Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 41:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Seven ugly, thin cows emerge after the healthy cows and stand beside them on the Nile bank. The verse introduces the threat but does not yet show what the thin cows do or mean.
Read It With
- Genesis 41:1–36
Read verses 2–4 and 25–27. Verse 2 introduces the healthy cows, verse 3 sets the thin cows beside them, verse 4 shows consumption, and Joseph later identifies both groups with years.
Why It Needs Context
Reading verse 3 alone would leave the relationship between the two groups unresolved. The next verse and Joseph's interpretation supply the movement and meaning.
Read Genesis 41:1–4 together
Why these verses belong together: The two-year transition, Nile setting, healthy cows, gaunt cows, consumption, and awakening form the first dream.
Verse 1. 1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
Verse 2. 2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
Verse 3. 3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
Verse 4. 4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 41:1–36 — Pharaoh Dreams, Joseph Interprets, and Egypt Is WarnedSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed text, delay, dreams, recollection, summons, interpretation, counsel, response, later grain movement, and later famine administration.
Exact location: Genesis 41:1–36; 40:20–23; 41:37–57; 42:1–9; 47:13–26 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Two-full-years phrase, Nile and dream wording, troubled spirit, hartummim, cupbearer faults, pit and clothing, bil'adai, shalom Pharaoh, dream duplication, discernment, fifth, reserve, and land-preservation wording.
Exact location: WLC Genesis 41:1–36, especially vv. 1, 8–9, 14–16, 24–36
Open source ↗