Genesis 40:5

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream the same night. Each man’s dream had its own meaning.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיַּֽחַלְמוּ֩ חֲל֨וֹם שְׁנֵיהֶ֜ם אִ֤ישׁ חֲלֹמוֹ֙ בְּלַ֣יְלָה אֶחָ֔ד אִ֖ישׁ כְּפִתְר֣וֹן חֲלֹמ֑וֹ הַמַּשְׁקֶ֣ה וְהָאֹפֶ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֙ לְמֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲסוּרִ֖ים בְּבֵ֥ית הַסֹּֽהַר׃

Transliteration

And wayyaḥalmû ḥălôm two-of-them 'îš ḥălōmô in-laylâ one 'îš according-to-pitrôn ḥălōmô the-maššqeh and-the-'ōp̄eh who to-king-of miṣrayim who 'ăsûrîm in-house-of the-sōhar

Grammar Details

• *wayyaḥalmû*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural - they dreamed
• *ḥălôm*: masculine singular - dream
• *'îš*: masculine singular - man/each
• *ḥălōmô*: masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his dream
• *laylâ*: masculine singular - night
• *pitrôn*: masculine singular construct - interpretation
• *maššqeh*: masculine singular - cupbearer/butler
• *'ōp̄eh*: masculine singular - baker
• *miṣrayim*: proper noun, dual form - Egypt
• *'ăsûrîm*: qal passive participle masculine plural - bound/imprisoned

Word Meanings

• *wayyaḥalmû*: they dreamed/had dreams
• *ḥălôm*: dream/vision in sleep
• *'îš*: man/each one/each person
• *laylâ*: night/nighttime
• *pitrôn*: interpretation/meaning
• *maššqeh*: cupbearer/butler/drink-server
• *'ōp̄eh*: baker/bread maker
• *'ăsûrîm*: bound/imprisoned/confined

Referenced Verses

• Gen 41:11 : 11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning.
• Num 12:6 : 6 The LORD said,“Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.
• Judg 7:13-14 : 13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said,“Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” 14 The other man said,“Without a doubt this symbolizes the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”
• Esth 6:1 : 1 The Turning Point: The King Honors Mordecai Throughout that night the king was unable to sleep, so he asked for the book containing the historical records to be brought. As the records were being read in the king’s presence,
• Job 33:15-17 : 15 In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds. 16 Then he gives a revelation to people, and terrifies them with warnings, 17 to turn a person from his sin, and to cover a person’s pride.
• Dan 2:1-3 : 1 Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream In the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. His mind was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. 2 The king issued an order to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men in order to explain his dreams to him. So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. 3 The king told them,“I have had a dream, and I am anxious to understand the dream.”
• Dan 4:5 : 5 I saw a dream that frightened me badly. The things I imagined while lying on my bed– these visions of my mind– were terrifying me.
• Dan 4:9 : 9 saying,“Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, in whom I know there to be a spirit of the holy gods and whom no mystery baffles, consider my dream that I saw and set forth its interpretation!
• Dan 4:19 : 19 Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream Then Daniel(whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; his thoughts were alarming him. The king said,“Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied,“Sir, if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!
• Dan 7:1-8 : 1 Daniel has a Vision of Four Animals Coming up from the Sea In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream filled with visions while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. 2 Daniel explained:“I was watching in my vision during the night as the four winds of the sky were stirring up the great sea. 3 Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another. 4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind was given to it. 5 “Then a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told,‘Get up and devour much flesh!’ 6 “After these things, as I was watching, another beast like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. This beast had four heads, and ruling authority was given to it. 7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions a fourth beast appeared– one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. It had two large rows of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns. 8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn– a small one– came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things.
• Gen 12:1-7 : 1 The Obedience of Abram Now the LORD said to Abram,“Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you. 2 Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, so that all the families of the earth may receive blessing through you.” 4 So Abram left, just as the LORD had told him to do, and Lot went with him.(Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.) 5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem.(At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said,“To your descendants I will give this land.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
• Gen 20:3 : 3 But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him,“You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”
• Gen 37:5-9 : 5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them,“Listen to this dream I had: 7 There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!” 8 Then his brothers asked him,“Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he said. 9 Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers.“Look,” he said.“I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying,“What is this dream that you had? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?”
• Gen 40:8 : 8 They told him,“We both had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded,“Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me.”
• Gen 41:1-7 : 1 Joseph’s Rise to Power At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile, 2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. 4 The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, healthy and good. 6 Then seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream.