In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers are gathering grain into sheaves. by Jeffrey Kranz | Jul 27, 2018 | Bible facts | 39 comments. In these Bible verses, we see dreams used as illustrations. Obviously this is a common purpose of dreams within the context of scripture. May you be more inspired. Now it’s Daniel’s turn to have dreams. This is so wonderfully clear and concise! Solomon plays it smart and asks for wisdom—not wealth, power, or a long life. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Keep up the great work. prophet. 1. We often speak of day dreaming or following our dreams in addition to our standard concept of dreaming, but here we will focus on the dreams that we have during sleep. Moses: The Old Testament’s Greatest Prophet, Who Was King Solomon? patriarch. Maybe I’ll do a piece on those individually sometime in the future. But on the other hand, dreams have brought about a lot of good for me and people around me (James 1:17). It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. Long before the nation of Israel settled between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, their ancestor Abraham sojourned throughout the territory with his wife Sarah. Kind of hazy, right? Dreams all have value even when they don’t stick. There’s no guarantee that we’ll understand the dreams we have, and there’s no biblical recipe for understanding them, either. I have a lot of them, at least. This dream was a prophecy of the bakers impending death by hanging on a tree. From a fellow Bible geek blogger. A cluster of five dreams surround the birth of Christ in the first two chapters of : Joseph’s message. 1. These cookies do not store any personal information. Joseph was a man subject to dreams and the interpretation of dreams. We are not to trust in them, however real they seem; we are rather to fear God. Let’s pull a Luke 15:12 and call it an advance on my inheritance. The night before Gideon storms the Midianite camp, Gideon overhears two Midianites discussing a dream one of them had: a loaf of barley rolls into camp and overturns a tent. spirit. Great infographic. Surely the whole purpose for this man's dream was the encouragement of Gideon. So Jacob’s on the run. To cancel bad dreams has been a serious challenge. Dreams fascinate me, and I figure they’re interesting to you, too. Visions seem to have been common enough that their lack was sorely noted. I would have to say that this is nowhere near as common as the first two, but I do believe there is an instance that could be construed as a dream for the purpose of encouraging obedience to the Lord. Seriously? In the Bible, especially the Old Testament, the Lord used dreams for various reasons. Joseph’s wisdom earns him the second-highest position in the kingdom, which allows him to accommodate his father and brothers when they seek refuge from the famine. Now here is where people will begin to split from me and call me a heretic and all sorts of other things. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Question: "How did God use dreams and visions in the Bible?" I was looking for something different to share with our church bible study class. Once again I want to emphasize that we will define a dream using the scriptural definition. Horses are used as symbols across the globe and have been for a very long time. In another seven plump ears of grain are devoured by seven thin ones. In light of all the “God will give you a dream and the means to fulfill it” it’s very contrasting to how dreams looked biblically.. That was a big takeaway for me, too. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. It’s absolutely possible! God warns Laban not to say anything good or bad to Jacob—just let him go. This dream involves an enormous statue made of various materials—which represent different world kingdoms. Dispersion. See All..., "For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words." The Bible defines a dream in Job 33:15In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; The child she is expecting is... Magi’s warning. According to the Bible, a vision is something that occurs when a man is awake, while a dream is something that occurs when a … I also, loved the graphics. That’s one coincidence. 23:25).. An angel tells Mary’s betrothed that there is no need to divorce her. Please excuse me while I turning myself in to the humor police. The three branches represent three days between the dream and the cupbearer’s restoration to Pharaoh’s court. The Bible speaks on this in Isaiah 29:8 when it says, “It will be as when a hungry man dreams – and behold, he is eating; But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied, or, as when a … Dreams can be the means by which your mind tells you that you need a change in life. It’s certainly interesting. The three baskets represent another three days—at the end of which Pharaoh beheads the baker, and the birds eat the baker’s flesh. There are multiple dreams in Hebrew probably but here is a list of probable languages. However, the most important source for truth on this subject is the Bible itself! 1) This is really well done! While we are asleep He gives us images and messages in our sleep. When Abraham moved to a new city, the leadership of that city took note. If you know the story of Joseph, you know that the dreams are the only evidence of this occuring until he was promoted to the second in command under Pharaoh. Enjoyed reading it. The Lord appeared to the wise men here for the purpose of warning them not to return to Herod, but to go back  home another way. Really helpful and added greatly to a message I gave recently on dreams that God gives us. Dreams recorded in the Bible. Thanks for all your hard work Jeff…you are truly blessed!!!! Unlike other dream interpretation websites or books we extensively research dream symbols by interviewing people about the events occurring in their lives at the time of their dreams. Thanks again! Good job. See All... he says, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:". =). The interpretation of the dream just so happened to be that the army of Gideon was going to defeat the Midianites. “Really, kid? Dreams can appear to be very real. Hi Jeffrey, Just found this great and concise article. Dreams abound in the Bible. Where did you get that from? It may have appeared real, but it was not. Dreams from God were vivid and coherent, and they had a definite message. Hi Jeff, Hey is there anyway you could possibly split your infographics so they can be printed for bible study groups? The verse also teaches that a dream occurs when deep sleep falls upon men. Sometimes you wake up scared, sometimes mad and sometimes sad, yet you realize after a while that it was just a dream and you settle down. (Adam Thompson, Adrian Beale) It has been an amazing resource for biblical dream interpretation for me and my wife (both heavy dreamers). Through a series of unfortunate events, Joseph finds himself in prison. This also happens to Daniel (Da 8:18). So I wouldn’t say that nonbelievers are incapable of discerning the meaning of dreams. The dream’s message is clear: it’s time to go home. The Bible says that the multitude of business will cause dreams. not all of what Joel said was fulfilled on Pentecost and 2.) If a king had a crush on the new girl in town, all he had to do was murder her husband and take the woman for himself. Jospeh’s sheaf stands upright, but the brother’s bundles of grain bow down to Joseph’s sheaf. I just don't believe that we can give our dreams the weight that we can give to Bible dreams. We will mention only a couple of the symbols with their Biblical meanings. Now this verse is quoted as coming to pass in Acts 2:17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 126:1).. Second-Inspired dreams or visions (waking dreams- Numbers 24:4) that are given by God with specific messages to guide His children.. Third-false dreams by false prophets (Jer. The king of Babylon has a terrifying dream, and nobody can interpret it but the Hebrew wise man, Daniel. I would very much like to take all my infographics and split them down into not only letter-page handouts, but also Powerpoint presentations. That’s what happens to king Solomon, son of the giant-slayer David. Great job.. Consider some things with me. However, God still provides for Jacob—so much so that Jacob’s wealth begins to overtake Laban’s. I have to tell you the timing of receiving this email on dreams was very weird. A cluster of five dreams surround the birth of Christ in the first two chapters of : Jesus is on trial, right before he’s crucified. In Judges chapter 7, we find the Lord thinning out the army of Gideon before he goes to battle with the vast army of Midian. Examining your dreams through a biblical lens can help you understand what God might be saying to you, and gain comfort and wisdom through His message. My observation was language oriented in dreams to see how many different languages were communicated in dreams. The Bible offers stern warnings against those who use dreams (those actually dreamt or lied about) as a means to convince others to break God's laws and rebel against worshipping him. In this same chapter the Lord instructed Gideon that if he was afraid he should go down unto the host and then he would be strengthened. This left Gideon with an army of only 300 soldiers. Isaiah . However, I have come to believe that there is fine line between them. I very strongly believe that God can and will allow people to have dreams that could turn them to Him. Of course, we could have a case of a dream coinciding with a vision, which Daniel 7:1–2 seems to allow for. I have a friend in another state and we were emailing back and forth about the dreams we had last night. They obviously happen only when we’re asleep. At the top of the ladder is the Lord, who promises that Jacob will indeed return home, and his descendants will possess the land of Canaan. The Bible says several things in this one verse. Genesis 15 was actually a tough one for me. Loved the humor. Abraham certainly slept through the last half of the chapter! The Bible speaks of this in Isaiah 29:8It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. As we read often enough in the Bible, God or his angels will appear in visions or speak to people in their waking moments, but a dream is a message in slumber. There were times when God used a dream to give a warning. Mesopotamian pilates is one of the world’s lost treasures. May God continue to bless you with His knowledge. If the Lord does not burn it into your heart that He is trying to teach you something then chalk it up to a multitude of business and go on about your day. It was also interesting to note how few dreams the Bible records—and how clumped together they are. I asked someone about it that is a leader in our church and she said that biblically a dream from god will have a clear message and only unbelievers in the Bible do not know what a dream meant. Love this! See All..., "In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;". Join our email list, and we’ll send you some of our best free resources—plus we’ll tell you whenever we make something new. The dream recaps Laban’s mistreatment of Jacob and shows that God has been providing for Jacob despite Laban’s schemes. And some of the city leaders had enough power to take whatever they wanted by force. Visions happen when we are awake. Then we shared a couple of recurring dreams and we had a dove-tail there, as well. We can assume that as God spoke to every category of person in Bible days, he is still in the dream business speaking to us the same way today. God uses dreams to speak to both believer and non-believer … There were times when God used a dream to reveal prophecy. Thanks so much for checking it out! Even in the Bible, where there are several references to dreams, it’s not always clear. There are some dreams that are very hard to diagnose except for the leading of the Holy Spirit. What do horses symbolize spiritually? In Joel 2:28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: “Go to Egypt.” “Now go back.” “No, not that way!” There’s no ambiguity in most of these. The Beginner’s Guide. In verse 3, we find that 22,000 went home because of fear and in verse 6, we find that 9,700 went home because of the way they drank water. Very interesting… I never would have thought that. HarperCollins Dictionary. I think here we might even mix dreams and visions from a language standpoint. I have been dreaming a lot about being in water, feeling water flowing in my heart. But before he catches up to Jacob, God comes to Laban in a dream. Some actually live their lives based on their own dreams. An absence of visions was due at times to a dearth of prophets (1 Samuel 3:1) and other times due to the … Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. ;-). Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. There is a growing body of reports regarding “Jesus” dreams steadily rising out of the Middle East, especially to Muslims. In one, seven fat cows are devoured by seven scrawny ones. Abimalech’s Dream – Philistine 2. Not all dreams are good ones. That’s why I decided to roundup all of the bible verses about dreams and visions in one … If so, are you familiar with the book “The Divinty Code”? Persia. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. =). Ultimately when we dream and it causes us concern, we ought to go to God and ask Him if He is trying to teach us something. Nobody seems to agree on what dreams symbolize. I’m glad this was helpful. Abraham fell into a deep sleep & horror came over him. Dreams in the Bible are categorized mainly into three types: messages of impending misfortune or good fortune, warnings about false prophets, and ordinary, non-oracle dreams. I learned most of what I know about Daniel’s dreams from the same Precept study! Jacob loves to the land of his relative Laban, where he marries Laban’s daughters and works with his herds. Thank you so much for this informative, spirit filled lesson. There were times when God used a dream to encourage. I personally believe that God does not speak to men through dreams and visions today as He did in the Bible. First of all, a dream is a vision of the night. Joseph (Carpenter), Abraham, Baalam, Solomon’s dreams – Hebrew 6. Very cool! Wait… There Were How Many Herods?! Now it is interesting that several who study dreams suggest that when your body slows down to rest, your mind continues to work. Abimelech. God used dreams in the Bible many times to communicate his will, reveal his plans, and to announce future events. ;-). Glad this is helpful. Since God has revealed some of His word through dreams, I thought it might be cool to find all the dreams in the Bible. The wise men visit the young Jesus. The Bible warns us in Deuteronomy 13:1-4 – “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. Something else to consider here is that dreams are not necessarily supposed to mean anything. You can read the whole exchange for yourself in Genesis 20, but the gist of it is: “Back off, dude: she’s taken.”. Ask me for anything—anything you want. When I clicked on your link above, it only shows the very bottom of it… the rest is cut off. Scripture Genesis 20:3-7. Somehow, the other guy can tell what the dream means: “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. This is a hot topic in our day and should be carefully studied because many have been seriously deceived by dreams. Some who study dreams say that we are always dreaming when we sleep, but we only remember the dreams right before we awake. It was a pleasure. Pilate’s wife’s dream – Latin. Another point to consider is Joel's reference to prophesy, dreams and visions. There are other dreams in the Bible that I would consider to fall into this category as well. =). Wow, this is great! Isaiah was a prophet in ancient Judah between 740 and 700 B.C.E. I have many dreams. The very first dream that I have seen in the scripture is when God spoke to Abimelech and warned him that he had taken another man's wife. There are dozens of interpretations out there about the meaning of dreams in the Bible. Some say they are messages from God. This time a huge, magnificent tree is cut down to earth, and the stump and roots are left to go mad. The statue is smashed by a stone which becomes a mountain, representing the coming kingdom of God. ?? dreams. The baker has a dream, too. As a fellow Bible Geek, I was giddy when I saw this on Compassion’s fb page. In the very next verse Joseph is also warned of the Lord in a dream to flee into Egypt with the Lord Jesus. However, biblical dream interpretation required careful testing to prove it came from God (Deuteronomy 13). Some of them are symbolic (like the dreams in Daniel), and some involve explicit instructions from God. From Genesis all the way into the New Testament, we learn about how dreams have been used by God to fulfill His purposes. Jacob takes off with his flocks and family—Laban’s daughters and grandchildren. Hey Joanne. You can learn a lot about yourself by paying attention to what you dream. Thank you for taking the time to put that together! First of all, a dream is a vision of the night. Makes a very nifty organizational resource to have all the visions/trances together as well as this piece on all the dreams! I took a little different approach than “all” dreams to only the ones where something verbal was communicated. In Genesis 37, Joseph dreamed a dream about his brethren bowing down to him. Dreams have a crucial distinction from the other mysterious ways in which God communicates with us. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”. Numbers are important in dreams. According to the Bible, a vision is something that occurs when a man is awake, while a dream is something that occurs when a man is asleep. It’s from the subconscious mind or God—or both. Gideon begins with 32,000 soldiers. Immediately upon hearing of this dream, Gideon was strengthened and he worshipped God. Very important: He obeyed Gods instruction in the dream. Thankfully, many dreams have been recorded in the Bible. Tag: dreams in the bible. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. We create research-based articles and handy infographics to help people understand the Bible. Pontius Pilate’s wife has a nightmare about the trial her husband is presiding over, because she knows that Jesus is innocent. This angered his brothers who understood the meaning and said he would never rule over them. Something else to consider is that dreams were often for the purpose of revealing prophecy, yet we have in the word of God the revelation of the future events that God wants to make known to men. We don’t know about their dreams, the Bible doesn’t say they had them. Lessons Learned In a dream, you can have an on-going conversation with God. The Bible says, Secret things belongs to the Lord. Turns out, Abimelech is totally into Sarah. Fast-forward to the book of Judges: Jacob’s and Joseph’s descendants have followed Moses and Joshua back to Canaan and settled in the land. Now, let me clarify something on the other end of this argument. Laban isn’t very happy about this, so he pursues Jacob. If you are familiar with the Book of Daniel, you will remember that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams that have a tremendous amount of prophecy in them. (By the way: this is the biblical story of how Israel’s ancestors came to Egypt, where their descendants were eventually enslaved.). Chances are you, or someone you know, will sooner or later have to make some kind of important judgment/decision based on a dream. (example of non-verbal dream – Pharaoh’s dream of 7’s). Both men had a dream that they could not interpret. In some I know that god is speaking and can hear him, others it’s a knowing, and in others I know there’s a message but not sure exactly what it is (I’m referring strictly to dreams that I know are from god and not processing or demonic dreams). You’re right: Peter did see a sheet filled with all kinds of unclean animals and was told to “kill and eat.” However, Luke says that Peter “fell into a trance” (Ac 10:10), and later calls this experience a vision (Ac 10:17). Key Verse: Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Ariel, that attack her and her fortress and besiege her, will be as it is with a dream, with a vision in the night— as … Babylon. The metaphor dictionary is quite comprehensive and each meaning referenced back to specific scripture. exile. Same king, same problem: a troubling dream that only Daniel can interpret. Now when you know what the Bible says about our dreams and visions, you will see the Biblical interpretation of certain symbols that are very common both in our dreams and visions. So God grants him all of the above. Wisemen’s Dream (Mt) was perhaps in Persian 5. Their likeness has various meanings based on the animal’s color, posture, and depiction as wild or captive. February 10, 2021 February 7, 2021 by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2020/2021. Basic Thought Warning from God. Also, if you have any ideas for future infographics I can do, feel free to send them my way! Biblical Interpretation of Symbols that Appear In Our Dreams and Visions. THEN your email on dreams in the Bible and I was like WHOA! I haven’t read all the comments, but there were a few asking about those waking dreams that you categorized as “visions” or trances. No surprise that the God who created language(s) would be able to “speak” them all even in dreams. You may dream of eating or drinking, but when you awake you are still empty. So cool. I really appreciate all the effort you put into this! Welcome to The Dream Bible. Dreams play an important role in religion, as many figures in the Bible are said to have been visited by God during their sleep. See All... when it says, "It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite". Then Jospeh has another dream. He meets two other prisoners who had troubling dreams: Pharaoh’s former cupbearer and former baker. This aggravates Joseph’s brothers. And Joseph’s dream and Solomon’s dream and…. When Gideon arrived in the host, he heard a man telling a dream to another man. Summary of Genesis 40:1-8: Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker offended Pharaoh and were put in the same prison as Joseph. Laban’s sons aren’t too happy with this, and Jacob senses that he is not among friends. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: Non Existent Revisions in the King James Bible. I’ll give it to you.” What would you ask for? The cupbearer dreams of a grape vine with three branches, which he harvests and presses into Pharaoh’s cup. When we do a quick survey of Biblical dreams, we see that God uses dreams to convey prophecy, warning, and direction. There was a big problem though: Sarah was gorgeous. Answer: God used dreams and visions (visions are “waking dreams”; see Numbers 24:4) several times in the Bible to communicate with people. Related Publications . God comes to him in a dream offering him a divine blank check. Consider Ecclesiastes 5:3For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. My answer will not necessarily be concerned with the scientific study of dreams, but will focus on the Biblical foundation for the definition of a dream, the cause of a dream, the reality of dreams, some common purposes for dreams and the connection or lack of connection between dreams in the Bible and dreams today. oracle. An interesting takeaway is that even Joseph’s brothers were affected by a dream. Many thanks, Cassandra! Dreaming is an odd and fascinating subject to me—although that’s hardly a hot take. Joseph saw that they were sad and asked them why. The Bible is a finished work. Prinception Bride, was it? And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.” (Jdg 7:13–14). See All...: This verse tells us that a multitude of dreams can be worth absolutely nothing. Note that the three branches in this dream meant three days. I already shared this richly informative article. 108 prayers to cancel bad dreams in the Bible is a wonderful divine ideas to bring a total solution to all dreams issues confronting the children of God. Abraham was a rich guy (and therefore a pretty big deal), so it’s not like he and Sarah just stopped at a Holiday Inn late at night before leaving at first light the next day. Thanks, Aaron! Others believe they have no meaning at all. God speaks to all people through dreams and many other ways. I believe they are still the work of God, but how do we learn to interpret them? But these were not everyday vague, illogical dreams. 2) Are you a dreamer? Their spiritual meaning in art, the Bible, or dreams encompass a broad scope, primarily based on their color. In the dream, he carries three bread baskets on his head—but the birds eat the bread from them. Reveals Gods covenant protection of Abraham. Although the symbolic dreams from Genesis and Daniel are most memorable, the majority of these dreams are direct, explicit messages. Temple, The. So whether the dreams come directly from God, or they’re a function of wisdom freely given to humans by God (James 1:5), I’m grateful to God for them. Both Jeremiah and Zechariah warned against relying on dreams to express the revelation of God (Jeremiah 23:28). (Nice people.). The Bible, however, does contain a verse that quite possibly gives us the cause. The line between dream and vision can get a little blurry (see Daniel 7:1–2), but one distinction is that dreams only occur when the dreamer is asleep, while visions can happen while the beholder is awake.