Then the chief butler said to Pharaoh: Then translates the Hebrew connective. The chief butler takes the initiative now because he was probably present when the king described his dreams to his magicians and wise men, and because he now remembers that Joseph had correctly interpreted his dream.

I remember my faults today: the butler addresses the king directly without an address form. In some languages this context will require something like “Sir,” “Your majesty,” “My chief.” Remember in this context is more than recalling something that has been forgotten: the butler wishes to tell the king something he should have told him much earlier. Accordingly the translation should reflect this omission or carelessness committed by the butler. Note Good News Translation “I must confess today … wrong.” New International Version says “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings,” Revised English Bible “Now I must mention my offenses.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

So in the morning his spirit was troubled: this is a literal rendering of the Hebrew, which may also be expressed as “He was upset,” “… disturbed,” or “… worried.” A similar thought is expressed when the king’s officials awoke from their dreams in 40.6.

Sent and called: that is, “sent someone to bring,” or “sent word for them to come.”

Magicians … wise men: magicians refers to a class of Egyptian priests who had special powers and knowledge. The Hebrew term is found only in passages related to Egypt; for example, Exo 7.11, 22; 8.18-19; 9.11. Most English translations call them “magicians,” but Revised English Bible prefers “dream-interpreters.” Interpreting dreams, however, was probably only one of their functions. A magician is a person skilled in magic or the control of secret forces in nature. If the translator finds that it is not suitable to use the local term for sorcerer or shaman, it may be best to follow Revised English Bible, or to say “priest,” as in some translations. Wise men refers to another class of Egyptian priests or people with special knowledge or wisdom. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible explains the relation of these two groups in its footnote: “These ‘priests’ (magicians) were the head ‘reader priests’ according to Egyptian terminology. They are here the highest in the hierarchy. The ‘wise men’ are the top level civil servants educated in the scribal schools. These two groups were the scholars of their day and were responsible to answer the Pharaoh’s questions.” In some languages wise men is expressed as “men who know things” or “the knowing ones.”

Some interpreters understand all before magicians and before wise men to mean “all kinds of….” It may also refer to the main ones or those who were highest in the hierarchy. However, most translations take all to refer to the entire group of such persons.

Pharaoh told them his dream: that is, he described it, he told them what he saw. Dream is singular in the Hebrew, as shown by Revised Standard Version, but translators may need to make it plural as in Good News Translation.

Who could interpret it to Pharaoh: Revised Standard Version footnote shows that the Hebrew has “them” in place of it. The term dream, which the pronoun refers back to, is singular in the Hebrew but is understood in a collective sense, as Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says: “all the things he had dreamt.” We may translate, for example, “but no one could explain the meaning of the things the king [Pharaoh] had dreamed.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears: the image of grain eating grain is again from the strange and unreal world of dreams. If in translation it is not possible to speak of grain swallowing or eating grain, it may be possible to shift to a simile and say, for example, “Then the thin heads of grain made the seven healthy heads disappear, like a person eating food.”

And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream: that is, “When the king woke up he realized he had been dreaming.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And behold, after them sprouted seven ears: after them means “after the king saw the seven good heads.” We must assume that the thin heads of grain were growing on one stalk, just as the healthy ones were; this may have been the same stalk or it may have been a different stalk. Some translations say, for example, “Then he saw another stalk of wheat, on which were seven….” Sprouted refers here to growing from nothing to full size. It means to push out or grow out from the main stem of the stalk.

Thin and blighted: thin translates the same Hebrew word as used of the cows in Gen 41.3. However, in translation the term must be one that describes a weak, stunted, underdeveloped head of grain. Blighted means “withered,” “scorched,” or “dried up.” Instead of receiving rain to make them grow, these heads are said to have been blighted by the east wind. East wind translates “eastern” and as in Job 27.21 refers to the hot wind that blows from the desert. In areas where “east” does not make people think of the desert, translators are advised to follow Good News Translation “desert wind” or some such equivalent in their own languages.

We may render verse 6, for example, “After the good heads had formed, seven thin heads sprouted that looked as though they had been scorched by the desert wind” or “… scorched by a hot wind.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

In the second dream seven sickly objects again eat seven healthy objects.

And: as this is a sequence of events, it may be best to say something equivalent to “Then,” “After that,” or “Later.”

Dreamed a second time: that is, “had a second dream,” “had another dream,” “dreamed again,” or “dreamed a second time.” Following the same pattern as in verse 1, some translations say “… dreamed again, and his second dream was like this:….”

Behold, seven ears of grain … stalk: unlike the first dream, in which there is a setting (the king is looking down on the river from the bank), the second dream has no setting. Translators may find it is necessary to provide a setting by saying, for example, “This time he dreamed he was looking at a stalk of grain.”

Seven ears of grain: King James Version and British edition Good News Translation “ears of corn” may give the impression to some that the reference is to maize. However, what the king sees in his dream is a stalk of grain, perhaps wheat, with heads full of grains growing out of the stalk. Ears or “heads of grain” refers to the clusters of ripe grain at the head of the stalk. In some languages the tender clusters of grains are called “eyes of grain,” and when they are ripe are called “heads of grain.” In rice-growing areas the heads of grain may be applied to the stalk of rice.

Plump and good: plump, which means “well rounded” or “filled out,” translates the Hebrew word for “fat” used in Gen 41.2. Good News Translation says “full and ripe.” Translators should use expressions that are used to describe well-developed and ripe grains (or ears) growing on a stalk of grain, or rice.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse strengthens the bizarre picture in the dream: grass-eating cows suddenly become meat-eaters.

And the gaunt and thin cows ate up the … cows: in some languages it is necessary to provide a transition between the action of the thin cows in verse 3 and what they do in this verse. For example, we may say “Then suddenly the thin and ugly cows began eating the strong and well-fed cows and ate them up completely.”

The dream is so startling that the king wakes up.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .