Behold, seven other cows: behold introduces the next scene in the dream. Good News Translation expresses this with “Then,” Revised English Bible has “Presently,” and New International Version “After them.” Seven other cows means “seven more cows” or “another group of seven cows.”

Gaunt is literally “bad of form” and describes the appearance of these animals as the opposite of sturdy and robust. New Jerusalem Bible calls them “wretched,” New Jerusalem Bible “ugly.” Thin is literally “lean of flesh,” which Good News Translation calls “bony.” In cattle-raising societies there are often numerous terms for degrees of good and bad to choose from.

And stood by the other cows … Nile: the thin cows come up from the water or from the water’s edge. Instead of grazing on the grass, they simply stand near the first group.

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 .