Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57

Genesis 41:2
ESV and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass.
NIV when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.
NASB And behold, from the Nile seven cows came up, fine-looking and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.
CSB when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds.
NLT In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.
KJV And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
NKJV Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

What does Genesis 41:2 mean?

Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, is dreaming (Genesis 41:1). As he stands by the Nile River, he sees seven good-looking, plump, cows come up out of the water and begin to eat the grass along the bank. Ancient Egyptians were a very spiritual people who worshiped a variety of gods. Cows were symbolic of various deities in Egyptian religion, such as Isis and Osiris.

Egyptians also placed great emphasis on the importance of dreams. The nature of this dream seems to have made an especially deep impression on Pharaoh (Genesis 41:8). He understood this dream was abnormal and held some important meaning.

The following verses will reveal the rest of his dream: seven gaunt, ugly-looking cows appearing and consuming the healthy ones (Genesis 41:3–4). The inability of diviners and court magicians to explain this dream will lead Pharaoh to seek additional help (Genesis 41:8).
Expand
Context Summary
Genesis 41:1–8 describes troubling prophetic dreams as seen by the king of Egypt, whose title is "Pharaoh." Both dreams involve a group of seven pleasant-looking images—first cows, then grain—which are consumed by a second group of seven, which are withered and evil-looking. The nature of these dreams makes it clear they have meaning, but none of the Egyptian diviners or scholars can make sense of them. This will lead one servant—the formerly jailed cupbearer—to finally mention Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams (Genesis 40:23).
Expand
Chapter Summary
Joseph's status in Genesis 41 begins as "forgotten Hebrew prison slave" and ends as "the second most powerful man in Egypt." The cupbearer from the previous chapter finally mentions Joseph two years later, when Pharaoh is troubled by dreams which wise men can't interpret. Joseph reveals the meaning of the dreams: seven years of abundance will be followed by seven years of great famine in the land. Pharaoh, recognizing that God's Spirit is with Joseph, makes him second in command over the entire nation and tasks him with preparing for the famine.
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: