Genesis 41:32

Gen 41:32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; [it is] because the thing [is] established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

Ver. 32. The dream was doubled.] {See Trapp on "Gen 41:25"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

41:32 The two similar dreams confirmed that the message was decreed by God and would soon . . . happen, just as the dreams of the two prisoners were quickly fulfilled (40:5-23). Joseph’s own two dreams (37:5-11) were about to come true as well (41:37-46; 42:6-9).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

32. And for that the dream was doubled. Joseph does not mean to say, that what God may have declared but once, is mutable: but he would prevent Pharaoh’s confidence respecting the event revealed, from being shaken. For since God pronounces nothing but from his own fixed and steadfast purpose, it is enough that he should have spoken once. But our dullness and inconstancy cause him to repeat the same thing the more frequently, in order that what he has certainly decreed, may be fixed in our hearts; otherwise, as our disposition is variable, so, what we have once heard from his mouth, is tossed up and down by us, until it entirely escapes our memory. Moreover, Joseph not only commemorates the stability of the heavenly decree, but also declares that what God has determined to do, is near at hand, lest Pharaoh himself should slumber in the confident expectation of longer delay. For though we confess that the judgments of God are always hanging over our heads, yet unless we are stimulated by the thought of their speedy approach, we are but slightly affected with anxiety and fear respecting them.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

32. doubled … twice] This is a literal rendering. The repetition of the dream shewed emphatically that the thing was “established,” i.e. made fixed and sure, by the decree of God. Cf. Psa_93:2, “Thy throne is established”; Hos_6:3, “sure as the morning.”

will shortly bring it to pass] Lit. “hasteneth to do it.” Hence there is urgent need to take measures in good time to meet the crisis which is bound to come.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And let them, gather all the food of those good years that come,.... That is, let the under officers collect together the fifth part of all fruits of the land during the seven years of plenty:

and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh; as his property, and only to be disposed of by his orders; for as it was to be purchased with his money, it was right that it should be in his hands, or in the hands of his officers appointed by him, as the Targum of Jonathan:

and let them keep food in the cities; reserve it in the several cities throughout the land, against the years of famine.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

32. The dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice — Here is incidentally given a principle of interpretation which may be profitable in the interpretation of prophecy. As God repeated the dream to Pharaoh under different symbols, so he gave through his prophets under various symbols the ideas of things that were future. So Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s vision of the beasts (Daniel 2, 7) were one. So, doubtless, in the Apocalypse, many of the symbols, which have been explained as chronological and consecutive, are but different foreshadowings of the same thing. The repetition is but to show that the thing is established by God, and at the same time to deepen and intensify the impression.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

נכון —means PREPARED.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND FOR THAT THE DREAM WAS REPEATED UNTO PHARAOH TWICE. The verse is explaining the reason for the repetition of the dream — i.e., that it occurred twice in one night — although it would have been possible for both the cows and the ears of corn to be shown in one dream and make known that there shall neither be plowing nor harvest. Yet He showed them in two separate dreams, one after another, in one night — an unusual circumstance for dreamers in order to make known that the matter is prepared, and G-d hasteneth to do it. This is the meaning of the word pa’amayim (twice) as the dreams concerning the cows and the ears of corn were not presented at one time.But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explains that the repetition of the theme of the dream — through the medium of the cows and the ears of corn — attested to the fact that the matter is set and established. And the fact that the dream occurred twice in one night attested that G-d hasteneth to do it. But if so, could have been accomplished by repeating the same dream. we would say that the dream concerning the ears of corn would have been sufficient since that dream informed Pharaoh of the famine.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ועל השנות, Joseph added the word פעמים, in order to make this more plain after he had used the expression השנות.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.