Genesis 41:22

Summary

Genesis 41:22 continues Pharaoh's account of his second dream to Joseph, describing seven ears of grain growing on a single stalk, described as full and good. The verse repeats the narrative structure of the first dream (verses 5-7) with the interjection hinneh ("there!", H2009) marking the vision within the dream.

Key words

• va'Ere ("I saw", H7200G) — qal narrative form, first person, continuing the first-person retelling that began earlier in Pharaoh's speech.
• chalomi ("my dream", H2472) — construct noun with pronominal suffix -i ("my"), marking the vision as located specifically "in my dream."
• shibbolim ("ears of grain", H7641B) — masculine plural noun, the subject of the participial clause that follows.
• 'olot ("coming up", H5927G) — qal participle, feminine plural, agreeing with shibbolim in gender/number despite the noun's masculine form; participles in Hebrew narrate ongoing action within the dream-scene, giving a vivid "was happening" quality.
• me.le'Ot ("full", H4392) and tovot ("good", H2896A) — both feminine plural adjectives modifying shibbolim, appearing consecutively without a verb, describing the state of the ears.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the narrative va- prefix on 'Ere ("and I saw"), continuing the chain of first-person verbs Pharaoh uses to report his dream. The phrase ba-chalomi ("in my dream") specifies the location of the vision. The interjection hinneh then introduces the dream-content itself, a common Hebrew device for presenting what is seen as vivid and immediate, as if the listener were seeing it directly.

The core clause — sheva' shibbolim 'olot be-qaneh 'echad ("seven ears of grain coming up on one stalk") — uses a participle ('olot) rather than a finite verb, which in Hebrew narrative conveys a scene in progress rather than a completed action. This differs from a simple past-tense report; the participle presents the ears as still in the act of growing within the remembered dream-image. The adjectives melu'ot ve-tovot ("full and good") are joined by the conjunction ve- ("and") and stand appositionally after the noun, describing the quality of the ears without an intervening verb — a common Hebrew pattern for descriptive clauses.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds πάλιν ("again"), explicitly marking this as a second dream-vision, an addition not present in the Hebrew text as given. The Vulgate renders tovot ("good", H2896A) as pulcherrimae ("most beautiful"), an intensified rendering beyond the plain adjective "good" found in the Hebrew. The LXX's ὥσπερ ("just as/like") introduces a comparative nuance not present in the Hebrew hinneh, which functions as a direct presentative rather than a simile marker.