Genesis 41:1

1 Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;

Genesis 41:1 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 41:1

And it came to pass at the end of two full years
It is not a clear case, as Aben Ezra observes, from whence these years are to be reckoned, whether from the time of Joseph's being put into prison, or from the time that the chief butler was taken out of it; the latter seems more probable, and better connects this and the preceding chapter: that Pharaoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood by the river;
it seemed to him, in his dream, as if he stood near the river Nile, or some canal or flow of water cut out of that river.

Genesis 41:1 In-Context

1 Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;

2 And out of the Nile came seven cows, good-looking and fat, and their food was the river-grass.

3 And after them seven other cows came out of the Nile, poor-looking and thin; and they were by the side of the other cows.

4 And the seven thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh came out of his sleep.

5 But he went to sleep again and had a second dream, in which he saw seven heads of grain, full and good, all on one stem.