Genesis 41:6-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 Behind them sprouted seven ears of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind; 7 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven fat, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up—it was a dream!
8 Next morning his mind was agitated. So Pharaoh had all the magicians[a] and sages of Egypt summoned and recounted his dream to them; but there was no one to interpret it for him.
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- 41:8 Magicians: one of the tasks of the “magicians” was interpreting dreams. The interpretation of dreams was a long-standing practice in Egypt. A manual of dream interpretation has been found, written in the early second millennium and re-published later in which typical dreams are given (“If a man sees himself in a dream…”) followed by a judgment of “good” or “bad.” Interpreters were still needed for dreams, however, and Pharaoh complains that none of his dream interpreters can interpret his unprecedented dream. The same term will be used of Pharaoh’s magicians in Exodus.
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