Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary Verse 9. He dreamed yet another dream] This is as clear as the preceding. But how could Jacob say, Shall I and thy mother, &c., when Rachel his mother was dead some time before this? Perhaps Jacob might hint, by this explanation, the impossibility of such a dream being fulfilled, because one of the persons who should be a chief actor in it was already dead. But any one wife or concubine of Jacob was quite sufficient to fulfill this part of the dream. It is possible, some think, that Joseph may have had these dreams before his mother Rachel died; but were even this the case, she certainly did not live to fulfill the part which appears to refer to herself.
The sun and the moon and the eleven stars] Why eleven stars? Was it merely to signify that his brothers might be represented by stars? Or does he not rather there allude to the Zodiac, his eleven brethren answering to eleven of the celestial signs, and himself to the twelfth? This is certainly not an unnatural thought, as it is very likely that the heavens were thus measured in the days of Joseph; for the zodiacal constellations have been distinguished among the eastern nations from time immemorial. See at ""Genesis xlix. 33"".
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 5-11 - God gave Joseph betimes the prospect of his advancement, to support an comfort him under his long and grievous troubles. Observe, Josep dreamed of his preferment, but he did not dream of his imprisonment Thus many young people, when setting out in the world, think of nothin but prosperity and pleasure, and never dream of trouble. His brethre rightly interpreted the dream, though they abhorred the interpretatio of it. While they committed crimes in order to defeat it, they wer themselves the instruments of accomplishing it. Thus the Jew understood what Christ said of his kingdom. Determined that he shoul not reign over them, they consulted to put him to death; and by his crucifixion, made way for the exaltation they designed to prevent.
Original Hebrew ויחלם2492 עוד5750 חלום2472 אחר312 ויספר5608 אתו853 לאחיו251 ויאמר559 הנה2009 חלמתי2492 חלום2472 עוד5750 והנה2009 השׁמשׁ8121 והירח3394 ואחד259 עשׂר6240 כוכבים3556 משׁתחוים׃7812
