Genesis 41 · Verse 21

Genesis 41:21

And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
Genesis 41:21, King James Version

Genesis 41:21 in other translations

BSBWhen they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.
WEBand 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.
ASVand when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
YLTand they come in unto their midst, and it hath not been known that they have come in unto their midst, and their appearance is bad as at the commencement; and I awake.
DARBYand they came into their belly, and it could not be known that they had come into their belly; and their look was bad, as at the beginning. And I awoke.
BBEAnd even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep.
WebsterAnd when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

What does Genesis 41:21 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 And when they had eaten them up, etc. - Nothing can more powerfully mark the excess and severity of the famine than creatures of the beeve or of the hippopotamus kind eating each other, and yet without any effect; remaining as lean and as wretched as they were before. A sense of want increases the appetite, and stimulates the digestive powers to unusual action; hence the concoction of the food becomes very rapid, and it is hurried through the intestines before its nutritive particles can be sufficiently absorbed; and thus, though much is eaten, very little nourishment is derived from it. And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favored, as at the beginning. A most nervous and physically correct description.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · 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 41:21 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.

וַתָּבֹ֣אנָהva.ta.Vo.nahand they wentH935
אֶל\־'el-intoH413
קִרְבֶּ֗נָהkir.Be.nahinward part[s] theirH7130
וְלֹ֤אve.Lo'and notH3808
נוֹדַע֙no.Da'it was knownH3045
כִּי\־ki-thatH3588
בָ֣אוּVa.'uthey had goneH935
אֶל\־'el-intoH413
קִרְבֶּ֔נָהkir.Be.nahinward part[s] theirH7130
וּמַרְאֵיהֶ֣ןu.mar.'ei.Henand appearance theirH4758
רַ֔עRa'[was] displeasingH7451
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רka.'a.Sherjust asH834
בַּתְּחִלָּ֑הba.te.chi.Lahat the beginningH8462
וָאִיקָֽץ\׃va.'i.Katzand I awokeH3364

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

Cross references for Genesis 41:21

  • Revelation 10:9-10

    And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

  • Ezekiel 3:3

    And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

  • Isaiah 9:20

    And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

  • Psalms 37:19

    They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
eaten them up. Heb. come to the inward parts of them.
Eze 3:3; Re 10:9,10
still.
Ps 37:19; Isa 9:20

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

Context

  • Genesis 41:20

    And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:

  • Genesis 41:21

    And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

  • Genesis 41:22

    And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:

Read all of Genesis 41

Genesis 41:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y entraban en sus entrañas, mas no se conocía que hubiesen entrado en ellas, porque su parecer era aún malo, como de primero. Y yo desperté.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		elles entrèrent dans leur ventre, et il ne paraissait point qu’elles soient entrées dans leur ventre, et leur aspect était aussi laid qu’au commencement. Et je m’éveillai.
German
Elberfelder 1871		und sie kamen in ihren Bauch, und man merkte nicht, daß sie in ihren Bauch gekommen waren, und ihr Ansehen war häßlich, wie im Anfang. Und ich erwachte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		nullum saturitatis dedere vestigium: sed simili macie et squalore torpebant. Evigilans, rursus sopore depressus,