Genesis 41:24

 Genesis 41:24

And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

a. NASB 1995: And the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”  [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. NKJV: “And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified: And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. Now I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could tell me what it meant.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Then the thin ears swallowed up the the senev good ears; I said this to the  necromancers, but no  one could explain it to me.”  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]

e. ESV: and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

a. [And the] thin ears [Strong: 1851 daq, dak; from H1854; crushed, i.e. (by implication) small or thin:—dwarf, lean(-fleshed), very little thing, small, thin.]

b. ears [Strong: 7641 shibbôl, shib-bole; or (feminine) שִׁבֹּלֶת shibbôleth; from the same as H7640; a stream (as flowing); also an ear of grain (as growing out); by analogy, a branch:—branch, channel, ear (of corn), (water-)flood, Shibboleth.]

c. devoured [Strong: 1104 bâlaʻ, baw-lah'; a primitive root; to make away with (specifically by swallowing); generally, to destroy:—cover, destroy, devour, eat up, be at end, spend up, swallow down (up).]

d. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

e. [the] seven [Strong: 7651 shebaʻ, sheh'-bah; or (masculine) (שִׁבְעָה shibʻâh); from H7650; a primitive cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number:—(+ by) seven(-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times).]

f. good [Strong: 2896 ṭôwb, tobe; from H2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well):—beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, × fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, -liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, × most, pleasant, pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well(-favoured).]

g. ears [Strong: 7641 shibbôl, shib-bole; or (feminine) שִׁבֹּלֶת shibbôleth; from the same as H7640; a stream (as flowing); also an ear of grain (as growing out); by analogy, a branch:—branch, channel, ear (of corn), (water-)flood, Shibboleth.]

h. [And I] told [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]

i. unto [Strong: 413 ʼêl, ale; (but used only in the shortened constructive form אֶל ʼel, el); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:—about, according to, after, against, among, as for, at, because (-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, × hath, in (-to), near, (out) of, over, through, to (-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with (-in).]

j. [the] magicians [Strong: 2748 charṭôm, khar-tome'; from the same as H2747; a horoscopist (as drawing magical lines or circles):—magician.]

k. [but there was] none [Strong: 369 ʼayin, ah'-yin; as if from a primitive root meaning to be nothing or not exist; a nonentity; generally used as a negative particle:—else, except, fail, (father-) less, be gone, in(-curable), neither, never, no (where), none, nor, (any, thing), not, nothing, to nought, past, un(-searchable), well-nigh, without.]

l. [could] declare [Strong: 5046 nâgad, naw-gad'; a primitive root; properly, to front, i.e. stand boldly out opposite; by implication (causatively), to manifest; figuratively, to announce (always by word of mouth to one present); specifically, to expose, predict, explain, praise:—bewray, × certainly, certify, declare(-ing), denounce, expound, × fully, messenger, plainly, profess, rehearse, report, shew (forth), speak, × surely, tell, utter.]

1). The Genesis Record, Henry M. Morris. Whether Joseph paused for a while for meditation and prayer concerning Pharaoh’s dreams is not stated in the text. In any case, God somehow gave to him infallible knowledge concerning their correct interpretation.

 

2). Gordon Lindsay: It is possible, although the Scriptures do not say so, that Joseph had an inkling of the nature of the dream and its meaning, even before he went in unto the king. While the messengers returned to inform Pharaoh that Joseph was making himself ready to present himself before the king it is probable that he was earnestly looking to God for Divine revelation.

3). In accordance with his goodness, for God is a good and merciful God, God was giving Pharaoh a means of averting a disaster for Egypt through the dreams and giving Joseph the interpretation of the dreams. Henry Morris writes in his book The Genesis Record, it was not “for the purpose of embarrassing or dethroning the king of Egypt. As a matter of fact his own control over the country was destined to be strengthened by these events; but the underlying purpose of it all had to do rather with God’s plan for Israel. Therefore not only did God give Joseph the true interpretation of the dreams, but also an effective plan of action for Pharaoh.”

a). Pharaoh was troubled by the dreams. Joseph specifically responded to Pharaoh with the words, “God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

4). God giving dreams and their interpretation here is an example of the gifts of the Spirit, in particular, the word of wisdom, one of the gifts of the Spirit in operation. Kenneth E. Hagin writes in “Concerning Spiritual Gifts”: “The difference between the two gifts, the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom is that the revelation which the word of knowledge brings is always present tense or something which happened in the past. The word of wisdom always speaks of the future.” Here a 14 year plan to avert a disaster that would have come upon the known world. All the nations around Egypt suffered from this famine (Genesis 41:57), that was allowed by God to happen. He did not cause it, but in his goodness, mercy, and grace provided a means to endure through it.