Genesis 41 · Verse 17

Genesis 41:17

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
Genesis 41:17, King James Version

Genesis 41:17 in other translations

BSBThen Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,
WEBPharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river;
ASVAnd Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river:
YLTAnd Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph: ‘In my dream, lo, I am standing by the edge of the River,
DARBYAnd Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the river.
BBEThen Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile:
WebsterAnd Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:

What does Genesis 41:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
17. Pharaoh said, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river--The dreams were purely Egyptian, founded on the productions of that country and the experience of a native. The fertility of Egypt being wholly dependent on the Nile, the scene is laid on the banks of that river; and oxen being in the ancient hieroglyphics symbolical of the earth and of food, animals of that species were introduced in the first dream.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 41:9-32

God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time. If the chief butler had got Joseph to be released from prison, it is probable he would have gone back to the land of the Hebrews. Then he had neither been so blessed himself, nor such a blessing to his family, as afterwards he proved. Joseph, when introduced to Pharaoh, gives honour to God. Pharaoh had dreamed that he stood upon the bank of the river…

Read the full comment on Genesis 41:9-32 →

Genesis 41:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְדַבֵּ֥רvay.da.Berand he spokeH1696
פַּרְעֹ֖הpar.'OhPharaohH6547
אֶל\־'el-toH413
יוֹסֵ֑ףyo.SefJosephH3130
בַּחֲלֹמִ֕יba.cha.lo.Miin dream myH2472
הִנְנִ֥יhi.Niif [was] IH2005
עֹמֵ֖ד'o.MedstandingH5975
עַל\־'al-onH5921
שְׂפַ֥תse.Fat[the] bank ofH8193
הַיְאֹֽר\׃hay.'Orthe RiverH2975

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1-7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 41:16

    And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

  • Genesis 41:17

    And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:

  • Genesis 41:18

    And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:

Read all of Genesis 41

Genesis 41:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces Faraón dijo á José: En mi sueño parecíame que estaba á la orilla del río:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le Pharaon dit à Joseph: Dans mon songe, voici, je me tenais sur le bord du fleuve;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da sprach der Pharao zu Joseph: In meinem Traume, siehe, da stand ich am Ufer des Stromes.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Narravit ergo Pharao quod viderat: Putabam me stare super ripam fluminis,