Reference: Dream
American
The orientals, and in particular the Jews, greatly regarded dreams, and applied for their interpretation to those who undertook to explain them. We see the antiquity of this custom in the history of Pharaoh's butler and baker, Ge 40; and Pharaoh himself and Nebuchadnezzar are also instances. God expressly forbade his people to observe dreams, and to consult explainers of them. He condemned to death all who pretended to have prophetic dreams, even though what they foretold came to pass, if they had any tendency to promote idolatry, De 13:1-3. But they were not forbidden, when they thought they had a significant dream, to address the prophets of the Lord, or the high priest in his ephod, to have it explained. The Lord frequently made known his will in dreams, and enabled persons to explain them, Ge 20:3-7; 28:12-15; 1Sa 28:6; Da 2; Joe 2:28; Mt 1:20; Ac 27:22. Supernatural dreams are distinguished from visions, in that the former occurred during sleep, and the latter when the person was awake. God spoke to Abimelech in a dream, but to Abraham by vision. In both cases he left on the mind an assurance of the certainty of whatever he revealed. Both are now superseded by the Bible, our sure and sufficient guide through earth to heaven.
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And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, "Look, you [are] a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she [is] {a married woman}." Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "my Lord, will you even kill a righteous people?" read more. Did not he himself say to me, 'She [is] my sister'? And she herself said, 'He [is] my brother.' With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this." Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also {kept you from sinning} against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her. So now, return the wife of the man, for he [is] a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you will live. And {if you do not return her}, know that you will certainly die, and all that [are] yours."
And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God [were] going up and going down on it. And behold, Yahweh [was] standing beside him, and he said, "I [am] Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you [were] sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants. read more. Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Now behold, I [am] with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you."
"If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams and he gives to you a sign or wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes [about] that he spoke to you, {saying}, 'Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,' read more. you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God {is testing you to know whether you love} Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all [of] your inner self.
And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.
But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
And now I urge you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life from among you, but only of the ship.
Easton
God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating his will to men. The most remarkable instances of this are recorded in the history of Jacob (Ge 28:12; 31:10), Laban (Ge 31:24), Joseph (Ge 37:9-11), Gideon (Jg 7), and Solomon (1Ki 3:5). Other significant dreams are also recorded, such as those of Abimelech (Ge 20:3-7), Pharaoh's chief butler and baker (Ge 40:5), Pharaoh (Ge 41:1-8), the Midianites (Jg 7:13), Nebuchadnezzar (Da 2:1; 4:10,18), the wise men from the east (Mt 2:12), and Pilate's wife (Mt 27:19).
To Joseph "the Lord appeared in a dream," and gave him instructions regarding the infant Jesus (Mt 1:20; 2:12-13,19). In a vision of the night a "man of Macedonia" stood before Paul and said, "Come over into Macedonia and help us" (Ac 16:9; see also Ac 18:9; 27:23).
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And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, "Look, you [are] a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she [is] {a married woman}." Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "my Lord, will you even kill a righteous people?" read more. Did not he himself say to me, 'She [is] my sister'? And she herself said, 'He [is] my brother.' With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this." Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also {kept you from sinning} against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her. So now, return the wife of the man, for he [is] a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you will live. And {if you do not return her}, know that you will certainly die, and all that [are] yours."
And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God [were] going up and going down on it.
Now it happened [that] at the time of the mating of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams mounting the flock [were] streaked, speckled, and dappled.
And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "{Take care} that you not speak with Jacob, whether good or evil."
Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." And he told [it] to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, "What [is] this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?" read more. And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter [in mind].
And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who [were] confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation.
And it happened [that] after {two full years} Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. And behold, seven cows, {well built and fat}, were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. read more. And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, {ugly and gaunt}, and they stood beside those cows on the bank of the Nile. And the {ugly and gaunt} cows ate the seven {well built and fat} cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time, and behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were coming out of one stalk. And behold, seven thin ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven plump and full ears of grain. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, [it was] a dream. And it happened [that] in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called all of the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told his dream to them. But {they had no interpretation} for Pharaoh.
When Gideon came, a man [was] recounting a dream to his friend, and he said, "Behold, {I had a dream}; a round loaf of barley bread [was] tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell."
Yahweh appeared to Solomon at Gibeon in a dream at night, and God said, "Ask what I should give to you."
Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
Now [these were] the visions of my head [as I was lying] on my bed: I was {gazing} and, look, a tree [was] in the midst of the earth, and its height [was] exalted.
" 'This [is] the dream [that] I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its explanation, {for} all of [the] wise men of my kingdom were not able to make the explanation known to me, but you are able because [the] spirit of holy gods [is] in you.'
But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their [own] country by another route.
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their [own] country by another route. Now [after] they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."
Now [after] Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
And [while] he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent [a message] to him, saying, "{Have nothing to do with that righteous man}, for I have suffered much as a result of a dream today because of him.")
And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a certain Macedonian man was standing there and imploring him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia [and] help us!"
And the Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent,
For this night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve came to me,
Fausets
The revelation of God's will in dreams is characteristic of the early and less perfect patriarchal times (Ge 28:12; 31:24; 37:5-10); to Solomon, 1Ki 3:5, in commencing his reign; the beginnings of the New Testament dispensation (Mt 1:20; 2:13,19,22); and the communications from God to the rulers of the pagan world powers, Philistia, Egypt, Babylon (Ge 20:3; 40:5; 41:1); Elihu, Job 33:15; Daniel 2; Da 4:5, etc. The dream form of revelation is that most appropriate to those outside the kingdom of God. So the Midianite (Jg 7:13), Pilate's wife (Mt 27:19). But it is the Israelites Joseph and Daniel who interpret; for pagandom is passive, Israel active, in divine things to the glory of the God of Israel. Dreams were a frequent means of imposture and idolatry De 13:1-3; Zec 10:2).
The dream form of revelation is placed below that of prophecy and even divination (Nu 12:6; Joe 2:28; 1Sa 28:6). "Trances" and "visions" are mentioned in the Christian church, but not dreams. While God has acted and can act on the mind in a dream (wherein the reason and judgment are dormant, but the sensations and imaginations active and uncontrolled by the judgment), His higher mode of revelation is that wherein the understanding is active and conscious; consequently, the former mode appears more in imperfect stages of the development of God's scheme than in the advanced stages. "In the multitude of dreams are divers vanities" (Ec 5:7), i.e., God's service becomes by "dreams" (foolish fancies as to what God requires of worshippers); and random "words," positive vanity of manifold kinds; compare Mt 6:7, "they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, "Look, you [are] a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she [is] {a married woman}."
And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God [were] going up and going down on it.
And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "{Take care} that you not speak with Jacob, whether good or evil."
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told [it] to his brothers. And {they hated him even more}. And he said to them, "Listen now to this dream that I dreamed. read more. Now behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field and, behold, my sheaf stood up and it remained standing. Then behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf." Then his brothers said to him, "Will you really rule over us?" And {they hated him even more} on account of his dream and because of his words. Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." And he told [it] to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, "What [is] this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?"
And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who [were] confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation.
And it happened [that] after {two full years} Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
and he said, "Please hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak to him in a dream.
"If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams and he gives to you a sign or wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes [about] that he spoke to you, {saying}, 'Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,' read more. you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God {is testing you to know whether you love} Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all [of] your inner self.
When Gideon came, a man [was] recounting a dream to his friend, and he said, "Behold, {I had a dream}; a round loaf of barley bread [was] tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell."
Yahweh appeared to Solomon at Gibeon in a dream at night, and God said, "Ask what I should give to you."
"In a dream, a vision of [the] night, when a deep sleep falls on men slumbering on [their] bed,
For with many dreams [come] vanities and numerous words. Therefore, fear God!
And I saw a dream and a revelation on my bed and it frightened me, and the visions of my head terrified me.
And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.
Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore [the people] wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Now [after] they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."
Now [after] Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
But [when he] heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee.
"But [when you] pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.
And [while] he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent [a message] to him, saying, "{Have nothing to do with that righteous man}, for I have suffered much as a result of a dream today because of him.")