About…
DREAMS in the Bible

God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating His will to men and women while they slept. The most remarkable instances of this are recorded in the history of the following people.

• Jacob’s dream

  Jacob, a son of Isaac, was given a vivid dream recounted in Genesis.

  31:10

  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. …he called the name of that place Bethel… —Genesis 28:12-17, 19 KJV excerpt

• Laban’s dream

  And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. —Genesis 31:22-24 KJV

• Joseph, son of Jacob

  And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

  For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. —Genesis 37:5-11 KJV

• Gideon hears what another man dreamed

  And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

  And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

  And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

  And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. —Judges 7:12-15 KJV

• King Solomon

  In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. —1 Kings 3:5 KJV

Other significant dreams are also recorded

• Abimelech (Genesis 20:3-7)

• Pharaoh’s chief butler and baker (Genesis 40:5)

• Pharaoh (Genesis 41:1-8)

• the Midianites (Judges 7:13)

• Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:1; 4:10, 18)

• the wise men from the east (Matthew 2:12)

• Pilate’s wife (27:19)

• To Joseph, the bethrothed to Mary, “the Lord appeared in a dream,” and gave him instructions regarding the infant Jesus (Matthew 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” (Acts 16:9; see also Acts 18:9; 27:23).

More information

• VISIONS in the Bible
• PROPHECY and the Bible
• PROPHECY—Is there valid prophetic evidence that the Bible is God’s Word? Answer
• What is a PROPHET in the Bible? and who is one?
• What is a false prophet?
• DREAMS AND VISIONS of Jesus Christ given to Muslim seekers (describe on our special outreach site to Muslims)