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Genesis 41:18

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 41:18 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored: and they fed in the reed-grass:” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored: and they fed in the reed-grass:
Genesis 41:18 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 41

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
15And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it.
16And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
17And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river:
18and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored: and they fed in the reed-grass:
19and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
20and the lean and ill-favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
21and 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.
← Genesis 41:17Genesis 41:19 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, etc.] Cows or heifers, (see Gill on “<014102>Genesis 41:2”); the account of them is the same here as there, and of the place where they fed, only the words are transposed.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“there came up out of the river seven kine--Cows now, of the buffalo kind, are seen daily plunging into the Nile; when their huge form is gradually emerging, they seem as if rising "out of the river." and they fed in a meadow--Nile grass, the aquatic plants that grow on the marshy banks of that river, particularly the lotus kind, on which cattle were usually fattened.”
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Related study paths

Read Genesis 41 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification