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◄ Genesis 41:21►

New International Version
But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

New Living Translation
But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up.

English Standard Version
but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke.

Berean Standard Bible
When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.

King James Bible
And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but theywere still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

New King James Version
When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for theywere just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

New American Standard Bible
Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

NASB 1995
“Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

NASB 1977
“Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them; for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

Legacy Standard Bible
But they devoured them, and yet it could not be known that they had devoured them. For they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

Amplified Bible
Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had eaten them, because they were still as thinand emaciated as before. Then I awoke [but again I fell asleep and dreamed].

Christian Standard Bible
When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up.

American Standard Version
and 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.

Contemporary English Version
But you couldn't tell it, because these skinny cows were just as skinny as they were before. At once, I woke up.

English Revised Version
and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Even though they had eaten them, no one could tell they had eaten them. They looked just as sick as before. Then I woke up.

Good News Translation
but no one would have known it, because they looked just as bad as before. Then I woke up.

International Standard Version
Not only that," Pharaoh continued, "after they had finished devouring the cows, nobody could tell that they had gobbled them up, because they were just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

NET Bible
When they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up.

New Heart English Bible
But when they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as miserable-looking as at the beginning. Then I woke up.

Webster's Bible Translation
And 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.

Majority Text Translations

Majority Standard Bible
When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.

World English Bible
and when they had eaten them up, it couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and they come in to their midst, and it has not been known that they have come in to their midst, and their appearance [is] bad as at the commencement; and I awake.

Young's Literal Translation
and they come in unto their midst, and it hath not been known that they have come in unto their midst, and their appearance is bad as at the commencement; and I awake.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they shall come into their belly, and they shall not know that they came into their belly; and evil of form as that in the beginning. And I shall awake.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And yet gave no mark of their being full: but were as lean and ill favoured as before. I awoke, and then fell asleep again,

Catholic Public Domain Version
giving no indication of being full. But they remained in the same state of emaciation and squalor. Awakening, but being weighed down into sleep again,

New American Bible
But when they had consumed them, no one could tell that they had done so, because they looked as bad as before. Then I woke up.

New Revised Standard Version
but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them: for they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. Then I awoke.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they went into them and it was not known that they went into them and their appearance was as bad as at the first, and I was awakened.

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favoured as at the beginning. So I awoke.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they went into their bellies; and it was not perceptible that they had gone into their bellies, and their appearance was ill-favoured, as also at the beginning; and after I awoke I slept,

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams
…20Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first.21When they had devoured them, however,no one could tell that they had done so;their appearance was as ugly as it had been before.Then I awoke.22In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk.…

Berean Standard Bible ·Download

Cross References

Exodus 7:12
Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.

Job 8:18
If he is uprooted from his place, it will disown him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

Job 20:8
He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

Job 27:20-22
Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest sweeps him away in the night. / The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. / It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power.

Job 33:15-16
In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds, / He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings

Psalm 73:19-20
How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors! / Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

Psalm 90:5-6
You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— / in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

Isaiah 29:8
as when a hungry man dreams he is eating, then awakens still hungry; as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking, then awakens faint and parched. So will it be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.

Isaiah 40:7-8
The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

Jeremiah 51:58
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”

Daniel 2:1-3
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him. / So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, / he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”

Daniel 4:5
I had a dream, and it frightened me; while I was in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.

Matthew 13:22
The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Matthew 23:27-28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. / In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Treasury of Scripture

And 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.

eaten them up.

Ezekiel 3:3
And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eatit; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Revelation 10:9,10
And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Takeit, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey…

still.

Psalm 37:19
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Isaiah 9:20
And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

Jump to Previous

Appearance Ate Awake Awoke Bad Beginning Belly Commencement Couldn't Cows Detected Devoured Eaten Fat Favored Gaunt Ill Ill-Favored Ill-Favoured Inside Midst Seemed Sleep Ugly

Jump to Next

Appearance Ate Awake Awoke Bad Beginning Belly Commencement Couldn't Cows Detected Devoured Eaten Fat Favored Gaunt Ill Ill-Favored Ill-Favoured Inside Midst Seemed Sleep Ugly

Genesis 41

1.Pharaoh has two dreams.
9.Joseph interprets them.
33.He gives Pharaoh counsel, and is highly advanced, and married.
46.The seven years of plenty.
50.He begets children.
53.The famine begins.

Study Bible

Book ◦ Chapter

When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so;
This phrase is part of Pharaoh's dream, which Joseph interprets. The imagery of the thin cows devouring the fat cows without changing in appearance symbolizes the coming years of famine that will consume the years of plenty. This reflects the principle that spiritual or physical famine can erase the memory of abundance, a theme seen in other biblical narratives such as the Israelites forgetting God's provision in the wilderness (Exodus 16). The inability to discern the consumption also highlights the deceptive nature of sin and spiritual decay, which can consume without immediate visible effects.

their appearance was as ugly as it had been before.
The unchanged ugliness of the cows after consuming the healthy ones underscores the severity and persistence of the famine. In a broader biblical context, this can be seen as a metaphor for the enduring nature of sin and its consequences, which are not easily remedied by superficial solutions. The ugliness can also be seen as a representation of spiritual desolation, akin to the descriptions of spiritual barrenness in passages likeIsaiah 64:6, where human righteousness is compared to "filthy rags."

Then I awoke.
Pharaoh's awakening signifies the transition from the dream state to reality, prompting the need for interpretation and action. This moment of awakening can be paralleled with spiritual awakening or enlightenment, where one becomes aware of divine truths or impending judgment, similar to the call to spiritual vigilance found in the New Testament (Ephesians 5:14). The urgency of Pharaoh's awakening reflects the need for immediate response to divine revelation, a theme echoed in the urgency of repentance and faith in the gospel message.

Persons / Places / Events

1.Pharaoh
The ruler of Egypt who had troubling dreams that none of his magicians or wise men could interpret.

2.Joseph
A Hebrew man, sold into slavery, who was known for his ability to interpret dreams through God's guidance.

3.Egypt
The setting of the account, a powerful ancient civilization where Joseph rose to prominence.

4.The Dream
Pharaoh's dream involved seven ugly and gaunt cows devouring seven sleek and fat cows, yet remaining as ugly as before.

5.Interpretation
Joseph interprets the dream as a prophecy of seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine.

Teaching Points

God's Sovereignty in Revelation
God reveals His plans to those who seek Him and are faithful, as seen in Joseph's life.

Wisdom in Preparation
Just as Joseph advised Pharaoh to prepare for the coming famine, we should be wise stewards of our resources, preparing for both physical and spiritual needs.

Trust in God's Timing
Joseph's rise to power was in God's perfect timing, reminding us to trust in His timing for our lives.

The Futility of Earthly Appearances
The unchanged appearance of the cows after devouring the others symbolizes how earthly gains can be fleeting and unsatisfying without God's blessing.

Faithfulness in Adversity
Joseph remained faithful to God despite his circumstances, encouraging us to remain steadfast in our faith during trials.

Bible Study Questions and Answers

1.What is the meaning of Genesis 41:21?

2.How does Genesis 41:21 illustrate the consequences of ignoring God's warnings?

3.What can we learn about God's provision from Genesis 41:21's imagery?

4.How does Genesis 41:21 connect with Joseph's earlier dreams in Genesis 37?

5.How can we apply the lessons of Genesis 41:21 to modern financial planning?

6.What does Genesis 41:21 teach about the importance of spiritual preparedness?

7.How does Genesis 41:21 illustrate the concept of divine providence in Joseph's story?

8.What is the significance of Pharaoh's dream in Genesis 41:21 for understanding God's communication?

9.How does Genesis 41:21 reflect the theme of famine and abundance in biblical narratives?

10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 41?

11.Do prophetic dreams originate from a divine source?

12.What are Jacob's prophecies in the Bible?

13.Genesis 41:1-7: How is it scientifically or naturally possible for seven emaciated cows to devour seven healthy cows?

14.What does the Bible say about God versus Satan?

What Does Genesis 41:21 Mean

When they had devoured them

Pharaoh sees the seven scrawny cows swallow the seven healthy ones (Genesis 41:4, 20). The picture is literal within the dream yet symbolic in meaning:

• In Joseph’s interpretation, the fat cows stand for seven literal years of abundance, while the thin cows are seven literal years of famine that will “consume the land” (Genesis 41:26-30).

• Famine often follows plenty in Scripture; compare Elijah’s day when rain stopped after fruitful harvests (1 Kings 17:1-7).

• God alone reveals and rules over future events (Isaiah 46:9-10), using dreams—as He did with Joseph earlier (Genesis 37:5-11) and with Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:19-23).

No one could tell that they had done so

Even after swallowing the healthy cows, the gaunt cows look no different—still as empty as ever.

• Famine not only consumes abundance; it leaves no visible benefit behind. The land can go from overflowing barns to bare fields with nothing to show for past prosperity (Genesis 41:31).

• Haggai echoes this idea: “You eat, but are never satisfied” (Haggai 1:6).

• Sin and judgment operate similarly—devouring yet never filling (Proverbs 30:15-16).

Their appearance was as ugly as it had been before

The hideous look remains, highlighting how severe scarcity disfigures life.

• Joseph later tells Pharaoh that the famine will be “so severe that all the abundance will be forgotten” (Genesis 41:31).

• Joel depicts locusts that leave the land “desolate” and “wasted” (Joel 1:4-7), another picture of ugliness following consumption.

• God’s warnings are merciful alarms—He shows the ugliness of judgment so people may seek Him while there is time (Amos 4:6-8).

Then I awoke

Pharaoh’s sudden awakening underlines two truths:

• The dream’s source is divine, not merely psychological (Genesis 41:25). Like Jacob who “awoke from his sleep” and knew “Surely the LORD is in this place” (Genesis 28:16), Pharaoh senses something weighty.

• God often gives revelation at night and then calls for action by day (Job 33:14-16). Pharaoh’s response—summoning wise men and finally Joseph—shows that divine insight demands prompt obedience (Genesis 41:8-14).

summary

Genesis 41:21 shows famine’s consuming power: it devours abundance, leaves no trace of benefit, and remains just as dreadful. God disclosed this reality to Pharaoh through a literal dream so he—and all Egypt—might prepare. The verse reminds us that prosperity apart from God is fragile, but humble obedience to His revealed word turns warning into provision (Genesis 41:33-36;Psalm 33:18-19).

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

When they had devoured
וַתָּבֹ֣אנָה(wat·tā·ḇō·nāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 935:To come in, come, go in, go

them, however,
קִרְבֶּ֗נָה(qir·be·nāh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine plural
Strong's 7130:The nearest part, the center

no one could
וְלֹ֤א(wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808:Not, no

tell
נוֹדַע֙(nō·w·ḏa‘)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3045:To know

that
כִּי־(kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588:A relative conjunction

they had [done so];
בָ֣אוּ(ḇā·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 935:To come in, come, go in, go

their appearance
וּמַרְאֵיהֶ֣ן(ū·mar·’ê·hen)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine plural
Strong's 4758:Sight, appearance, vision

was as ugly
רַ֔ע(ra‘)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7451:Bad, evil

as
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר(ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834:Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

it had been before.
בַּתְּחִלָּ֑ה(bat·tə·ḥil·lāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8462:A commencement, rel, original

Then I awoke.
וָאִיקָֽץ׃(wā·’î·qāṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3364:To awake

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OT Law: Genesis 41:21 And when they had eaten them up (Gen. Ge Gn)