith Austin, till, by the gesture and countenance of his auditors, he perceives they understand and assent to it. {b} "Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world," saith the Psalmist; "both low and high, rich and poor, together." {Psa 49:1-2} Quid dignum tanto feret hle promissor hiatu, {c} will some proud spirit say? what so great matter is there delivered in this Psalm, that so much attention is called for? Is it not an ordinary argument, such as we have heard of a hundred times - viz., the happy and secure estate of the saints, though in trouble, and the miserable and slippery condition of the wicked, though they prosper in the world? True, saith the Holy Ghost; this is the subject of this Psalm; and this, how common a theme soever, is the great wisdom, and the dark saying, that I will here open unto you, and that calls for your utmost attention.
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{a} Seneca. Occidit miseros crambe repetita magistros. - Juven.
{b} Aug., De Doct. Christ, and, in Psalm. x.
{c} Horat.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv25, 30 The dream of Pharaoh is one, to wit, in…
The dream of Pharaoh is one, to wit, in its design and signification; both dreams portend the same thing.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv25–32 This is the thing which I have spoken unto…
This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh,.... As an interpretation of his dreams:
what God is about to do, he sheweth unto Pharaoh: the events of fourteen years with respect to plenty and sterility.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv29–30 See the goodness of God, in sending the seven…
See the goodness of God, in sending the seven years of plenty before those of famine, that provision might be made accordingly. How wonderful wisely has Providence, that great house-keeper, ordered the affairs of this numerous family from the beginning! Great variety of seasons there have been and the produce of the earth sometimes more, and sometimes less; yet take one time with another, what was miraculous concerning the manna, is ordinarily verified in the common course of Providence; He that gathers much has nothing over, and he that gathers little has no lack, Exod. xvi, 18.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv25, 31 Verse 25. God hath showed Pharaoh what he is…
Verse 25. God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do.] Joseph thus shows the Egyptian king that though the ordinary cause of plenty or want is the river Nile, yet its inundations are under the direction of God: the dreams are sent by him, not only to signify beforehand the plenty and want, but to show also that all these circumstances, however fortuitous they may appear to man, are under the direction of an overruling Providence.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv29–30 Gen 41:29. Seven years of great plenty — See…
Gen 41:29. Seven years of great plenty — See the goodness of God, in sending the seven years of plenty before those of famine, that provision might be made accordingly. How wonderful wisely has Providence that great house-keeper, ordered the affairs of his numerous family from the beginning! Great variety of seasons there have been, and the produce of the earth sometimes more, and sometimes less; yet, take one time with another, what was miraculous concerning the manna is ordinarily verified in the common course of Providence; “He that gathers much has nothing over, and he that gathers little has no lack,” Exo 16:18.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v30 The land of Egypt, and the adjacent countries.
The land of Egypt, and the adjacent countries.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v25 JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH'S DREAMS. (Gen 41:25-36)
JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH'S DREAMS. (Gen 41:25-36)
Joseph said, . . . The dream . . . is one--They both pointed to the same event--a remarkable dispensation of seven years of unexampled abundance, to be followed by a similar period of unparalleled dearth. The repetition of the dream in two different forms was designed to show the absolute certainty and speedy arrival of this public crisis; the interpretation was accompanied by several suggestions of practical wisdom for meeting so great an emergency as was impending.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv25, 32 25. The dream… is one — That is, the…
25. The dream… is one — That is, the two dreams are really but one dream, and convey one great prophecy.
God hath showed — The Hebrew here and in Gen_41:28; Gen_41:32 has the article before the name God. It is the one true God who thus graciously foretells to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv25, 32 25. is about to do] Lit. “is doing.” Lat.…
25. is about to do] Lit. “is doing.” Lat. facturus est. Joseph’s interpretation of the two dreams is the same.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv25–26 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh (the inability of the…
And Joseph said unto Pharaoh (the inability of the magicians to read the dream of Pharaoh was the best proof that Joseph spoke from inspiration), The dream of Pharaoh is one (i.e. the two dreams have the same significance): God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do (literally, what the Elohim is doing, i.e. is about to do, he causeth to be seen by Pharaoh).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v25 Joseph Interprets the Dreams
Joseph Interprets the Dreams
v. 25. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one, the two dream-pictures have the same meaning; God hath showed Pharaoh what He is about to do; He is revealing His intentions of the near future.
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v. 26. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one. They indicate seven years of great fruitfulness and plenty.
v. 27. And the seven thin and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. The very clearness and simplicity of Joseph’s explanation sets it aside from the heathen oracles.
v. 28. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do He showeth unto Pharaoh. He refers to the statement which he made even before Pharaoh had related his dreams, always directing the attention of the king to the Lord.
v. 29. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt;
v. 30. and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
v. 31. and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
v. 32. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established, fully determined upon,by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Joseph purposely emphasized the grievousness of the years of famine, that they would be so had as to make people forget the unusually fertile years that had gone before, just as we are inclined to feel any distress very severely and to forget the great blessings of goodness that are ours continually. Joseph’s entire manner of speaking, particularly when compared with the helplessness of the Egyptian magicians, was bound to make a deep impression upon the king.
v. 33. Now, therefore, let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt, one who has great wisdom and executive ability, combined with a good understanding of the situation and the necessary tact.
v. 34. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, the chief overseer was to be given assistants, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt, of the yield of the land, in the seven plenteous years, in the years of great fertility.
v. 35. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. His advice is that royal store-houses, or granaries, be erected in all the chief cities, to be kept for provision against the lean years.
v. 36. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, to tide the inhabitants over the critical period; that the land perish not through the famine. This counsel was not an act of presumption on the part of Joseph, but a bit of advice which the Lord gave to Pharaoh by his mouth. God blesses, protects, and keeps a whole country for the sake of the believers that may be living in it.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 27, 30 The dreams of Pharaoh are the same
The dreams of Pharaoh are the same
It is implied that the meanings are the same. AT: "Both dreams mean the same thing" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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What God is about to do, he has declared to Pharaoh
Joseph speaks to Pharaoh in the third person. This is a way of showing respect. It can be stated in the second person. AT: "God is showing you what he will soon do" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
seven good heads
The words "of grain" are understood. AT: "seven good heads of grain" (See: Ellipsis)
translationWords
Joseph (OT)
Pharaoh
dream
God
declare
good
cow
year
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 32 41:25-32 Both dreams predicted that seven years of abundant…
41:25-32 Both dreams predicted that seven years of abundant crops would be followed by seven years of severe famine.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.